The Shining opens with a discussion about space. Stuart Ullman (Barry Nelson), manager of the Overlook Hotel, notes that the location for the hotel was chosen because of its “seclusion” and further points out that the stretch of road leading up to the hotel is 25 miles in length, reinforcing the idea, along with the lengthy opening shots at the start of the film, that the hotel is sealed off and isolated from society. The audience, as a result, is immediately presented with an understanding of how this space is detached from civilization. There are also only a handful of scenes that take place outside of the walls over the hotel. It’s within this controlled space that Stanley Kubrick sets his film...
Excerpted from Interiors Volume 18. Find out more about the journal at their new site here.
