Jack Torrance is hired to be the caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, nestled high in the Rocky Mountains. Jack, an aspiring author, takes along his wife Wendy and their young son Danny to keep him company during the long months as he works on the Overlook and his book. Jack's duties while at the hotel will be doing the day to day maintenance of the hotel and any repairs that may be needed due to the harsh weather conditions. All goes well until the Overlook's shrouded past begins to resurface. Faced with his battle against alcohol, a son who has a gifted insight to his surroundings, and the severe isolation that accompanies the role of the caretaker, Jack begins an incredible decent into madness, that you end up going on as well.

Superb in every aspect, The Shining is a modern masterpiece of horror and suspense. Based very loosely on the book by Stephen King, the Shining forges ahead of the novel and is a work of art on it's own.

The center of the film, in what was an icon making performance, is Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrence. Nicholson is an absolute master of his craft in this role. At no point do you ever doubt that Nicholson is not in a complete dark and downward spiral, with each passing scene you can see and feel him grow more distant and darker, cultivating into a churning rage at the end of the film.

Shelley Duvalle plays Wendy and gives a tremendous performance herself. Wendy is torn physically and emotionally to pieces by the change in her husband and the sinister presence that hides in the dark corners of the Overlook. Even young Danny Torrance and his imaginary friend Tony are classic characters.

When Danny screams "Redrum, redrum" it is almost as famous as Jack's "Little pigs, little pigs!" or "Here's Johnny!" Every scene, word and frame of this classic is guided by the skilled hands of director Stanley Kubrick.

The Shining is a movie that derives all of it's power from the performances of the actors. Although there are great scenes of ghosts and incredible images of ghastly gore, it is the characters that fuel the story and keep your eyes glued to the screen. The Shining is an incredible film, that should not be missed by anyone.

10/10 MASTERPIECE

A total grand slam masterpeice - until you read the book.

Duvall is horribly miscast (an assessment which even King himself agreed with), little Danny was as stiff as ol Chief Woodenhead and despite the story being about a father who gradually loses his mind in the solitude of the Overlook Hotel, big bad Jack looks like he's out of his mind 4.5 minutes into the film.

Yeah, there's definitely a lot of atmosphere and creepiness in The Shining. It's by no means a terrible movie. It's actually rather entertaining. From ghosts asking "Lovely party , isnt it?" to the famous "Here's Johnny!" line, there is much in the film that is effective, and Kubrik should be commended for that.

However, being a devoted fan of the novel - which I still hold to be Stephen King's best work- I was disappointed with what was left out of this adaptation. Where was the boiler room? What happened to the terrifying topiary animals? What was with that sucktastic ending? Was it really necessary to replace a roque mallet with an axe?

My opinion on this is undoubtedly in the minority, but I really do beleive the television remake from the 1990's was superior to this. That version had better performances from the rest of the cast (Steven Weber was terrific as Jack Torrance, but it's kind of hard to stack up to Nicholson when he's allowed to let loose as a psychotic on screen), appropriate casting to begin with and far more material from the novel than Kubrik had incorporated.

Despite a strong style, a good performance from Jack and a few honestly frightening moments, I consider "The Shining" a good horror film, but a disappointing King adaptation.

To borrow words muttered by King himself during an interview: "It's Stanley Kubrik's The Shining."

Six out of Ten skillfully directed adaptations which nevertheless left this King fan unsatisified.