‘The Shining’: The best movie to be nominated for a Razzie?
After decades of Hollywood honouring the best movies, performances and other cinematic achievements on an annual basis, the Golden Raspberry Awards were founded to do the opposite. Bringing both controversy and fun to awards season, the Golden Raspberry Awards, affectionately known as the Razzies, hands out accolades to the worst achievements the industry has to offer each year.
Over the years, the ceremony has awarded genuinely terrible films with accolades such as ‘Worst Picture’ and ‘Worst Actor’, many of which have deserved these lousy prizes. However, the Razzies have also handed out their fair share of awards or nominations, which have been widely criticised or were later retracted.
One of these was ‘Worst Actress’ for Shelley Duvall after she started in The Shining by Stanley Kubrick. The movie is considered a horror masterpiece by many, yet the Razzies were not sold on the auteur’s 1980 release. The movie was nominated for ‘Worst Director’ too, something that is hard to believe considering Kubrick’s status as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.
The fact that Kubrick was nominated for ‘Worst Director’ indicates that at the Razzies, no one is safe. He didn’t win the prize – the unfortunate award was given to Robert Greenwald for Xanadu instead. However, it still remains shocking that the Razzies could even consider Kubrick for the prize because The Shining is far from terrible. Many argue that it is one of the filmmaker’s best works – although his incredibly stacked oeuvre makes this a heated debate.
The Shining was adapted from Stephen King’s novel of the same name, but the author was not happy with Kubrick’s adaptation of his story. Additionally, contemporary critics were divided on the film, with some finding it to be too drawn-out and disconnected from its source material and audience. Others were impressed by the tense and claustrophobic atmosphere created by Kubrick, alongside the breathtaking visuals, Jack Nicholson’s deranged performance, and Wendy Carlos’ haunting score.
Duvall’s portrayal of Wendy Torrance received the most backlash out of anything in the film, with some believing her to be acting too over-the-top. The Razzies’ nomination of Duvall seemed wholly unnecessary, and we’re pleased that she didn’t win (the prize was actually given to Brooke Shields for The Blue Lagoon). Duvall’s performance in The Shining is simply perfect for the role. As a woman forced to watch her husband turn into an axe-wielding psychopath, scared for the safety of her family, Wendy’s wild screams and exhausted face convey this pain and fear completely realistically.
It wasn’t until 2022 that the Razzies withdrew Duvall’s nomination, citing the fact that during production, the actor was put under immense pressure by Kubrick, who worked her to the bone and left her incredibly emotionally distressed. Filming became hell for Duvall, whose career was never the same after The Shining. Kubrick forced her to cry on set every single day, demanding takes over and over until she could physically perform no longer. Thus, the Razzies blamed Kubrick for Duvall’s ‘poor’ performance.
It is a shame that not everyone can recognise the brilliance of Duvall’s performance, which added complexity and emotional depth to Kubrick’s chilling horror masterpiece. Surely, The Shining is one of the greatest movies to have ever been nominated by an organisation set on awarding the worst achievements of the film industry.
