This is one of the best analyses of the movie I've ever seen, and strangely enough (or perhaps, not so strangely) how I saw it while I was working with Kubrick on it during the editing. NOT that we ever discussed it! Such was his nature. So much done by suggestion. At the end of the day, the movie can best be described as totally ambiguous: it can be read equally easily either way - Kubrick still leaves in just enough apparently 'supernatural' visions to satisfy the gullible who like to believe in ghosts. This total ambiguity is what makes the film so clever ... and I was working with him the night he cut out a shot of Grady actually opening the larder door (I was the one who actually had to cut it out). So all we were left with then was the sound of the door being unlocked. I remember going home very late that night thinking, that is brilliant. The last element of non-ambiguity gone.

The only thing that offends me here is that you think Jack is a subpar writer. Have you ever read "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy"? Sure some critics say it is repetitive but it's gold, gold I tell ya!

Kubrick: "The Shining was my ghost story." Every YT analysis on The Shining: "There were no ghosts in The Shining!"

The problem with Danny seeing the sisters as being his imagination is off, because the sisters are mentioned in the interview, but Danny is never told of their existence--it seems a really long coincidence that he would happen to imagine exactly that.

Kubrick himself explained that the photo actually suggests that Jack was a reincarnation of an earlier official at the hotel, which makes sense when going back to his conversation with Grady in the bathroom, where the butler tells Jack that he has “always been the caretaker”.

There will never be a Unified Shining Theory. The movie can be interpreted in inumerable ways thanks to the mad genius of Stanley Kubrick.

I wish I wasn't such a sucker for every analysis of the Shining that comes along.

After hearing this theory cleary articulated in such great detail, I'm actually more convinced that there ARE supernatural forces at work.

I think the communication between Halloran in Miami and Danny, and Delbert warning Jack about it, pokes the biggest hole in this theory. I think it’s believable that there isn’t any ghosts - I don’t think there is myself. But the shining kinda has to exist in the narrative for anything to make sense. To explain away all the shines in the movie takes a lot of extrapolation that gets harder and harder to believe. And as for the visions they all see in the hotel, I think it’s most probable that, like Halloran said, it’s the building itself shining these visions to them Also the picture at the end is meant to imply that Jack wasn’t just reincarnated but that he was absorbed into the history of the hotel.

Kubrick said himself that you're supposed to think the ghosts might be in Jack's mind until Grady unlocks the pantry door. But you're free to believe anything you want since the truth is it's just a movie.

The fact that Jack eats that bacon strip while looking at Wendy the way he does, it gives me the shivers. It really is a peek into things to come. "Little PIGS let me come in..."

I've said it before: Both The Shining and Mommie Dearest are completely different movies depending on whether or not you grew up in an abusive home.

If you read the book which is a great book not a mediocre one, this IS the ultimate ghost story and the Kubrick adaptation which is a great movie, it's absolutely clear THERE ARE ghosts in the movie. Who opens the door to Nicholson when he is in the kitchen pantry? Of course this hotel is full of ghosts that's the beauty of it

I appreciate the effort, and agree that Lloyd and Grady may be figments of Jack’s imagination but I’m not sure that means there’s nothing supernatural at work, and it seems like you’re cherry-picking certain scenes but ignoring others. For example how did Danny know about room 237. There hadn’t been a single reference to it before his conversation with O’Halloran. Sure, there might have been instructions that they shouldn’t enter any of the rooms, but why does O’Halloran seem so afraid of that room when Danny asks about it. And of course the final shot of the 1921 New Year’s gala indicates there’s something supernatural... I disagree that Kubrick would go through the entire movie to say there’s no ghosts just to contradict himself in the final shot... David Lynch might, but not Kubrick.

It seems like you started this analysis with the assumption that a story cannot be both a ghost story and a story that is deeply meaningful. Because of that assumption, you never addressed the main question I had throughout the entire video: What difference does it make if there are ghosts or not? How does that change the message of the narrative? How does that change the impact that the film makes on the audience? The dismissive way that you talk about ghost stories tells me that it makes a difference to you, personally, because you wouldn't take a ghost story seriously. But you never explained why someone who doesn't share that bias should care about whether the ghosts are real or psychological/metaphorical phenomena. There are several points in the video in which you say that certain elements of the movie don't make sense--and it's true that they don't make LOGICAL sense, but they make perfect NARRATIVE sense. They make sense as a decision that a director would make in order to achieve a particular effect on an audience. Many details in the movie don't make sense that have nothing to do with ghosts (impossible windows, moving furniture, Danny and his toys teleporting around on the iconic carpet), but they do make narrative sense in that they create a sense of disorientation and unease in the audience. Also, it seems like you've misunderstood the powers that Halloran describes. When Halloran talks about the shining, the main thing that he describes is having a conversation without opening your mouth. Somehow you made the unsupported leap in logic that that should make him omniscient. When you have a conversation with someone, it's a two-way street. You don't know what a person has to say unless they choose to say it. As Danny does repeatedly throughout the movie, he chooses not to speak, either verbally or through shining, and so there's no way that Halloran would know the things that you criticize him for not knowing. The other way that Halloran describes the shining is that it allows you to sometimes see things at different points in time, but there's nothing in the movie to indicate that Halloran believes that someone who shines would be omniscient. He says that people can see some things, but there's no indication that one would have direct control over what they're able to see. Your insistence that Halloran should know everything has no support in the movie. In dismissing Halloran, you've also dismissed his actions in the movie as worthless, when the truth is that he saved the lives of Wendy and Danny. His arrival distracted Jack when he was about to kill Wendy, and he provided the escape vehicle for them to get off the mountain. Even if you assume that the ghosts aren't real and that the two of them would be safe waiting there for spring after Jack died, you yourself talk about the devastating psychological effect that the movie's events would have had on the characters, so I would consider the escape vehicle a necessity for survival regardless of the ghost question. It strikes me as bizarre that you have so much disgust for a man that saved the lives of a woman and child for no benefit to himself.

I think it's scarier with both ideas. Imagine losing your mind while simultaneously being haunted by ghosts. It would almost be comforting to know you're exclusively going insane. But to think you're going insane, only to find out it's actually ghosts. I dunno. In that situation I'd wish to go back to the comfort of being a fruitloop.

Kubrick himself categorically stated that the ghosts of the Overlook were definitely real.

Can you prove that Danny wasn't hearing Hallaren's voice inside of his head when he asked Danny if he'd want some ice cream? I don't think Hallaren was only trying to prove that he knew Danny likes ice cream. The point is the conversation itself without either having to say anything out loud.

Well, I imagine that one of the scariest experiences in life must be the inability to tell the difference between what's real and what's going on in one's head, so leaving things deliberately ambiguous is much more unsettling than coming down on either the side of 'ghosts are real' or 'it was all in his/her head'.

I always took it from the book and from the movie that two things were happening at the same time, but neither causes the other. There is something “weird” about the hotel and Jack already having had some issues has a complete mental breakdown the turns violent. It’s more about Wendy and Danny having to contend with both of these things at the same time.

The brilliance of Kubrick is that all the theories are accurate; the Wendy theory, this one, the metaphor for the federal reserve and capitalism corrupting the common man, the ghost story,, the theory that the hotel is sentient and wants Danny’s power, etc. this film is Shakespearean in its depth and which narrative you subscribe to depends on you’re perspective. Bloody brilliant.

I'm willing to believe there are no ghosts in the Shining, but no Shining in the Shining? I suppose its just a coincidence that Danny and Holorand both seem to "Shine" at the same time, AND that is the exact moment Holorand just happens to realize Wendy and Danny are in danger, and he needs to go save them, which happens to be the exact moment Jack snapped. And Danny having a vision of the twins that Jack just learned about, that was a coincidence too. As well as Wendy and Danny BOTH having visions of the elevator full of blood. I could go on and on, but this theory is b.s.

hallorann's trip wasn't for nothing, though. he dies right away, yeah, but if he hadn't arrived, wendy and danny would not have had a way down the mountain (his vehicle).

In the case of Dick Hallorann not being able to foresee Jack trying to kill him; it’s actually explained earlier in the film when he talks to Danny. He explains to Danny that his “Shine” isn’t as strong as others, meaning he doesn’t have strong capabilities as others. Danny’s shine was much stronger than Hallorann’s. The only thing that’s odd about Hallorann is that he went to the Hotel alone without any weapon at all. He didn’t even alert the police of what might be happening. This is pretty odd considering everyone’s knowledge of the history of the Overlook tragedy.

Every new analysis I see of The Shining leaves me more in awe of Kubrick.

That you think Stephen King's The Shining is a "simple ghost story," reveals that you didn't study the book a fraction as carefully as you studied the film. The book is about demons not ghosts, and they manifest themselves in the forms of alcoholism and abuse. In this way, Stephen King also wrote a story about allegories and paranoia, just not in the same way that Stanley Kubrick directed it. The Shining is a very rare case of author and director shaping the same story in their own brilliant ways. However, primary kudos will always go to Stephen King for creating the seed and not just cultivating it.

I like the Wendy theory, where Wendy is having psychotic breaks, imaging the whole story in her head.

Interesting interpretation. I enjoy hearing how other people interpret films. My interpretation of the Shining is that the hotel itself is the "ghost." That it feeds on people giving in to their evil desires and it tries to make that happen with who it can. So all of the conversations Jack has is the hotel trying to push him into a murderous rage and after he is killed, the hotel claims his soul and adds him to its list of victims/residents forever, which is why we see him in the photo at the end.

Jack himself is seen throwing the ball that rolls toward Danny on the carpet earlier in the film. Another giveaway that it is actually Jack who abuses him in Room 237

Next video: There are no machines in The Terminator! You’ll notice that Kreese never even mentions the T-800, but instead used the term “cyborg” and “machine” which be just as easily used as a nickname for a man with superior strength. Poor confused Sarah Connor, who later ends up in a mental hospital, goes along for the ride.

I found an error. You suggest that Jack abuses Danny again after they sit together on the bed. Danny is wearing different clothes when he sits with Jack on the bed and when his mother finds him after Jacks nightmare.

I personally love Kubrick's adaptation of the Shining. I find far more disturbing than the ghost aspect. It's the horror of human nature!!

Bro Stanley, in an interview said it’s supernatural.. He says you’re not sure if it’s supernatural until the door gets unlocked where Jack is trapped. That’s when you know it’s supernatural because it unlocks for no reason.

I barely ever hear anyone mention the discrepancy of Charles Grady vs Delbert Grady, and when Ullman say the daughters were about 8 and 10, but Danny sees them as twins.

Shining doesn't mean you're completely psychic. It doesn't mean you know every detail about a person. He knew to be wary of 237 because Halloran was and Danny asks him why he's afraid of it. In Jack's interview the guy said Grady killed his family in one of the rooms. It's implied the murders happened there though it's not necessarily the case. Halloran also says the hotel shines, as it's a character itself. Very interesting detail about Jack's hand on Danny's shoulder and that same one being torn! I also never noticed the 5 months vs 3 years ago line regarding Jack's possible abuse. That's a huge detail! And yeah if you ignore the book and how the Overlook is a character itself, there is no other explanation. Good video!

The best part was when jack said “maybe the real shining was the friends we made along the way”

The scene where he's talking to Grady, you see him making typing motions with his hands. That's where you know he's actually imagining the scene as he writes it.

Kubrick did not "expand on the source material", he IGNORED it almost completely.

My favorite part of this theory is that Jack has bad credit

There’s an audio interview of Kubrick on here from 1980 & he talks about the supernatural in the movie, specifically the bolt being release when he’s locked in the pantry.

Great analysis! I'm from Italy, so the version of Shining I've always watched was the International cut, and I think it fits more with the "no ghosts" theory than the US cut; for example, there isn't no doctor scene, no skeletons, we see Jack drinking only ONE glass, not two, no Wendy and Danny talking scenes etc... I say this because I always saw Shining as a story about a troubled and failed marriage and family, with an abusive father, an abused child and a woman who can't do that much because of the fear she lived while staying with his husband; the visions they had were always in their mind. When I first saw the Skeleton scene, I was disappointed, because, at least for me, it ruined some of ghostly/non-ghostly ambiguous atmosphere of the film, and somehow lead me to believe that there was actually something more goin on. Then I watched the US cut, and it seemed to me like an extended cut of the international version, with definitely more clues than I would ever thought, suggesting that not only these people are going crazy, but also that there could be also something else, while in the international version I always saw this as the failure of a marriage, with people imagining things because of what they've been passing through, not because of some possessed hotel. If you haven't yet, go check out the international version, it's really a different experience. Also, there were a few different shots, like the "no play" scene, which was translated in some countries: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/l7CKkrOdr7mrnn0.html ). Thank you for reading, and have a great day!

I like the theory that everyone "shines" to a certain extent - children moreso than adults since they haven't learned boundaries and become jaded realists. I get the feeling Hallorann is more experienced and understands looking into people's thoughts is a personal thing so he doesn't just use it constantly. He can tell Danny shines hard, and tries it out with the ice-cream line. He picks up the nickname "Doc" as a stray thought from Wendy. When Danny asks him about 237, that's something Hallorann didn't intend to reveal but Danny reached into his head for it. He is just preparing Danny to understand that there's all kinds of leftover energy he will experience over months in an isolated location where so many bad things happened, symbolized as a psychic metaphorical image of the blood-pouring elevators. But as long as a person knows not to "buy in" that these leftover images shining in their head are real, they are merely "pictures in a book". Most people ignore and put aside the shining ability which is heightened empathy and sensitivity to traumatic past events and a certain amount of clairvoyance which includes the "burnt toast" effect that people who shine are sensitive to - there are no ghosts and this energy "shines" in different people's heads in different ways based on their own knowledge, experience, expectation, and trauma. Danny sees spooky playmates; Jack sees a sexy woman who betrays him. King's other stories indicate shining can also manifest a potential bonus power (Carrie had telekinesis, Charlie in Firestarter has pyrokinesis.) Jack shines, but is a weak-willed individual was self-medicating and dampening it with alcohol. Being sober and in a location with _so much_ burnt toast and social isolation from reality as the Overlook causes him to hallucinate Lloyd and Grady and the party, and he buys in and is seduced because he's so ready to fall off the wagon that he goes right along. Jack also has latent telekinesis, but has never used it. It only manifests when he's humiliated by Grady and _Jack_ unlocks the pantry door with his newly-heightened awareness to solve a problem, similar to the trauma that brings it about for Carrie White. Wendy also shines, but has suppressed it as most adults do normally until the very end of the movie when reduced to hysterics by her husband trying to murder her, and in _her_ mind, ghosts are scary haunted skeletons, her fear that Danny is being molested, and most recently people chopped up with an axe, so that's how she sees the "burnt toast". When she sees the blood elevator that Danny is also seeing, that's the metaphor where she completely understands, as her son does, what's actually happening and what the Overlook is all about.

That's patently ridiculous since Kubrick himself said that he wanted the moment where Grady unlocks the pantry as evidence of ghosts. For all the changes Kubrick made from the book, he still held to the premise of the book. That the spirits there feed on those who shine. The longer Danny remained, the stronger they'd get.

I love people's different perspectives of this film. It's everything you want it to be while not being anything you thought. The ultimate enigma. A true masterpiece that only gets better within the depths of our minds.

"I mean, sure.. he randomly guessed his nick name was doc, and that was based on no prior knowledge. But I am going to brush that off because he verbally spoke with him after that instead of continuing to shine."

A terrifying film about an abusive, resentful alcoholic having a mental breakdown and attacking his own family. Scary as all hell.

Wait... the Shining doesn't have shining in it? Or ghosts? I don't believe your interpretation is as air tight as you seem to think it is. I still enjoyed the analysis nonetheless though.

Kubrick would disagree with you - as he himself stated in interviews. He even said that within the hotel is an endless cycle of evil reincarnation. Sounds pretty supernatural to me.

There is definitely something supernatural here at play. I think you grossly overlook the fact that the movie is called “The Shining” and this just happens to be the supernatural phenomenon that Danny displays that ends up saving his life. I agree that the idea of ghosts is very shallow, but the movie alludes to a dark demonic energy present in the Overlook Hotel that consumes and exploits the fears and rage of all its caretakers. Also, there is nothing ambiguous about the scene where Danny is being schooled about his ability by Mr. Hallorann and you actually hear his voice telepathically through Danny’s perspective. Lastly, the closing scene that shows Jack’s face in the photo indicates that Jack is somehow deeply connected to the hotel and perhaps has spiritual roots that go deeper than what we actually see in the movie. Maybe Jack is the Yang to Danny’s Shining and all the supernatural phenomena are just the manifestations of his derangement and spiritual connection to the Overlook hotel. The hotel in essence is the physical representation of Jack’s disturbed mind with all its demons, dark corridors and forbidden rooms. This is how Jack is able to escape the room because Jack and the hotel are one and the same and he is able to wield it as easily as he is able to wield his anger and frustrations towards his family.

“The Shining” is NOT a mediocre Stephen King story.

I also love the theory that the movie is taking place in the novel Jack is writing. That there is a super secret and quick transition scene that takes us from reality to Jack's book about the haunted hotel.

I like art that’s open to interpretation. Especially like this, where there’s almost as many interpretations as there are viewers. I do like the madness interpretation better than the supernatural one. I think, ultimately, it’s scarier… because it can happen. And, while it’s astoundingly unpopular, I like the Wendy theory. I think it’s just as plausible for Wendy to lose her mind being isolated with a husband she fears could harm her and their son.

I think it’s both; The overlook is a haunted place, that also plays with the heads of its guests, sometimes to the point of psychotic breaks for those more susceptible to it if they stay there long enough. Dick Holleran warns Danny about 237, but he isn’t having a psychotic break. So, he knows there’s something goin on there with or without the Torrance’s. There are two distinct moments that suggest actual paranormal activity outside of the heads of the characters; (1) Who opens the walk in storage for jack? (arguably Danny, but the film suggests it’s paranormal), and (2) Jack is in the photo of the 1921 ball at the end. That shot is objective. It’s not the POV of the characters, (like Lloyd the bartender is). Jack and Dick are dead and Danny and Wendy have left. It’s impossible for Jack to be physically in the photo if there isn’t something paranormal goin on, imo.

While the attempt to demystify the parts of The Shining that can be demystified is laudable, it does seem that you're unduly simplifying the inherent---and intentional---ambiguity of Kubrick's vision. Just as importantly, you've set up a strict "either-or" dichotomy between mental illness and the supernatural that Kubrick doesn't establish at all. It is entirely plausible---not to mention in line with the subtlety of a filmmaker like Kubrick---that the ghosts of the Overlook are drawn to the Torrances *precisely because* they are such damaged and dysfunctional people. Their emotional distress not only draws malignant entities toward them, but makes them particularly susceptible to their attacks or their influence. If a normal, well-adjusted family had been the caretakers, the evil spirits of the Overlook may never have had the opportunity to do what they did with the Torrances. I find this reading not only to be entirely plausible within the framework of the film, but also a richer and more satisfying explanation. In any case, I very much enjoyed your elaboration and close analyses of Jack's abusive behavior and the family dynamics of all three of the Torrances!

Another freaking KILLER video, Rummy! So glad I found this channel.

the moment jack turns really nasty and decides to kill wendy and danny is directly after wendy says she wants to leave and take danny, jack says 'you mean leave the hotel?' in a calm voice, and she says 'yes', meaning leave him and taking his kid, this is exactly the kind of triggering incident that could make a domestic abuser go totally ott and kill his own wife and kid,

This is what I love most about this movie, it’s NOT what it seems at all. If you’ve ever known or lived with an alcoholic, and experienced the real life horror they can cause, you know there’s more going on here with Jack and his poor family. As I’ve said often, the alcoholic isn’t there, but we are. Mirrors are just one clue, seeing how he treats Wendy is another. You don’t need to see the best Horror flick ever made to understand that madness and addiction are a lethal combination, but it’s better than living through it yourself, that’s for fuck’s sure!

The ghosts are an expression of stephan king's vision. In the book, the hotel was incredibly dynamic to the point of the shrubs cut into animals shapes actual begin to move and attempt to block Danny's escape. Stephan king's vision was that of the super supernatural.

Its really interesting that you can perceive this movie either way separately or together. Thats some real genius

The "ghost" Dilbert that Jack interacts with in the movie is not the caretaker that killed his family. It is hinted that the "ghosts" he sees are from the 1920s, and that the first murder spree happened then. The other caretakers prior to Jack who committed violence were all hinted to be descendants of the people who were involved in the initial murders in the 1920s. That's why in between there are care takers that had no incidents for stretches of time. Only the descendants are "called back" by the hotel and are provoked to commit violent acts. The picture at the end hints that Jack is another decedent of someone who stayed at the hotel in the 1920s when the initial murders happened. This being said, I agree that the film makes it clear that the ghosts may all be in the characters heads, and that Jack needed no provoking from spirits, just an excuse as he already had resentment towards his family and was already established as being prone to violence. The mere suggestion of ghosts and past murders is just an extra push is an environment that gives him the freedom to delve into his madness. I think the film intentional makes these distinctions vague. I think the films intention is so that the audience never really knows which is the real story. Its the hotel haunted and luring back decedents to commit further atrocities? Or do those decedents have an inherited inclination to violence and the hotel provides them with an excuse? This is the question that arises in real life "haunted houses" like the Amityville house, which I think had a big inspiration for this story. Kubrick likes to explore ideas in his films and this film is basically just a big unanswered question. Are ghost and haunting real or are their manifestations of a suggestion? In order for this to work, the story has to work and make since as both. It is frustrating that the narrator dose not seem to understand the details of the "ghost story" that takes place in the film, and some of the attempt to debunk it, like that different Grady's and time periods, are misinformed. I do agree that with each supernatural occurrence, there is a hint that it could have been imagined, but the story makes since in both reals. The Hotel being haunted and Ghost scenario do work and makes since. So dose the story of the characters all having separate delusions due to the isolation and stress from their real family dynamic. Both stories work. That was the intention of the film.

How would he manifest seeing the twins if he didnt know the twins were murdered or even existed and why does his mom see the exact elevator blood scene as he did? I think the Wendy theory is the most plausible seeing as literally every paranormal scene that happens can be explained as her psychotic break by see missing furniture and items in all of them. Kubrick is to methodical to accidentally leave out props from scene to scene. But even on top of that i believe its much deeper. Its the Wendy theory and demonic persuasion mixed together. The occultic symbolism cant be explained by mere halucinations from a crazy woman. i recommend checking out the Wendy theory.

Fun fact: Eraserhead was his favorite film.

1 minute in and I absolutely love this guys narration style and take on the movie.

This is an amazing video! So a basic assumption I could make after watching your video is, whenever there’s a continuity error it suggests the scene has hallucinations. And the mirrors show it’s actually a reflection of their internal thoughts and feelings. I heard Stanley say Jack is surrounded by archetypes.

Next up: No Ghosts In Ghostbusters Followed by: No Nazis In Raiders Of The Lost Ark

I like this interpretation but for Jack being freed from the locked freezer. In my opinion, that is actually the _only_ instance of supernatural forces at work. Each of the family members were going mad in their own unique way, and that amplified the horror they "witnessed" in the hotel. But the slight 'pop' of a lock? Just a little nudge to keep them descending further into madness and death? That seems way more like a sinister, compulsive force than anything else that happens in the story.

Really nice video, I liked your analysis and perspective of the movie. I rewatched the movie just now so it's very fresh in my mind and I certainly agree with most of your points. I don't know if you mentioned this in a subsequent video, but another thing that stood out to me in terms of unreliable narration were the cuts that showed the passage of time. Basically, they happen all throughout the first half of the movie, showing the months and days pass. And then all stuff on the second half happens on a Wednesday. Including all the later stuff with Halloran, who apparently is so magical that he managed to get an abrupt flight from Miami to Colorado (despite being said on TV that flights are shutdown), and going through all that snowstorm up to this very remote hotel in practically a single day.

If you look at the table he is writing at there is a scrapbook of all the news stories of people who had died there previously. There were 2 Grady's one from 1970 and another from 1921, also the woman who drowned in 237 is in that book. The 1921 Grady had the twins that he describes in the bathroom. We also see a picture of Jack from 1921 where he is the center of attention in the Gold Room. This could indicate he was re-incarnated to come back and finish the hotels work for him. I do agree that he had gone mad and was imagining all the entities, and I think you are right about him abusing Danny.

What I understand is that it's a maze (small replica in lobby), in a maze (hotel), in a maze (movie). While trying to make sense of it is really interesting not to say fascinating, it's also completely pointless. As viewers we can't find our way out of the maze and that's what was intended. Brilliant filmmaking!

I believe that Kubrick wanted us to be unsure. That is how I prefer it, so I neither believe or disbelieve. I only know that I enjoy this film whenever I watch it.

SOLID. And Haloren probably intuited (unconsciously) that this family would not endure the isolation, especially when the storm had them feeling truly locked in. Often people reporting special psychic abilities are actually just good at reading others but it's actually easier for them to believe the stories passed down from their grandmothers.

Early on in the movie when Danny is talking with Tony he says “do you think Dad will get the job?” And Tony says “he already did, he’s going to call in a few minutes to let your mom know” or something like that. The message is clear right there that he really is psychic.

15:02 Danny is wearing a different outfit with the injury than the last scene he was in with Jack.

Kubrick left it ambiguous for a reason. I hate all you people who think "I've got it" lol Kubrick was a genius just enjoy it

This was a good watch, I really love when people are passionately excited about the media/art they love. Personally, I don't think it even MATTERS. Whether the ghosts are in the character's heads, or real within the context of the film, it's like, what's the difference? Doesn't everyone have darkness in their secret minds? Doesn't everyone carry ghosts inside them? Or yes, it could be supernatural ghosts affecting the darkness that's already in Jack. It's still terrifying to see the deterioration of this family in the isolation of a hulking, winter hotel. Great videos, love your work.

22:14. That moment when you're casually listening and then - BANG - the analysis is so spot on that casually listening is no longer possible. Immersion incoming!

Only 10 minutes in, and I’m totally disagreeing. First off, Danny was speaking to Tony before his dad hurt him. Secondly, the visions of Danny screaming and the elevator blood…it’s not just a manifestations of his feelings. His mother is the one to ‘see’ the blood…and his screaming was due to a death of a man he did not yet know.

I honestly just thought that the entire family began to suffer from cabin fever and started to have hallucinations.

A possibly important thing to consider is that The Shining is basically an homage to Poe. The original novel starts off with a quote from Masque of the Red Death, that same story inspired the ballroom stuff in the Overlook, and on a very basic level, the plot is similar to Fall of the House of Usher. In House of Usher, the building is presented as if it could be alive somehow, it's unclear if it's haunted or if the characters are just going insane, and at the end, it collapses in on itself. Seeing how King's fascinated with supernatural fiction, it makes sense that he likes the perspective of the place being haunted. So, it's also possible that Kubrick picked up on the inspiration from Poe and the ambiguity in House of Usher, thus making the film itself open to interpretation. I'm sure he at least noticed the book's connection to Poe, knowing how detail-obsessed he was. But hey, just a thought.

Simply put, the shining is a story about abuse, both in the micro and in the macro. One might even lean towards the analysis that it includes references to the broad destruction of aboriginal peoples. It has been suggested that even King is playing out his own childhood abuse thematically in nearly all his works. Great breakdown, much appreciated POV. - edited to add, may I suggest that the meaning behind the photo of Jack at the party at the end of the film references the 'reincarnation' of abuse throughout generations. It is passed on generation to generation and as the photo is in the past, it references the macrocosm of abuse - which does not end.

Love that you're doing a commentary on the Shinning. Happy Halloween good friend!

"Doc" is seen wearing Bugs Bunny pajamas early on. "What's up doc?"

May I ask where you obtained that behind the scenes footage of The Shining (from 0:58 to 1:16)? It’s not in Vivian’s documentary. Where is that from? Thanks

I love these "there are no ghosts in the Shining Theory" because it adds to the re-watchability of the film. There are just as many clues that Jack suffers from substance abuse (addiction) and depression that foreshadow his mental instability and breakdown. Danny most likely has PTSD (from abuse) and anxiety (fear of his father)...and may have inherited schizophrenia from his father. Only on the surface level (or face value) that we see ghosts. Perhaps certain/extreme cases of mental illness and seeing apparitions/ghosts are one in the same. Great video...Now I'm gonna go watch the movie for the 20th time.

An explanation why props are missing or placed is because the movie IS us THE AUDIENCE viewing the novel jack is writting based on the story Ullman told him. His movie begans where he gets the idea (staring at the maze). There are points when the novel and reality take turns on screen. Another variation of this theory is that danny and wendy legit go crazy there because of isolation of wendy and danny shinning. Jack is aware of shinning powers from reading on the subject so he adds it to dannys character inspired by danny having toni imaginary friend. Jack changed carles to Grady in his novel to protect the privacy of the guy.

That was quite a stretch when you quoted "well he looks like a "Doc."

this is something i have always considered when watching this, i'm glad you go in depth about it here this is spot on .

When Danny sees the open door of 237, he first says "Mom?" Nope. Dad. And Dad lost his temper.

Do you think the original ending that Kubrick cut from the film post release would have made a difference? Where Wendy was visited in the hospital by Ullman and told they didn't find jack's body?

My god was just watching your twin peaks ,is it future or past video ,now this .FANTASTIC

This movie has so many clips -my ribs hurt from laughing so hard. When Wendy comes bouncing into the huge “office” to interrupt his typing with…”it’s supposed to snow tonight honey.” “Well what do you want me to do about it..?” Haha. Wendy is so bubbly chirping 19:40 So supportive and all 20:42 Hahaha. This is an exaggeration of a match not made in Heaven.

The man in the bear outfit sucking off the other man is Wendy's realisation that Jack has been abusing Danny. We see Danny with a big stuffed bear earlier in the movie.

But how does Danny know about Room #237, when he's eating ice-cream in the kitchen with the Cook he asks about it? Danny was not informed of that room by anyone. The only way someone knows a secret is by seeing it or being told it. If nobody told Danny about room#237 and Danny never saw what happened in room #237 how does he know about it? If Danny found out about room #237 by reading the cooks mind, then the Shining powers have to be real. If the "Shinig" narrative is real then the Ghosts have to be real as well.

We’re about as close to settling this debate as we are whether or not Deckard is a replicant.

Until now I never knew about the end-of-credits bit. I can't believe that all these times I've watched the movie I never watched till the end.

The Rummy's Corner guy! I'm glad that you're branching off and doing more than just boxing analyzing! I enjoy how detailed your boxing analysis have always been consistent in upcoming fights and for boxers in general. You have brung that same mentality when analyzing movies as well. And even though I disagree with your "no ghost theory" about The Shining. I have to admit that I will look at the classic from a different perspective when watching it in the future, because you certainly pointed out some interesting things! Keep up the excellent work!!

Whenever one uses declarative, unequivocal statements of FACT about a work that trades almost exclusively in ambiguity, one not only sets about be-clowning oneself, but also missing the depth and richness of the work. While it’s true that Kubrick made a lot out of the presence of mirrors during the encounters with ghosts to conflate the idea that they are as much manifestations of the psychological states of the characters as they are of residual spirits, there’s quite a lot here that’s simply reductionist. For one thing, “the shining” isn’t mind reading, it’s telepathic communication. Halloran doesn’t know Danny’s favorite flavor is chocolate because Danny never TOLD him it was. The same applies to every other so called “fail” on Halloran’s part. You’ve really missed the boat on that one. Kubrick himself is on record as having believed in the possibility of ESP (which may indicate he didn’t think it was technically supernatural, but that’s beside the point). Additionally you’re not accounting for the scrapbook subplot, which was shot but cut for time. All the ghosts referenced in the film were historical figures from The Overlook’s past, especially the woman in room 237, which flies in the face of the idea that Danny or Wendy could have imagined them without also having read the scrapbook. Cutting this material out left the ghosts more enigmatic and unexplained, but the film was conceived and shot with this in mind, so it’s overly convenient to use its absence as a FACT supporting your thesis. I could go on. There’s a lot you’ve missed. But one final point is that Kubrick said the ending “suggests reincarnation.” So whether you like that or not, it’s something that was at least in his mind. The Shining is ultimately too rich, strange and interesting to be reduced like this.

I’ve always seen the reflections for Jack, however whilst watching this I noticed for the first time that when Wendy is seeing the ghosts she’s actually holding the knife up high at face level which again is acting as a reflection whenever she sees the ghosts!

i feel stupid for never noticing that the previous caretaker had a different first name, and that the two girls werent even twins oh my god

Nice work! I really like the way you did that ending! I agree with you on the subject here! Very impressive!