Which Stanley Kubrick film is based on a novel by Stephen King?

The Stanley Kubrick film based on a novel by Stephen King is The Shining. Released in 1980, Kubrick’s psychological horror film adapts King’s 1977 novel and follows writer Jack Torrance, his wife Wendy, and their son Danny during an isolated winter at the Overlook Hotel.

Jack Nicholson plays Jack, while Shelley Duvall portrays Wendy and Danny Lloyd plays Danny. Danny’s psychic ability, known as “the shining,” connects him to the hotel’s disturbing history. Although the film uses the novel’s basic setting and characters, Kubrick and co-writer Diane Johnson made substantial changes to its tone, events, and characterization.

That difference is a frequent source of confusion: The Shining is unquestionably based on King’s novel, but it is not a close scene-for-scene adaptation. King publicly criticized Kubrick’s version, while the film was later reappraised as one of the greatest horror movies ever made. Its use of the Steadicam helped create the fluid tracking shots that follow Danny through the hotel and maze. In 2018, the film was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry.