The Best Stephen King Horror Classic Gets Unexpected In-Depth Documentary

Since much time has passed since the release of The Shining, it was assumed that all sets used for the Overlook Hotel were destroyed. However, Elstree Studios, a generic term for demolished British film studios in or around Elstree in Hertfordshire, England, had been hanging on to the final remaining site this whole time.

Katharina Kubrick, Stanley Kubrick’s daughter, had this to say about The Shining documentary, “The production of The Shining has been well documented and analyzed, but this is a story which has never been told. Pivotal scenes from the film took place in these areas, so going back to them felt like stepping into the movie itself.” 

The news of the documentary came shortly after the death of The Shining star Shelley Duvall was announced. Duvall portrayed the character of Wendy Torrance, and Kubrick’s cruel treatment of her behind the camera is well-known. He made her shoot the baseball bat confrontation scene 172 times, leaving her hands raw and bloody, stressed her so much her hair began falling out, and often would get a rise out of her for the sake of a “good take.”

In a recent interview, author Stephen King expressed his disdain for Kubrick’s direction to Duvall, saying, “Shelley Duvall as Wendy is really one of the most misogynistic characters ever put on film; she’s basically just there to scream and be stupid and that’s not the woman that I wrote about.” 

Despite the less-than-favorable behavior from Kubrick during The Shining’s filming, it has still not dampened people’s love and nostalgia for the eerie film something the new documentary hopes to tap into. This will be the third The Shining documentary created, following Room 237 and The Making of The Shining created by Vivian Kubrick, one of Stanley Kubrick’s daughters.

Many The Shining fans hope that filmmaker Garrett Brown will be granted a feature in the documentary. Brown, the self-taught filmmaker, created the Steadicam to be able to create smooth camera movement in his works. It soon would become an industry-changing technique but Kubrick was one of the first to utilize Brown’s potential and his Steadicam. 

They collaborated for over a year on different techniques they could implement in The Shining, you can see it used when Danny rides his tricycle down the hall towards the twins. From the moment The Shining was released, and audiences saw his unique camerawork, Brown hit new levels of fame in the cinematography world. Fans of The Shining hope the new documentary will feature Brown’s perspective and thoughts on the whole whirlwind experience.

The new The Shining documentary is not the only future plan that the Kubrick family estate has up its sleeves. Announced in 2023, in the near future a stage adaptation of Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb will be coming to London’s West End. Kubrick’s widow, Christiane Kubrick was the one to announce the unusual adaptation.

For fans of The Shining wanting new behind-the-scenes material not featured in the two previous documentaries, tune into Shine On – The Forgotten ‘Shining’ Location documentary on July 26 on YouTube. To those who still haven’t seen the movie, where have you been? Good thing you still have the chance to stream it on AMC+.