“I hadn’t thought of this”: how the disappointing response to ‘The Shining caught Jack Nicholson off-guard
In one of the most bizarre developments to ever befall an indisputable classic of cinema, The Shining received zero nominations from the Academy Awards but landed two from the Golden Raspberries.
While it’s not obligatory for any top-tier movie to be showered in adulation and trophies, the fact one of the greatest horror films in history hailing from one of the industry’s most respected auteurs ended up on the Razzies shortlist for ‘Worst Director’ is one that continues to boggle the mind more than 40 years on.
Shelley Duvall was on the list of nominees for ‘Worst Supporting Actress’, too, even though someone would have to travel far and wide to find anyone who wouldn’t call her turn as Wendy Torrance one of the most iconic performances the genre has ever seen. Stephen King was one of them, but he was never sold on Kubrick taking on The Shining from the beginning.
To put it lightly, the initial response was mixed. Kubrick was always known for being ahead of the curve, which meant many critics and casual viewers were left bemused rather than amazed. The Shining was haunting, existential, surreal, and deliberately maddening, which many at the time interpreted as being so atypical of early 1980s horror that it was rendered ineffective by default.
Of course, not every picture that attains classic status earns it on day one, but time has been very kind to The Shining nonetheless. Not only was it the only Kubrick film to be recognised by the Razzies, but it was the only movie he made between 1960’s Spartacus and 1999’s Eyes Wide Shut that didn’t earn so much as a single nomination from either the Oscars or the Golden Globes.
Everyone involved knew they’d made something special, even if it took the rest of the world a lot longer than expected to cotton onto the fact Kubrick had added yet another masterpiece to his collection. Nicholson understood the assignment given to him by his director, with Jack Torrance equally capable of being an intimidating force of nature and an exaggerated, darkly funny scene-stealer.
However, The Shining‘s status as a horror flick in the broadest sense didn’t fit within what was determined to be Kubrick’s established wheelhouse, which the leading man thought may have been an issue. “I wonder if the critics missed that element,” he reflected to Rolling Stone. “Or whether, I hadn’t thought of this, whether they felt the horror genre was somehow below Stanley?”
Balancing humour with horror has been commonplace for decades, but when Kubrick did it, Nicholson thought it was so unexpected nobody was sure how to react. “Maybe they wanted it to be one thing or the other,” he mused. “Maybe they thought the interrelationship of the two was somehow indecent.”
Thankfully, hindsight always tends to be 20/20, and the cold reception that first greeted The Shining eventually thawed in favour of the stellar reputation it enjoys to this day.
