Jack Nicholson Movie:

		List Price: $28.99		Label: Warner Home Video Salesrank: 1257 Released: October 23, 2007
		Our Price: $13.00
		Used Price: $12.00
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: Blu-ray

Editorial Review:
?Heeeeere?s Johnny!? In a macabre masterpiece adapted from Stephen King?s novel, Jack Nicholson falls prey to forces haunting a snowbound mountain resort with a macabre history.

Description of The Shining [Blu-ray]:
Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is less an adaptation of Stephen King's bestselling horror novel than a complete reimagining of it from the inside out. In King's book, the Overlook Hotel is a haunted place that takes possession of its off-season caretaker and provokes him to murderous rage against his wife and young son. Kubrick's movie is an existential Road Runner cartoon (his steadicam scurrying through the hotel's labyrinthine hallways), in which the cavernously empty spaces inside the Overlook mirror the emptiness in the soul of the blocked writer, who's settled in for a long winter's hibernation. As many have pointed out, King's protagonist goes mad, but Kubrick's Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) is Looney Tunes from the moment we meet him--all arching eyebrows and mischievous grin. (Both Nicholson and Shelley Duvall reach new levels of hysteria in their performances, driven to extremes by the director's fanatical demands for take after take after take.) The Shining is terrifying--but not in the way fans of the novel might expect. When it was redone as a TV miniseries (reportedly because of King's dissatisfaction with the Kubrick film), the famous topiary-animal attack (which was deemed impossible to film in 1980) was there--but the deeper horror was lost. Kubrick's The Shining gets under your skin and chills your bones; it stays with you, inhabits you, haunts you. And there's no place to hide... --Jim Emerson

The Shining [Blu-ray] Reviews:
Spectacular!
2009-12-25 - Some older movies made into Blu Ray and even new Blu Ray movies sometimes are not visually much better than DVD.

Not with Shining! I could not believe how visually spectacular the movie scenes were.

The scenes of the mountain-sides were again nothing short of spectacular!

Great blueray, a must purchase
2009-12-16 - I have both the DVD and Blueray. The Blueray disc is phenomenal: outstanding picture quality and the extras it has the DVD doesn't. The most eye-opening feature to me was the commentary steady cam operator Garrett Brown and Kubrick biographer John Baxter; they really gets into the weeds of the actual moviemaking and mindset of Kubrick and provides a fascinating inside look into the filming process. This is definitely a permanent addition to my blueray collection and has increased my awareness and appreciation for Stanley Kubrick.

Blu-Ray vs. DVD: Blu-Ray mostly wins
2009-11-18 - I love THE SHINING with a passion usually reserved for movies like THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW; I bought the Stanley Kubrick boxed set in 2001 and watch it regularly. I've turned down other Blu-ray editions of Kubrick films (EYES WIDE SHUT and A CLOCKWORK ORANGE) because I didn't think they were up to snuff, but I bought this because it managed to win me over.

THE SHINING is a GLORIOUS TRANSFER: the colors and textures are more vibrant and powerful than I have ever seen and seeing all those minor backgrounds details big enough to read easily are a real treat. The picture is crisp, sharp, clear, and doggone if the movie doesn't look as new as the day it was made. Kubrick movies are always a bit skimpy on the extras (Kubrick died before DVD took off and didn't leave many leftovers for the medium anyways), but the "making of" documentary with commentary also made the crossover, as well as a few new featurettes that aren't that amazing, but do offer some cool new tidbits; my favorite is the one on production design with Kubrick staffers and Garret Brown, where we get to see diagrams and schematics of the set.

My one gripe comes from the aspect ratio, which is a never-ending argument with Kubrick movies. The old DVDs maintained a full-frame aspect ratio while the Blu-ray releases favor the 1.85:1 ratio enhanced to fit the 16:9 screen. As the diagram on the special features reveals, Kubrick preferred the full-frame 1.33:1 aspect ratio, but always shot to preserve the 1.85:1 for theatrical exhibition. The problem is, Kubrick's compositions were always strongest from top-to-bottom, not side-to-side, so the widescreen aspect ratio trims off the headroom that was beautifully visible on the old DVD set. The Blu-ray is presented in 1.85:1 enhanced for 16:9 so it fills the screen; yes you see more image on the sides than you did on DVD, but the shots don't stand out as much because of the missing headroom.

So for this reason alone, I trim off one star. Otherwise, I love this Blu-ray and heavily recommend it.

Very pleased
2009-11-09 - Another cult classic. Love the DVD. Extremely fast shipping. Great job Amazon. You are a great source of finding DVD that I enjoy.

There's Johnny! Kubrick Thriller!
2009-11-08 - Jack Nicholson plays Jack, who just got a job at the Overhill Hotel and moves in with his wife and young son. The boy Danny has special abilities: a secret friend inhabiting him (which is not satisfactorily explained) and the ability to hear others' thoughts (the Shining). But buildings can have shinings too. Homicidal rages from a formerly easy going author (typing nonstop pages of "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" is hilarious) taking orders from the ghosts and supernatural beings that in habit the hotel.

Stanley Kubrick (2001 - A Space Odyssey (Two-Disc Special Edition)) is known for his almost maniacal style in doing take after take. Shelly Duvall had the most number of takes ever, I read.

The movie does have its chilling, insane moments. I enjoyed the boy's horror but was not sure if it was "Tony" his imaginary friend talking or Danny himself. The ending is thoughtful but a bit of a let-down (the 1921 photo).

Overall, not a shabby movie. But really, how did Jack get out of that locked refrigerator? Hmm?

The "making of" was shot by Vivian Kubrick, and you really get into the heads of the cast and what they were thinking as shooting progressed.

Other Kubrick Flix:

Stanley Kubrick: Warner Home Video Directors Series (2001 A Space Odyssey / A Clockwork Orange / Eyes Wide Shut unrated / Full Metal Jacket / The Shining / A Life in Pictures)