The Shining

I’m sure y’all know the story – a small family moves to an isolated hotel in the Rockies where the husband, Jack, is going to act as caretaker while he writes his novel. But the empty hotel is home to other more sinister residents, and only the psychic ability of the young boy Danny can protect them…..

I’d forgotten that the The Shining was set in Colorado. Denver is mentioned frequently, and Stephen King was inspired to write the story based on his experiences at the Stanley in Estes Park. It’s a place I’ve visited many times. Unfortunately the Stanley just isn’t isolated enough, so Kubrick chose to film at Elstree Studios (the lights through the tall windows of the so-called Colorado Lounge were so strong they set the furniture alight) and the set designers plucked elements from different hotels in different parts of the country to make up the various scenes. The Colorado Lounge itself was modeled on the the Ahwanee Hotel in the Yosemite Valley.

Stanley Kubrick may have been a nutter, but the movie’s a classic.