THE SHINING one-sheet poster authentication

(on all images click on thumbnails for full-sized photos)

Based on a 1976 novel by Stephen King, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining opened nationwide May 23, 1980.  The movie went on to make $44 million at the boxoffice.  Even though it only made $44 million at the box  office (#14 that year, sandwiched between ‘Urban Cowboy’ and ‘Seems Like Old Time’), it remains one of the most revered horror movies of all time.  In 2001, the film was ranked 29th on AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Thrills list and Jack Torrance was named the 25th greatest villain on the AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Heroes and Villains list in 2003.

The poster artwork was designed by Saul Bass (yes, the Saul Bass of Vertigo fame).

Now for the little story.  I stumbled upon what looked like a mint rolled copy of the poster.  The color felt right, the paper felt right, it had all the NSS markings at the bottom center and right.  The folks at Hollywood Books and Posters, a famed poster store on Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, told me that they had received this poster as a late 80’s “studio” reprint.  Why would Warner Brothers have reprinted the poster, no one knew.  Now, keep in mind that the poster has no reprint markings.  So I took it home and compared it to my US folded original and my UK folded original.

This is what I found:

The reprint (left on the picture) is slightly smaller than the original (right on the picture).  The reprint is 27 by 40 9/16 inches.  The original measures 27 1/8 by 41 inches.  Also, the color is a little bit off on the reprint, with the original being a little brighter and yellower.

The title on the reprint is bolder, not as sharp as on the original.  Also, the original has a vertical bar before the 10, which the reprint lacks.

Again, the printing is not as clear on the reprint (left). The Gau logo is slightly fuzzy compared to the original.

Reprint on the left, US one-sheet in the middle, UK version on the right.

In the end, although I don’t know the actual provenance of this poster, two things remain certain:  It is out there and it is not an original 1980 poster.

Thierry