The Shining may be almost half a century old at this point (!), but the iconic film is still generating interest and intrigue all these years later. Case in point: the Stanley Kubrick Film Archive, along with the late director’s family estate, have certified a new documentary about the film, titled Shine On—The Forgotten Shining Location, per IndieWire. This will technically be the third documentary about the 1980 horror classic, after 2012’s Room 237 and Vivian Kubrick’s Making The Shining on BBC.
While most of the Overlook Hotel’s sets were thought to be destroyed, one last site apparently remains. “There have been so many rumors about some of the sets from The Shining still existing at Elstree Studios, but to actually find them and walk around them was like discovering a holy grail of film history,” Shine On director and producer Paul King said in a statement.
The film—which is narrated by Michael Sheen—features interviews with The Shining’s executive producer, Jan Harlan, art director, Les Tomkins, and Kubrick’s daughter, Katharina Kubrick, who did location research for the film. According to the documentary’s official synopsis, the interviewees will “revisit the studio locations and share their memories about a film frequently voted the best horror film of all time.”
“The production of The Shining has been well documented and analyzed, but this is a story which has never been told,” Katharina Kubrick also added in a statement. “Pivotal scenes from the film took place in these areas, so going back to them felt like stepping into the movie itself.”
The Shining has been in the headlines recently for a very different reason. Shelley Duvall, who played Wendy Torrance and whose complicated relationship with Kubrick has been well-documented, died last week at 75 years old. “For a person so charming and so likable—indeed lovable—he can do some pretty cruel things when you’re filming. Because it seemed to me, at times, that the end justified the means,” Duvall said of Kubrick in a 2001 interview. “I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. Why? Because of Stanley, and it was a fascinating learning experience. It was such intense work that I think it makes you smarter. But I wouldn’t want to go through it again.”
Shine On – The Forgotten Shining Location premieres Friday, July 26 (Kubrick’s birthday) at 11 a.m. PST/2 p.m. EST on the official Stanley Kubrick YouTube channel.