Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980) did not arrive easily. Adapted from Stephen King’s novel of the same name, the film was shot almost entirely at EMI Elstree Studios in England over the course of more than a year. Kubrick demanded an extreme level of precision from everyone on set. Crew members worked 13-hour days, sometimes for weeks on a single scene. The now-iconic ‘Here’s Johnny’ moment alone took three days to film and destroyed more than 60 doors before Kubrick was satisfied. The result was one of the most studied horror films ever made — but the path to get there was grueling.
Among the film’s most memorable images are the Grady twins, played by real-life sisters Lisa and Louise Burns. Their eerie appearance in the hotel hallway has become one of horror cinema’s most recognizable shots. Here they are on set, before the cameras rolled.
Kubrick was famously hands-on. He didn’t simply direct from a distance — he was embedded in every department, from cinematography to set design. He brought his daughter Vivian onto the production, who filmed a behind-the-scenes documentary during the shoot. That access gave the world a rare look at how Kubrick operated on a closed set.
Jack Nicholson was cast as Jack Torrance, the writer-turned-caretaker who slowly unravels at the isolated Overlook Hotel. Nicholson was already a major Hollywood star by 1980, and his performance here pushed the boundaries of screen menace. Between takes, however, the mood was far lighter.
Danny Lloyd played Danny Torrance, Jack’s young son who possesses a psychic ability the film calls ‘the shining.’ Lloyd was only six years old during production. Kubrick worked carefully with the child actor, largely shielding him from the horror elements of the story. Lloyd did not fully understand what kind of film he was making until years later as an adult.
Kubrick directed with intense focus, often standing just inches from his actors to coach specific reactions. His relationship with Nicholson was collaborative, built on long conversations about character motivation before each setup. The two spent enormous time reviewing footage together to ensure every frame matched Kubrick’s vision.
Shelley Duvall played Wendy Torrance, Jack’s wife. Her experience on set was far more difficult than Nicholson’s. Kubrick pushed Duvall relentlessly, sometimes repeating takes dozens of times and dismissing her concerns in front of the crew. He believed sustained stress would sharpen her performance. Duvall later described the shoot as the hardest thing she had ever done.
Not every shot in the final film came from principal cast. The production’s second unit filmed a range of additional material, including travel sequences with doubles wearing the cast’s costumes. Second unit camera operator Jeff Blyth, his wife, and their camera assistant stood in for the Torrance family in numerous driving shots that ultimately did not make the final cut.
The Overlook Hotel itself was a constructed set built on the backlot of EMI Elstree Studios. The exterior facade was built from scratch to serve as the film’s establishing environment. Kubrick insisted on building complete, fully detailed sets rather than using sparse studio backdrops, which added significantly to both the production cost and the shooting schedule.
Lisa and Louise Burns, the actresses behind the Grady Sisters, were filmed in the games room set under the watch of camera operator Kelvin Pike. Camera assistant Peter Robinson held the slate. Their matching blue dresses and flat expressions were deliberately styled to maximize unease.
The Steadicam was central to the film’s visual language. Invented by Garrett Brown, the device allowed the camera to glide smoothly through the hotel’s corridors, creating the sensation of being followed. Brown operated the Steadicam throughout the production. He discovered that young Danny Lloyd weighed almost exactly as much as the camera rig itself, so he often gave the boy rides in a makeshift swing built from the equipment frame between setups.
Practical effects drove most of the film’s horror. The hallway where the Grady Sisters appear was coated with fake blood sprayed across the walls and floor. These details were meticulously planned and applied before each take, then restored to continuity between shots.
Kubrick rehearsed scenes extensively before filming began. For the major confrontation sequences between Jack, Wendy, and Danny, this meant long sessions running through blocking, dialogue, and physical movement until Kubrick was certain every element was locked. Actors rarely had the luxury of simply showing up and performing without this intensive prep.
The Gold Room bar set was one of the film’s most elaborate interiors. Joe Turkel played Lloyd the bartender, serving Jack Torrance in scenes heavy with dread and psychological tension. Kubrick reviewed each take at the monitor with Nicholson and Turkel, making micro-adjustments to performance and camera position after every setup.
Philip Stone played Delbert Grady, the ghostly former caretaker who appears to Jack in the hotel’s ornate bathroom. Stone and Nicholson can be seen here between takes — two actors in character-heavy roles sharing a quiet moment before returning to one of the film’s most claustrophobic scenes.
Continuity was maintained through Polaroid photographs taken between takes. These photos allowed the crew to match exact costume details, prop placements, and actor positions from one shot to the next. On a production as demanding as The Shining, where scenes were sometimes reshot weeks apart, these reference images were essential.
The axes used during production were a mix of real tools and lightweight props. Actual axes appeared in wider shots for visual authenticity, while fiberglass replicas with standard handles were used in close contact scenes where weight and safety were concerns. Both versions were on hand throughout filming.
One of the film’s most technically detailed shots was the axe strike that kills Dick Hallorann, played by Scatman Crothers. Kubrick composed the insert shot himself on the lobby set. A special effects artist crouched beside Nicholson held a bag of stage blood connected by tubing that ran up through the axe handle, delivering the blood on cue at the moment of impact.
Continuity Polaroids weren’t just for the lead actors. Shelley Duvall and Danny Lloyd were also photographed between takes to ensure their costumes and hairstyles matched precisely across shooting days. These small logistical details added up to hundreds of reference photos over the course of the lengthy production.
The exterior Overlook Hotel set on the Elstree backlot served as the location for several key outdoor sequences, including Jack’s final chase through the hedge maze. Nicholson filmed scenes in and around this constructed environment, which was designed to look like a remote Colorado mountain resort.
The film’s final image — Jack Torrance frozen to death in the maze — required careful physical staging. Nicholson was positioned in a fixed pose with a crude support structure built from wood and styrofoam hidden just out of frame, holding him as still as possible for the extended shot. The setup needed to stay locked for a lengthy exposure to achieve the right look.
Nicholson’s personal working copy of the screenplay survived the production and eventually went on public display at the California Museum in Sacramento. The annotated script offers a direct look at how Nicholson approached the role — his own notes, markings, and preparation visible on the page.
Jack in the snow 👍
We want to see the making-of video too; no one here has ever seen it.
Aren’t these from the Taschen book?