10 Troubled Shoots That Resulted In Great Films
2. Kubrick Spent A Whole Year Shooting The Film - The Shining
The Shining is considered one of the greatest horror films of all time, but the arduous filming process which Stanley Kubrick subjected his cast and crew was just as horrific as the film's subject matter.
Known for being a notorious perfectionist and for doing as many takes as necessary, Kubrick took over a year to complete filming. During this time, he continually antagonised his actors in an attempt to draw out the performances he wanted. In one instance, Kubrick had Jack Nicholson do the famous door chopping scene for three straight days. In another instance, Kubrick demanded actress Shelley Duvall to perform the infamous baseball bat scene 127 times. At the expense of her physical and mental health, this level of obsessiveness over detail did succeed in bringing out the hopelessness and desperation required for Duvall's character.
Kubrick was also a writer of the film and as such, the script was changing constantly. Nicholson eventually got so fed up over having to learn new lines everyday that he would just toss his new scripts in the trash and would resort to learning his lines just minutes before filming a scene.
But as with all of Kubrick's films, there was method to his madness and this madness gave the world an unforgettable horror classic.