Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) "The Shining" is one of the most famous horror movies of all time and in this 35-minute documentary, we gain a good insight on what life on set was like. Both this and the movie were shot 35 years ago. This is actually a prime example of what a making-of should look like. Behind-the-scenes documentaries sometimes are fairly uninteresting if they keep interviewing the assistant sound editor about very specific matters. But this one here is not like that. It's really about the core players. Basically, for the entire thing, there is hardly no scene which does not include at least one of director Stanley Kubrick, lead actor Jack Nicholson oder lead actress Shelley Duvall. And the director here is Vivian Kubrick, Stanley's daughter who also played very small roles in Kubrick's movies. Maybe she being the director is the reason why we got right into the heart of the set and see the actors so close that we feel we are almost watching them on-stage. I enjoyed this documentary and it is a very nice watch if you also like the film, especially as you see Nicholson and Duvall, who are both retired today, the way they really were.

Michael_Elliott Making 'The Shining' (1980) **** (out of 4) Most of the time when you see "making" in the title you immediately skip over it because you expect it to be some sort of weak promo piece but if you skipped over this film then you'd be missing one of the greatest documentaries ever made. I'm certainly not going to sit here and say this contains the greatest filmmaking ever but considering what we get to see here this thing is a real masterpiece. The greatest thing it has going for it is that it gives us a behind the scenes look at Kubrick, how he made movies and what it could be like when he wasn't happy with you. If you know anything about Kubrick then you know how demanding he could be with multiple takes that would put the actors through Hell. Here Shelley Duvall is the victim in a couple terrific sequences where she doesn't do what she's suppose to and it sets the director off. Another great sequence is some of the scenes where we see Kubrick on the set not only directing but in one terrific sequence Nicholson and Duvall are practicing their lines with the legendary director just sitting at his typewriter coming up with new dialogue. The film gets off to a terrific start as Vivian Kubrick crashes in on Nicholson and then he begins playing with her and the camera. Fans of Nicholson are going to love this look at him off the camera and it's a lot of fun seeing him here. The film itself is extremely raw but I think this is what makes the thing so special. It's as if you're a fly on the wall just picking up all of this stuff and I think it adds to the entertainment value. Nicholson, Duvall, Danny Lloyd and Scatman Crothers are all interviewed as well. Fans of THE SHINING are really going to love this film because you get to see how it's made. Fans of Kubrick are going to love it because you get to see the master work. Even those unfamiliar with the film or the director will find themselves having a great time simply because of the footage we get to see and how it gives you a great idea of what goes into making a movie.

MisterWhiplash In maybe one of a few rare glimpses on screen (or even off), Stanley Kubrick is on film, behind the scenes, making a movie. It is one of the shames of cinema that there isn't more footage of him, or even in this half hour documentary he isn't interviewed. But his presence is fascinating all the same, and when he is shown directing he is what has been perceived as for decades- creative, different, controlling, authoritative, and somehow generous as a director. There's one scene that's rather interesting where Kubrick's mother is sitting with his son and Jack Nicholson having a small conversation; it's admitted that there isn't a finished script, that new pages come every day for the actors. The interaction between the people in this scene, and others, makes this worthwhile. I've yet to see the DVD version so I can't comment on Vivian Kubrick's commentary track (the director's daughter, who was perfectly 'cute as Heywood Floyd's daughter in 2001). But what she presents for us is candid, and usually very insightful. An interview with Nicholson, who's sound-bites are choice, and wise as well when he says, "I want to be out of control as an actor...otherwise it will predictably be MY work, and that's no fun." But there is also a heartfelt interview with Scatman Crothers, who came out of filming in the arduous conditions of Kubrick's perfectionism (there were dozens and dozens of takes that Crothers had to give, according to trivia). There is a not too shabby interview with Danny Lloyd, who played the boy in the film. And Shelly Duvall, who does lay it as straight as possible about what it was like to work with the director; the scene that is captured over Kubrick's shoulder (of an argument between actor and director) is a little uncomfortable, but in the end one can see why Kubrick wanted it the way he did for the finished film. Usually 'making-of' documentaries are hit or miss, depending on the films of course; one would prefer an audio commentary, or a long interview with the filmmaker about the making of the film. But as the Shining has neither of these - and is the only place to fins unadulterated footage of the iconoclast and his cast at work on screen and off (if you discount the Criterion DVD release of Spartacus and a recent release of Dr. Strangelove) - it's well worth the half hour; the added music by Carlos is a nice touch.

Ben Parker This is probably the most fun little behind-the-scenes glimpse i've ever been given. I think its exactly BECAUSE its so rough, exactly because it consists of Kubrick's daughter being let loose with a camcorder on his film set for The Shining (1980) that its so compelling. As Vivian herself says on a commentary she recorded for the recent DVD re-release of The Shining, its because she was so young and everyone took her for a kid messing around that they ended up being so honest with her and allowing her to take such liberties as walking in on them in their bedrooms or asking to-the-point questions about the way they've been treated on the production (Shelley Duvall in particular, who Kubrick virtually tormented in order to create the perfect feeling for her part).Most precious of all, obviously, are the glimpses of Kubrick behind the scenes. On the ground with a camera underneath Jack getting the perfect posture and feeling for the famous scene where he's locked in the kitchen and banging on the door. His directorial rage at Shelley Duvall when she missed her queue and spoiled the perfect set-up of the snow-machine and other elements Kubrick had arranged for the shot. First thing in the morning, looking slovenly (like all great artists - caring nothing for how he looked and everything for how his film would look), greeting Jack and staring right into the camera looking less-than-impressed.As impossible as it is to choose one Kubrick production over another, The Shining is particularly great. And this little documentary, the only special feature you'll ever find on a Kubrick DVD, becomes all the more valuable for the scarcity of behind-the-scenes glimpses of Kubrick at work. Enjoy!