The wildly ambitious 1,396-page compendium dedicated to Stanley Kubrick’s classic adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining is finally back in stock. This two-volume hardcover set has been very difficult to find since first going up for preorder late last summer. Though Amazon’s listing now says the box set was published in March, some lucky fans received their copies last fall near its original publication date. The important detail: As of May 6, Amazon estimates orders will be delivered in about a week.
If you’re interested in adding Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining to your bookshelf, you might not want to wait too long. Earlier this week, Amazon estimated a one- to two-month wait for delivery. Produced by luxury art book publisher Taschen, the compendium is packed with writings from some of Hollywood’s biggest directors, behind-the-scenes details on the film’s production, and more.
$125
This massive 1,396-page, two-volume set was edited by Lee Unkrich, the Oscar-winning director of Pixar films Toy Story 3 and Coco, and co-director of Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., and Finding Nemo.
The first book in the collection features written reflections on the film and its importance by author J.W. Rinzler with a foreword by acclaimed director Steven Spielberg. You’ll also find insights from cast and crew members based on hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews with the cast and crew.
The second book is a photo album featuring hundreds of photographs, concept art, letters, in-depth looks at deleted scenes, and never-before-seen production documents from Kubrick’s personal collection.
Both books were designed by M/M Paris to evoke the look and feel of The Shining’s set design and art direction.
Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining compendium originally launched in 2023 as an exclusive collector’s box set limited to just 1,000 copies for $2,500–it still sold out quickly with that price. The recent retail version was reconfigured into a slimmer, albeit still enormous, two-volume set.
You can take a closer look at the compendium in the slideshow below:
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Taschen’s new compendium isn’t the first book about Kubrick from the publisher. For a broader look at the filmmaker’s storied career, The Stanley Kubrick Archives is essentially reading. Two hardcover versions of this incredible compendium are available. A compact, budget-friendly edition with 861 pages is discounted to $21 (was $25) at Amazon. The premium version of The Stanley Kubrick Archives is a wide coffee table-style book with 544 pages. It contains the same content, but the images and text are larger. You can buy the high-end edition of The Stanley Kubrick Archives for $58 (was $100) at Amazon.
Fans of 2001: A Space Odyssey should check out Taschen’s 527-page tome chronicling the creation of Kubrick’s beloved adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s novel. In 2023, Taschen published a collection of Kubrick’s photography titled Through a Different Lens.
Stanley Kubrick books by Taschen
The Shining Series Book and Blu-ray Deals
The Shining is often cited as one of the best–and most important–horror films ever made. Adapted from King’s novel of the same name, the 1980 film stars Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrence, a recovering alcoholic and aspiring writer who takes a seasonal job as the winter caretaker for a mountain resort hotel. Jack’s wife Wendy–played by the late Shelley Duvall–and son Danny (Danny Lloyd) accompany him for the season, but what starts as a quiet winter vacation soon devolves into a psychological prison that drives Jack into a violent mental crisis fueled by seemingly supernatural forces within the hotel’s walls. While initial reviews at the time were mixed, The Shining has accrued widespread critical appeal in the years since and remains one of the most influential films in the horror genre. It’s also one of the most infamous movies ever made, with stories of a difficult–even oppressive–production adding to the movie’s mythos.
If you haven’t seen The Shining before–or the Mike Flanagan-directed sequel, Doctor Sleep–you can grab both on 4K Blu-ray for around $20 at Amazon. Kubrick’s film has many fans, but Stephen King isn’t one of them. The novelist rather famously hates the adaptation of his novel, which remains one of King’s best books today. His negative opinion of the movie likely contributed to his decision to write the 1997 miniseries that aired on ABC. Clocking in at roughly 4.5 hours across three feature-length episodes, the TV series received mixed reactions from critics and fans. In the years since, appreciation for Kubrick’s film has only grown, while the TV adaptation has largely been forgotten. But in 2024, Shout Factory revived The Shining TV series with a Blu-ray release. If you love The Shining, it’s definitely worth a watch.
If you haven’t read King’s The Shining and Doctor Sleep novels, we’ve included a list of deals below on hardcover and paperback editions, as well as a box set containing both novels and three other great King books. The Shining, in particular, is a masterful work of horror fiction. King published Doctor Sleep in 2013, over 25 years after The Shining. It had the truly unenviable task of following up a beloved classic. Unsurprisingly, Doctor Sleep isn’t as good as the original, but it’s still a great book and a worthy sequel.
Trade paperback editions of The Shining and Doctor Sleep are eligible for Amazon’s B1G1 50% off book sale this week.
Stephen King’s latest novel, Never Flinch, will be published by Scribner on May 27 and is available to preorder for a substantial discount.
