Stanley Kubrick and Stephen King fans will want to check out the newly released limited editions of The Shining before Amazon sells out. The retailer just listed The Film Vault’s Steelbook Special Edition and Solus Steelbook Editions of the classic 1980 horror movie on 4K Blu-ray. The regular Steelbook Edition comes with an acetate slipcover and is currently priced at $48.86. The Steelbook Special Edition is $87.07 and includes the following extras: a themed cigar box, two posters, five character cards, and three behind-the-scenes cards. Each Special Edition has a holographic sticker numbered to 6,000, so don’t expect it to remain in stock for long.
The Shining’s Film Vault collectible editions were manufactured in the UK and come with region-free 4K Blu-ray and 1080p Blu-ray discs. Even though you’re ordering from Amazon’s US storefront, both editions are sold by Amazon Global Store UK with free shipping to the US. It looks like it could take roughly two weeks for orders to be delivered, but you’re getting free international shipping, which is quite nice.
Before these Amazon pages popped up, The Shining Film Vault editions were exclusive to Walmart in the US. Technically, they still are, as Amazon US isn’t “officially” selling either edition. Notably, the prices were higher at Walmart: $65 for the Steelbook and $100 for the Steelbook Special Edition. Walmart sold out at those prices in August. In early September, the retailer canceled a bunch of orders due to inventory shortages. The Special Edition never returned, but Walmart restocked the Steelbook Edition last week–and sold out again on launch day (October 3). Note: The prices are even higher now at Walmart due to resellers.
The Shining is one of two early ’80s horror films in The Film Vault Wave 3. The Shining launched alongside the 1982 supernatural horror film Poltergeist. Just like The Shining, Poltergeist is exclusive to Walmart in the US, but the retailer is sold out of both editions. Once again, though, Amazon has Poltergeist Special Edition Steelbook and Solus Steelbook in stock for $87.68 and $46.79, respectively. Both editions ship from Amazon UK and include 4K Blu-ray and 1080p Blu-ray discs. Walmart was charging $100 for the Special Edition and $65 for the Solus Steelbook.
The Shining and Poltergeist Film Vault limited editions come with region-free 4K Blu-ray and 1080p Blu-ray discs. All four releases were designed by Vice Press in partnership with Warner Bros. UK.
$87.07 (was $100) | Available Now
The Special Edition’s cigar box features a large silhouette of Jack Torrance with the fireman’s axe overlooking (sorry) the Overlook Hotel. On the back of the box is Jack’s typewriter with a half-finished page from the play he was working on–just kidding, it’s the same sentence over and over again: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”
The envelope that holds the eight art cards is a replica of the “All Work and No Play” page from the film. The five character cards showcase memorable shots from the movie. The other three cards are behind-the-scenes production photos, including one that shows Kubrick on the set.
The steelbook artwork is also featured on the new movie poster created by Matt Ferguson & Florey. The second poster is a retouched version of Saul Bass’ iconic promotional poster for The Shining’s 1980 theatrical release.
With the Special Edition, the acetate slipcover is for the cigar box instead of the steelbook case. The title and logos are printed on the slipcover, so you can choose to display the artwork with or without text.
- Steelbook with exclusive artwork
- Cigar Box with new artwork and Acetate slipcover
- Remove slipcover for text-free display box
- 2 Posters
- New artwork by Matt Ferguson & Florey of Vice Press
- Retouched version of Saul Bass’ 1980 Theatrical Poster
- Art Cards
- 5 Character Cards
- 3 Behind-the-Scenes Cards
- “All Work and No Play” Envelope for Art Cards
- Numbered Holographic Sticker
- The Shining on 4K Blu-ray
- The Shining & Special Features on Blu-ray
$48.86 (was $65) | Available Now
Since the Solus Steelbook Edition doesn’t include an outer box, the acetate slipcover goes directly on the steelbook case. Once again, the movie title and logos are printed on the transparent slipcover, so the case can be displayed with or without text. To be clear: This is the same steelbook case found in the Special Edition.
The new artwork by Matt Ferguson & Florey from Vice Press recreates the scene where Jack Torrance trudges through the hedge maze. The back cover features the bathroom door Danny wrote “Redrum” on in red lipstick. The interior artwork shows the hedge maze from the movie on both sides.
- Steelbook with exclusive artwork
- Acetate sleeve
- Remove sleeve for text-free display case
- The Shining on 4K Blu-ray
- The Shining on Blu-ray
The Shining’s 4K Blu-ray originally released in 2019 and remains one of the best restorations of a film from its era today. Displayed in native 4K (2160p), The Shining supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+. For audio, it has DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound.
The Shining Special Features
All 4K and Blu-ray editions of The Shining come with a handful of great special features. The 4K and 1080p discs include an optional commentary track with Kubrick’s biographer John Baxter and Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown. The other bonus features, including a behind-the-scenes documentary, are only found on the standard Blu-ray disc.
- Audio Commentary: John Baxter & Garrett Brown
- The Making of The Shining (35 minutes)
- View from the Overlook: Crafting The Shining (26 minutes)
- The Visions of Stanley Kubrick (15 minutes)
- Wendy Carlos, Composer (7 minutes)
If you’re unfamiliar with The Film Vault, it’s a series of collectible editions of classic movies from the Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures film catalogs. The Film Vault was created in 2022 by Vice Press, a UK company specializing in officially licensed movie collectibles and artwork. All of the 4K Blu-rays released by The Film Vault are region-free discs, but as a UK company, these limited-edition versions of all-time classics aren’t regularly found at US retailers.
The Shining & Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
Kubrick’s The Shining was adapted from Stephen King’s classic 1977 horror novel. King rather famously doesn’t like the adaptation. This eventually led to a new miniseries adaptation that aired on ABC in 1997. The miniseries is more faithful to the book, though it’s not as highly regarded. It’s definitely worth watching, though. Shout Factory released a The Shining miniseries on Blu-ray in 2024.
In 2013, Scribner published Doctor Sleep, a sequel to The Shining that stars a grown-up Danny Torrance. Mike Flanagan directed the 2019 film adaptation of Doctor Sleep. The novel and the movie are great, but neither reaches the same heights as the originals (unsurprisingly).
Both novels are available for cheap in hardcover and paperback at Amazon. The Shining’s trade paperback edition is on sale for $11.30 (was $20), while the vintage hardcover is $19.80 (was $45). Doctor Sleep, meanwhile, is only $13.78 in hardcover and $10.49 in paperback.
Stanley Kubrick fans have another 4K Blu-ray to look forward to. Eyes Wide Shut, the director’s final film, is joining The Criterion Collection on November 25.
$125 | 2-Book Hardcover Box Set (1,396 Pages)
If you are interested in a $100 edition of The Shining, it’s a safe bet that you or someone you know is a huge fan. As a massive fan myself, I can say that if I had to choose between a fancy new edition of The Shining on 4K Blu-ray or the recently released compendium about the film, I would pick the compendium without thinking twice.
Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is a two-volume, 1,396-page box set that offers a staggeringly comprehensive look at the making of the film. This beautiful slipcase collection was designed by M/M Paris and published by Taschen earlier this year.
Written by J.W. Rinzler and edited by Pixar director Lee Unkrich, this compendium is based on hundreds of hours of interviews and mountains of investigative research. The first book, which includes an introduction by Steven Spielberg, chronicles every step of the production. When I received my copy earlier this year, I was astounded by the level of detail provided throughout the roughly 900-page hardcover book. If there’s a more thorough making-of book about a single movie, I would be shocked. This book is nearly as long as all three volumes in Rinzler’s The Making of Star Wars series, which is also fantastic.
The box set also comes with a gorgeous scrapbook filled with a wide array of photographs, artwork, and documents related to the production of The Shining.
To put it simply: This compendium is the best collection of behind-the-scenes material–across any medium–I’ve ever read.
Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is in stock at Amazon for $125, but it’s unknown how many copies the publisher printed and whether it will receive additional print runs. Amazon sold out when preorders opened last summer, and the box set remained out of stock until a few months ago.
