This scene from The Shining was filmed 148 times and this is a Guinness record!

It goes without saying that Stanley Kubrick’s films were always meticulously made. And the gaps between releases in his work testify to this: the three years between 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968 and A Clockwork Orange in 1971. Barry Lyndon followed in 1975, four years later, then another five. It aired before The Shining came out. Released in 1980. As for his iconic Full Metal Jacket, it remained in production for seven years, and his last film, Eyes Wide Shut, was not released until 1999 (albeit posthumously), twelve years after his last project.

In other words, nothing is left to chance in Kubrick’s filmmaking, and the filmmaker is known for believing in achieving perfection through repetition, which promotes emotional authenticity. And while some of the scenes in his films are notorious for requiring multiple takes—for example, Dr. Bill Hartford (Tom Cruise Eyes closed) walks through a door, a door the actor had to walk through 95 times before the director was satisfied – none of which come close to one of the scenes in this film… and the Guinness World Record for “Most Shots of a Scene with Dialogue” goes to… shines 148 takes!

A simple but decisive scene

The scene in question is a pivotal moment in the film, where Dick Halloran (Scatman Crothers) explains “The Flash” – his gift of telepathic clairvoyance – to young Danny Torrance (Danny Lloyd). At the beginning of the five-minute scene, Dickie explains to the little boy how he and his grandmother could talk without speaking, a special gift he called “the glow”. Danny then confesses to her that he has the same gift, but that “Tony”—the presence that talks to him in his sleep—told him not to tell him about it. Dick realizes that “Tony” is Danny’s way of finding out about his gift and asks if “Tony” ever told him about the Overlook Hotel.

When Danny asks if the hotel is bad, Dick tells him that bad things did happen at the hotel and that the marks are definitely there. Danny then asks questions about room 237. Dick, clearly restless, unconvincingly replies that there’s nothing in room 237…but not to go there.

This is one of the most important scenes in the film: a simple explanation of the “lights” for Danny and, therefore, for the audience. Dick is presented as a mentor but also a warning voice, while Danny is seen as a kid who knows a deeper truth about the Overlook than he lets on – a moment perfectly played by both actors, with emotion, nostalgia and fear. , and the other asks sharp questions, to which he already knows the answers.

Simple but decisive, it’s understandable that it took a few to get the scene just right – especially since it involves a child. But 148 times… no one expected that!

Actors need testing

However, this scene is not the only one from Kubrick’s iconic film that required several takes. For example, the one where the camera zooms in on the face Scatman Crothers He repeated it more than 60 times in his room. The scene was hard for the latter, who even came to tears. However, Shelly Duvall had it worse. The most traumatic moment for the actor during filming was the staircase scene, which was finally finished after 127 takes.

“It was a difficult scene, but it turned out to be one of the best scenes in the film“- said the actor in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2021. “I want to watch the movie again. I have not seen for a long time.“

However, the shooting took a toll on the actor, who had to cry on set for days on end – days with a grueling schedule, with the director shooting up to 16 hours a day, six days a week.

“ Do not stop anything until at least the 35th reception. Thirty-five takes, running, crying and carrying a little boy, it becomes difficult. and the full performance from the first rehearsal. Why is it?“, he explained Shelley Duvall.

He almost left the shoot due to stress. Stanley Kubrick And Jack Nicholson was especially tough on her, according to Anjelica Huston, who shared Nicholson’s life at the time.

It has been rightly asked whether Kubrick’s treatment of him was particularly cruel or abusive, Shelley Duvall replied: “He has this tendency in him. He really has it. But mostly I think it’s because at some point in the past people were like that with him. ”

He later added:He was very warm and friendly towards me. He spent a lot of time with me and Jack. He just wanted to sit and talk for hours while the team waited. And the team was like, “Stanley, we’ve got about 60 people waiting.” But it was a very important job.“

Kubrick’s version

However, in Kubrick’s eyes, he saw his actions not as a perfectionist, but as a director rehearsing a scene because the actors are not ready.

In a 1987 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, when asked about rumors that he did a hundred takes on a single scene, Kubrick didn’t deny it, but was honest. As he explains, if actors don’t prepare their lines, they can’t act. If they have to think about the words, they are not ready to work on the emotional aspect of the scene and it shows in their eyes. And so the scene repeats until that moment is finally reached.

However, as he points out in the same interview, the thirty turns into a hundred as told, giving it its reputation. “If I did a hundred takes of every scene, I would never finish the film.“

Kubrick is certainly not the only director to insist on multiple takes to get a scene right: take the example of Sam Raimi in Spider-Man (2002), who did 156 takes of the cafeteria scene without CGI! record Stanley Kubrich However, it remains impressive for the dialogue and the baby scene!

Shining is still available on VOD.