10 Horror Movie “Mistakes” That Were Totally Intentional

Stanley Kubrick's The Shining opens with a mesmerising titles sequence in which a series of gliding helicopter shots chart the Torrance family's journey to the Overlook Hotel.

Over the years, many have pointed out a "mistake" in the sequence, that the shadow of the helicopter is briefly visible to the right of the frame at one point.

But this isn't really a mistake considering that Kubrick actually knew it was there during filming, and is only visible when watching the film in a 4:3 ratio on the VHS and DVD releases.

Kubrick shot The Shining open matte, meaning that he filmed a larger frame than was ever intended to be shown to the audience.

For the film's theatrical release, the top and bottom of the frame were cropped out to create a cinematic 1.78:1 aspect ratio, ensuring the helicopter's shadow wouldn't have been visible.

But the VHS and DVD releases, being displayed in 4:3 open matte, restored the top and bottom of the frame, in turn introducing a "mistake" to the film which Kubrick evidently didn't give much of a damn about when shooting The Shining for theatrical presentation.

Thankfully the film's Blu-ray release restored the original theatrical aspect ratio, in turn ensuring the helicopter's shadow again wasn't visible, just as Kubrick intended.