The Shining's Iconic Scene Took 127 Takes

The intense and now-iconic scene in Stanley Kubrick's *The Shining*, where a deranged Jack Torrance hacks through a bathroom door, is a testament to the director's infamous perfectionism. While the specific take-count for the "Here's Johnny!" moment is part of movie lore, the baseball bat scene on the staircase holds the Guinness World Record for the most takes with spoken dialogue, at 127. This relentless pursuit of the perfect shot was characteristic of Kubrick, who was known for demanding dozens, or even hundreds, of repetitions for scenes, believing it stripped away artifice to reveal authentic performances. The process was grueling for the actors and crew, with the door in the axe scene having to be repeatedly rebuilt.

Jack Nicholson's chilling delivery of "Here's Johnny!" was an improvisation, a spontaneous addition that became one of the most memorable lines in horror history. He borrowed the phrase from the popular introduction of late-night host Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show." Interestingly, Kubrick, who had been living in England for some time, was not familiar with the American pop culture reference and nearly used a different take. The line's inclusion adds a layer of surreal, dark humor to the terrifying scene, as Jack Torrance's madness fully consumes him.

The emotional toll of Kubrick's methods was particularly harsh on actress Shelley Duvall, who played Wendy Torrance. The constant stress and emotionally draining repetitions of scenes, including the staircase sequence, left her in a state of genuine distress. Duvall reportedly experienced exhaustion, severe dehydration, and even hair loss due to the immense pressure of the role. Kubrick intentionally isolated her from the crew to heighten her on-screen performance of fear and hysteria. While some defend the director's techniques as a means to an artistic end, the experience left a lasting impact on Duvall, highlighting the extreme lengths to which Kubrick would go to achieve his singular vision.