I love the opening credits to The Shining as they are simple and not too flashy. This is to be expected as the film was released in 1980, a time when technology and editing software was very limited.The colour of the credits is blue which could symbolise many things as an association with the colour blue is coldness, e.g. the cold feeling you get when watching The Shining, or the coldness of the weather in one of

the final scenes. The blue text credits are displayed in a scroll-up motion which adds to the simplicity of them. They are displayed against a panoramic view as the background. The music played during the opening sequence is an eerie sort of music, typical of a horror film. It immediately puts the audience on the edge of their seat as we know something bad will happen.

At first one may think that these opening credits aren’t appropriate for a film such as The Shining as the main theme of the film is isolation, and this credit sequence demonstrates the complete opposite of this by showing great views of mountain ranges, lakes, forests, long roads etc. that are large open spaces. The snow we see appear upon the

mountains towards the end of the sequence could represent the snow that appears towards the end of the film. However there is a sense of looming isolation as throughout the credits the camera follows one car the

whole way, and only at one point do we see another car pass, for the rest of the sequence it is alone in the middle of nowhere. This could be used to symbolise many things in the film such as; Jack Torrence being the driver of the car upon the long open road with choices of which way to go but with a great danger if he skids or has an accident symbolising that once at the hotel he becomes a man with choice in a

perilous situation. We do however see a couple of cars stationary as the main car passes. These could represent the people that Wendy Torrence contacts in the final scenes for help but isn’t successful. An alternative explanation is as the Torrence family are confined in the hotel by themselves throughout the film, and the only other person for them to communicate with is Dick Hallorann who is rarely about, especially towards the end of the film when he proves difficult to contact when needed. I also believe these credits are appropriate for the film as it is classed as a psychological horror, and I believe the credits add to the thinking that the audience must to do fully understand the film. Finally the credits end with an establishing shot of the hotel where the Torrence family will be staying and where the film is set.