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Stanley Kubrick's The Shining
In 1966 Stanley Kubrick told a friend that he wanted to make “the world’s scariest movie.” A decade later Stephen King’s The Shining landed on the director’s desk, and a visual masterpiece was born. This definitive compendium of the film that transformed the horror genre features hundreds of never-before-seen photographs, rare production ephemera from the Kubrick Archive, and extensive new interviews with the cast and crew. Collector’s Edition of 1,000 numbered copies.
- GenresFilm
1396 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
October 20, 2025
Before I knew The Shining under the name of The Shining, I knew it as The Shinning. The Simpsons parody, in the series’ fifth ‘Treehouse of Horror’ anthology, was one of my most rewatched episodes as a kid. Unconsciously, the structure and imagery of Kubrick’s film - the sudden title captions, “here’s Johnny,” the axe, the psychic groundskeeper, the hedge maze - were already firmly embedded in my head by the time I was about nine years old.
When I was about twelve, I finally got to watch the film at a friend’s house, outside the jurisdiction of a mum who had no intention of letting me watch it. By this point, its reputation had become almost mythical in my mind; as potent and woven into my perspective as any fairy tale. Watching it felt like being able to listen to a recording of the first time an ageless story like The Three Little Pigs was told. It was the origin of something which felt ancient to me - even if it was just under thirty years’ old at the time.
It differed from the idea I had in my head of it though - it had stranger cadences than films I was used to, with its slow tracking steadicam shots, and suggestive, uncanny spectres that I couldn’t explain like traditional ghosts. Instead of solving the questions I’d had for years, it only deepened what I saw as its mysteries.
I think some of the rather more outlandish thinking around the film comes from this mythical status - its imagery is so strange and primal that it digs into something deep in the psyche of young people who watch it. The legends about Kubrick’s rigorous working method amongst film enthusiasts down the years certainly have given its background a charge of intrigue too.
Resultantly, a culture of conspiracy has developed, inferring Kubrick to be a troubled genius who crafted his films as elaborate puzzles to be solved (one theory even goes as far as to suggest it’s all a hidden confession that he faked the moon landing!). During its elevation to cult status, elements of the film which supposed to remain enigmas, have become the victims of detectives eager to impose meaning.
Lee Unkrich’s book then is a long overdue dive into the production of this film and its conundrums, dispelling the more outlandish theses and cutting through the myth of Kubrick to the man himself. Most importantly, it’s a compulsive account of escalating challenges and hardships the crew faced, and attentive to every member of the production team, not just the auteur.
It details Kubrick’s initial rigorous plotting of the film with co-writer Diane Johnson (and their rather uncharitable, snobby attitude towards the King source material), right through to the final snips being made as the film went out to the cinemas. The day-by-day granularity is unprecedented, giving rich life and character to everyone from the head of lighting to the assistant editor.
Astonishing feats of construction are outlined, as the production builds elaborate replicas of American hotel interiors and facades in England at Elstree Studios, bringing the chill of the Rocky Mountains just down the road from London. Camera tech is pioneered, with the invention of Garrett Brown’s smooth-moving steadicam and Frances McGillaway’s astonishingly ambitious aerial shooting.
Beyond the big leaps, small details of production life are the real texture of the book; there’s outlines of squabbles with worried insurers, Scatman Crowthers’ song for Kubrick he wrote when wrapping, Jack Nicholson’s habit of sleeping on his limo floor after a night out, and even the inside scoop on Kubrick’s coffee of choice (Algerian, extra hot, FYI).
Stories about Kubrick’s obsessive tendencies are frequent too, but if anything they discourage the conspiracies. The intent behind them is clearly in the service of showing things that he wanted an audience to see, not hiding clues from them. It was making sure each take was the best one of his actors, it was ensuring Danny’s clothes precisely matched those of a typical American schoolchild, it was guaranteeing that the Overlook resembled its inspiration at the Timberline Lodge to the centimetre. Unless he managed to keep a secret from his deeply attentive crew, there is zero evidence it was an elaborate code to be cracked.
As music editor Gordon Stainforth observes in the book: “[t]he vast majority of Stanley's creative decisions were made simply on the basis of whether they felt right, and only very rarely for some deeper arcane, intellectual reason. He was very much more of an intuitive artist in the way he worked than an analytical intellectual.”
The book works as such a supreme celebration of The Shining and filmmaking because it looks at what is evident rather than chasing the shadows (or ghosts) on the Overlook’s walls. It focuses on its tight, working-class, crew of mechanics and artists who fought through often punishing working conditions to bring together images and sets that have embedded themselves deep into the public subconsciousness. Despite the infamy of Kubrick’s fervent auteurism, it is maybe the best celebration of the collaboration of filmmaking I’ve read.
When I was about twelve, I finally got to watch the film at a friend’s house, outside the jurisdiction of a mum who had no intention of letting me watch it. By this point, its reputation had become almost mythical in my mind; as potent and woven into my perspective as any fairy tale. Watching it felt like being able to listen to a recording of the first time an ageless story like The Three Little Pigs was told. It was the origin of something which felt ancient to me - even if it was just under thirty years’ old at the time.
It differed from the idea I had in my head of it though - it had stranger cadences than films I was used to, with its slow tracking steadicam shots, and suggestive, uncanny spectres that I couldn’t explain like traditional ghosts. Instead of solving the questions I’d had for years, it only deepened what I saw as its mysteries.
I think some of the rather more outlandish thinking around the film comes from this mythical status - its imagery is so strange and primal that it digs into something deep in the psyche of young people who watch it. The legends about Kubrick’s rigorous working method amongst film enthusiasts down the years certainly have given its background a charge of intrigue too.
Resultantly, a culture of conspiracy has developed, inferring Kubrick to be a troubled genius who crafted his films as elaborate puzzles to be solved (one theory even goes as far as to suggest it’s all a hidden confession that he faked the moon landing!). During its elevation to cult status, elements of the film which supposed to remain enigmas, have become the victims of detectives eager to impose meaning.
Lee Unkrich’s book then is a long overdue dive into the production of this film and its conundrums, dispelling the more outlandish theses and cutting through the myth of Kubrick to the man himself. Most importantly, it’s a compulsive account of escalating challenges and hardships the crew faced, and attentive to every member of the production team, not just the auteur.
It details Kubrick’s initial rigorous plotting of the film with co-writer Diane Johnson (and their rather uncharitable, snobby attitude towards the King source material), right through to the final snips being made as the film went out to the cinemas. The day-by-day granularity is unprecedented, giving rich life and character to everyone from the head of lighting to the assistant editor.
Astonishing feats of construction are outlined, as the production builds elaborate replicas of American hotel interiors and facades in England at Elstree Studios, bringing the chill of the Rocky Mountains just down the road from London. Camera tech is pioneered, with the invention of Garrett Brown’s smooth-moving steadicam and Frances McGillaway’s astonishingly ambitious aerial shooting.
Beyond the big leaps, small details of production life are the real texture of the book; there’s outlines of squabbles with worried insurers, Scatman Crowthers’ song for Kubrick he wrote when wrapping, Jack Nicholson’s habit of sleeping on his limo floor after a night out, and even the inside scoop on Kubrick’s coffee of choice (Algerian, extra hot, FYI).
Stories about Kubrick’s obsessive tendencies are frequent too, but if anything they discourage the conspiracies. The intent behind them is clearly in the service of showing things that he wanted an audience to see, not hiding clues from them. It was making sure each take was the best one of his actors, it was ensuring Danny’s clothes precisely matched those of a typical American schoolchild, it was guaranteeing that the Overlook resembled its inspiration at the Timberline Lodge to the centimetre. Unless he managed to keep a secret from his deeply attentive crew, there is zero evidence it was an elaborate code to be cracked.
As music editor Gordon Stainforth observes in the book: “[t]he vast majority of Stanley's creative decisions were made simply on the basis of whether they felt right, and only very rarely for some deeper arcane, intellectual reason. He was very much more of an intuitive artist in the way he worked than an analytical intellectual.”
The book works as such a supreme celebration of The Shining and filmmaking because it looks at what is evident rather than chasing the shadows (or ghosts) on the Overlook’s walls. It focuses on its tight, working-class, crew of mechanics and artists who fought through often punishing working conditions to bring together images and sets that have embedded themselves deep into the public subconsciousness. Despite the infamy of Kubrick’s fervent auteurism, it is maybe the best celebration of the collaboration of filmmaking I’ve read.
December 28, 2024
Oddly underwhelming. With the amount of material in the archives, this approach leaves out the vast levels of research done for the film. From scouting material, early versions of the hotel, copious pastes from Native North and Meso American art. Crucially absent are the photos of the models with Kubrick's sharpie questions for the HODs. Certain things aren't carefully explained, there are typos (Lowes is there instead of Loews, Jeffrey instead of Geoffery). For such an exorbitant use of pagecount, we'd expect a more thorough visual guide to the process. Instead there's much more about the actor's personal lives and images to back this up. Kubrick obviously plotted this film graphically and visually in subtle, careful ways; for this to be a knockout a more archivist led approach needed to edit the material. Instead it's left to happenstance.
October 10, 2025
Incredible deep dive, vividly covering the painstaking production, post production, marketing and release, with a balanced portrait of Kubrick and all the major players. Among the many stunning images: Kubrick grinning in front of the Elstree stage that had burned down the day before. The savage reviews from the time of release are memorably balanced by Janet Maslin enthusing "it may be the first movie that ever made its audience jump with a title that simply says 'Tuesday'".
May 18, 2025
Astoundingly detailed, meticulously researched, filled with documents and photographs, Ranzler and Unkrash’s 900-page, two volume chronicle of the making of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is the definitive movie book of our time.
September 20, 2025
This mammoth two-volume set is not only the final word on Kubrick’s The Shining,but also one of the finest, most comprehensively research and richly illustrated books I’ve ever read about the making of a movie. As the last published major project undertaken by the great JW Rinzler (RIP), it’s a compulsively readable 900-page beat-by-beat account of Kubrick’s similarly painstaking work on this masterpiece. An expensive but essential purchase for all cinephiles.
October 20, 2025
Una verdadera locura, tanto el precio como el contenido. Una preciosidad única para los amantes de The Shining.
January 26, 2025
like 20% of this book is about UK child actor laws but 80% is peak. not enough about the postproduction process!!
July 19, 2023
Goodreads hasn't yet properly entered the data. The authors are J. W. Rinzler and Lee Unkrich, and this is the limited-edition collector's set. (There should be a trade version in the future.)
This Taschen box weighs, as Lee Unkrich told me, "as much as a seven-year old child". Full disclosure: I know Lee and worked with him for decades at Pixar.
It's impossible to exaggerate the love and care that went into both the book and the ephemera that come with it in that giant yellow box. It took a decade to make, and it shows. Honestly, now that I've absorbed it, I'm impressed that it cost only $1,500.
This is the absolutely definitive story of the making of The Shining and effectively the best biography of Stanley Kubrick that you're going to find. Kubrick emerges from the pages as a human being rather than a reputation. There are many amazing and even touching stories from bringing the film to the screen.
If you have any interest at all in the film, in Kubrick, or in how movies are made then consider this required reading. You may have to wait for these boxes to sell out before the trade version becomes available. If you don't have the one-and-a-half large, it'll be worth the wait. If I could give it six stars I would.
This Taschen box weighs, as Lee Unkrich told me, "as much as a seven-year old child". Full disclosure: I know Lee and worked with him for decades at Pixar.
It's impossible to exaggerate the love and care that went into both the book and the ephemera that come with it in that giant yellow box. It took a decade to make, and it shows. Honestly, now that I've absorbed it, I'm impressed that it cost only $1,500.
This is the absolutely definitive story of the making of The Shining and effectively the best biography of Stanley Kubrick that you're going to find. Kubrick emerges from the pages as a human being rather than a reputation. There are many amazing and even touching stories from bringing the film to the screen.
If you have any interest at all in the film, in Kubrick, or in how movies are made then consider this required reading. You may have to wait for these boxes to sell out before the trade version becomes available. If you don't have the one-and-a-half large, it'll be worth the wait. If I could give it six stars I would.
October 21, 2025
Maybe the single most essential document of a film's production ever compiled? An exhaustive amount of research went into this thing, with the nearly 900-page end result almost being too much of a good thing.
Reading through this was a luxurious experience, and I learned so many things I didn't know about the film and its production, while also gaining an even deeper respect and admiration both for Kubrick himself and for the sheer process of filmmaking itself. Everyone invested their entire lives into this production - some of them for literal years of their lives - and it's still largely a miracle it turned out to be a masterpiece.
Couldn't even begin to start listing the discoveries and bits of trivia gleaned throughout, I'm just glad this thing exists. Every movie should have a book about its production that's this richly detailed and downright archaeological in its pursuit of understanding.
Can't recommend this highly enough. In awe. Can't wait to revisit the film again either.
Reading through this was a luxurious experience, and I learned so many things I didn't know about the film and its production, while also gaining an even deeper respect and admiration both for Kubrick himself and for the sheer process of filmmaking itself. Everyone invested their entire lives into this production - some of them for literal years of their lives - and it's still largely a miracle it turned out to be a masterpiece.
Couldn't even begin to start listing the discoveries and bits of trivia gleaned throughout, I'm just glad this thing exists. Every movie should have a book about its production that's this richly detailed and downright archaeological in its pursuit of understanding.
Can't recommend this highly enough. In awe. Can't wait to revisit the film again either.
April 23, 2025
For accuracy's sake, I read the "affordable" version. If I took into account the fact that I first heard of this book ooooh around 2013 (?) and then it was released for an astronomical amount and then we had to wait even longer ... the book wouldn't have gotten as high a rating.
But you review what you get. And this is in line with Rinzler's best works (Making of Star Wars, etc.). You get a sense more of Kubrick than the film, which is always fascinating. Would I have liked more discussion of movie vs book, etc? Sure. But this labor of love is 100% worth the read for any fans of the movie, movie making, Kubrick, or the burden of genius.
Oh, but why no mention of the Shinning? You do Ready Player One but not the Shinning? Maybe they didn't want to get sued. That's Willy's time.
But you review what you get. And this is in line with Rinzler's best works (Making of Star Wars, etc.). You get a sense more of Kubrick than the film, which is always fascinating. Would I have liked more discussion of movie vs book, etc? Sure. But this labor of love is 100% worth the read for any fans of the movie, movie making, Kubrick, or the burden of genius.
Oh, but why no mention of the Shinning? You do Ready Player One but not the Shinning? Maybe they didn't want to get sued. That's Willy's time.
September 9, 2023
This is the most fun I’ve had reading in years. The authors’ research is awe inspiring. The scrapbook that comes included with this edition is so huge it must be read on a large table, like the one it’s sitting on in the movie next to Jack’s typewriter. In addition, a reproduction of the continuity script is included, including the different page colors for various (and numerous) last minute on the set revisions. A very expensive book for those, like myself, obsessed with Kubrick and this film in particular. It was a tough decision to spend this much on a book, but after reading it, it’s worth every penny.
July 30, 2025
With every passing chapter, I hoped for insight into the meaning behind the stark imagery encapsulated in the film, and felt disappointed when there wasn't much to be found. I came to the realization that the impact of this book is really from the sum of its parts. The writing here goes into depth about nearly every film sequence and its related behind the scene operation. For anyone willing to pick up a nearly 1,000 page book about its innerworkings, you likely already know a lot of the stories.
As it sticks to the facts, there is little drama that unfolds. It's levelheaded with hardly any speculation or room for interpretation. Most of what you learn here is a well-rounded profile on Kubrick's personality and a directorial style focusing on precise synchronization and technical minutiae.
What is surprising is how many decisions were made based on how much it made Kubrick laugh. Based on my personal viewing trajectory, it seems this intended effect only shows itself after multiple viewings. Typically it goes, first viewing: "seems a little dry, but I appreciate the technical complexity". Second viewing: "Why can't I look away?". Third viewing: "This is actually hilarious and mesmerizing."
While many fan interpretations likely over complicate things, its impossible not to see the care in Kubrick's work and its continued, timeless ability to transfix viewers. This book definitively and objectively lays out the craftsmanship on full display with a wide array of relevant images and detailed, human stories.
MS: Kubrick is annoyed at the unintended contrast in sounds made from Danny tricycling from carpet to hardwood. Werner Herzog happens to visit the set at this time and tells Kubrick it sounds cool. There are many similar minor, incidental interactions that happen over the course of the filmmaking process that prove that Kubrick was actually more receptive than his hard-nosed reputation.
As it sticks to the facts, there is little drama that unfolds. It's levelheaded with hardly any speculation or room for interpretation. Most of what you learn here is a well-rounded profile on Kubrick's personality and a directorial style focusing on precise synchronization and technical minutiae.
What is surprising is how many decisions were made based on how much it made Kubrick laugh. Based on my personal viewing trajectory, it seems this intended effect only shows itself after multiple viewings. Typically it goes, first viewing: "seems a little dry, but I appreciate the technical complexity". Second viewing: "Why can't I look away?". Third viewing: "This is actually hilarious and mesmerizing."
While many fan interpretations likely over complicate things, its impossible not to see the care in Kubrick's work and its continued, timeless ability to transfix viewers. This book definitively and objectively lays out the craftsmanship on full display with a wide array of relevant images and detailed, human stories.
MS: Kubrick is annoyed at the unintended contrast in sounds made from Danny tricycling from carpet to hardwood. Werner Herzog happens to visit the set at this time and tells Kubrick it sounds cool. There are many similar minor, incidental interactions that happen over the course of the filmmaking process that prove that Kubrick was actually more receptive than his hard-nosed reputation.
September 26, 2025
Stupendous. Rinzler's crowning epitaph on top of an already substantial and memorable body of work, here aided by research done by Lee Unkrich.
Anything & Everything related to the production/reception of the Kubrick film is pretty much here. The 'trade' edition ($125) is in two volumes - the red being the actual 'Making of' book and the brown being a 'replica Scrapbook' initially of a dropped subplot in the film - comprised of lots of BTS stills. The 'Making of' volume is also stuffed with photos and illustrations.
This is the 'King' of 'Making of THE SHINING' books; Centipede Press' STUDIES OF THE HORROR FILM: STANLEY KUBRICK'S THE SHINING becoming a close second.
Anything & Everything related to the production/reception of the Kubrick film is pretty much here. The 'trade' edition ($125) is in two volumes - the red being the actual 'Making of' book and the brown being a 'replica Scrapbook' initially of a dropped subplot in the film - comprised of lots of BTS stills. The 'Making of' volume is also stuffed with photos and illustrations.
This is the 'King' of 'Making of THE SHINING' books; Centipede Press' STUDIES OF THE HORROR FILM: STANLEY KUBRICK'S THE SHINING becoming a close second.
May 5, 2025
This was an incredible read for someone just such as my self. Into documentaries, filmmaking, art making, the shining (King’s, read it multiple times) and all of Kubrick’s movies that I have seen. I have all the enthusiasm for everything this thing might involve patience for, though it’s written incredibly entertainingly. It was a joy to read and I will pass it on to another. Go Taschen
Read
September 9, 2025Hard to review/rate this because this is less so a book and more so a mini-archival library. Every single microscopic detail you ever wanted to know (and then some) about the making of the movie The Shining is here. And frankly at times reading this was overwhelming. Only for diehard fans of the movie.
December 30, 2024
Excellent on many levels. But "The Art of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining" still needs to be published, I guess. Not nearly enough here on production design, art direction, sets, visual style, which is what I love about the movie. Still, a must-read anyway.
February 27, 2025
Bellissimo!!!
March 12, 2025
Just utterly stunning!
Every fan of the movie should have this!
Every fan of the movie should have this!
August 11, 2025
wow. This book was incredible. I learned so much about the making of this movie and so much about Stanley Kubrick and how his mind works in relation to his craft. Loved it.
August 11, 2025
incredible in-depth look at the making of one of my favorite films. a deep insight into Kubrick's mind. Highly recommend.
September 5, 2025
The best book about movies I've ever read.
January 24, 2025
A labyrinthine and all-encompassing literary re-enactment of the conception, gestation and outcome of the unique Kubrick's take on horror cinema. Designed as the red guide on hotels (or maybe the Jung's Red Book) placed on the Overlook manager Ullman's desk and the scrapbook found by Jack Torrance, the thickly compact volumes (a substantial distillation of the sturdier 2023 limited edition) do not only conjure two mysterious props, but together configure an engaging case study about the phenomenon of movie-making as a style of life and thinking. An addictive illustrated detective-story both casual readers and movie-buffs will be lured back into again and again, or, better to say, "forever and ever and ever".
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews