Fails the Bechdel test
The Shining
1980. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, written by Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick and Diane Johnson.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
11 women characters. 6 of them speak. -
No
2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 2 out of 3.
The film
After landing a job as an off-season caretaker, Jack Torrance, an aspiring author and recovering alcoholic, drags his wife Wendy and gifted son Danny to snow-covered Colorado's secluded Overlook Hotel. However, writer's block prevents Jack from pursuing a new writing career. Everything has its time, however. First, the manager must give Jack a grand tour. Then, Mr Hallorann, the facility's aging chef, chats with Danny about rare psychic gifts. The mysterious employee also warns the boy about the cavernous hotel's abandoned rooms. Room 237, especially, is off-limits. That's all very well, but Jack is gradually losing his mind. After all, strange occurrences and blood-chilling visions have trapped the family in a silent gargantuan prison hammered by endless snowstorms. And now, incessant voices inside Jack's head demand sacrifice. However, is Jack capable of murder?
- Released
- 13 Jun 1980
- Genres
- Drama, Horror
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 8.4 / 10
- Metascore
- 68 / 100
- Awards
- 6 wins & 9 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Jack 257 lines, man
- Wendy 216 lines, woman
- Danny 87 lines, man
- Halloran 81 lines, man
- Ullman 80 lines, man
- Grady 39 lines, man
- Doctor 30 lines, woman
- Tony 27 lines
- Ranger 20 lines, man
- Lloyd 17 lines, man
Full cast, 29 people
- Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance
- Shelley Duvall as Wendy Torrance
- Danny Lloyd as Danny
- Scatman Crothers as Hallorann
- Barry Nelson as Ullman
- Philip Stone as Grady
- Joe Turkel as Lloyd
- Anne Jackson as Doctor
- Tony Burton as Durkin
- Lia Beldam as Young Woman in Bath
- Billie Gibson as Old Woman in Bath
- Barry Dennen as Watson
- David Baxt as Forest Ranger 1
- Manning Redwood as Forest Ranger 2
- Lisa Burns as Grady Daughter
- Louise Burns as Grady Daughter
- Robin Pappas as Nurse
- Alison Coleridge as Secretary
- Burnell Tucker as Policeman
- Jana Shelden as Stewardess
- Kate Phelps as Receptionist
- Norman Gay as Injured Guest
- Paul Desbois as Hotel Porter (uncredited)
- Vivian Kubrick as Smoking Guest on Ballroom Couch (uncredited)
- Derek Lyons as Hotel Bellhop (uncredited)
- Alan Harris as Ballroom Dancer (uncredited)
- Peter McNamara as Dinner Guest (uncredited)
- Guy Standeven as Ballroom Guest (uncredited)
- Reg Thomason as Ballroom Guest (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 5 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 5% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 232
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 5 | 4 | 17 |
| 6 to 10 | 8 | 56 |
| 11 to 15 | 2 | 7 |
| 16 to 20 | 18 | 11 |
| 21 to 25 | 31 | 13 |
| 26 to 30 | 9 | 31 |
| 31 to 35 | 14 | 38 |
| 36 to 40 | 12 | 66 |
| 41 to 45 | 9 | 9 |
| 46 to 50 | 8 | 7 |
| 51 to 55 | 13 | 12 |
| 56 to 60 | 4 | 1 |
| 61 to 65 | 4 | 3 |
| 66 to 70 | 2 | 3 |
| 71 to 75 | 5 | 46 |
| 76 to 80 | 15 | 5 |
| 81 to 85 | 4 | 34 |
| 86 to 90 | 0 | 0 |
| 91 to 95 | 0 | 0 |
| 96 to 100 | 15 | 12 |
| 101 to 105 | 1 | 9 |
| 106 to 110 | 0 | 77 |
| 111 to 115 | 11 | 12 |
| 116 to 120 | 1 | 5 |
| 121 to 125 | 0 | 5 |
| 126 to 130 | 0 | 5 |
| 131 to 135 | 0 | 5 |
| 136 to 140 | 5 | 2 |
| 141 to 145 | 8 | 9 |
| 146 to 150 | 31 | 43 |
| 151 to 155 | 5 | 6 |
| 156 to 160 | 0 | 6 |
| 161 to 165 | 0 | 18 |
| 166 to 170 | 2 | 2 |
| 171 to 175 | 0 | 0 |
| 176 to 180 | 0 | 1 |
| 181 to 185 | 0 | 1 |
| 186 to 190 | 2 | 1 |
| 191 to 195 | 6 | 3 |
| 196 to 200 | 0 | 0 |
| 201 to 205 | 0 | 0 |
| 206 to 210 | 1 | 9 |
| 211 to 215 | 2 | 5 |
| 216 to 220 | 1 | 6 |
| 221 to 225 | 5 | 4 |
| 226 to 230 | 0 | 1 |
| 231 to 232 | 0 | 0 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 30 are women's.
258 lines from women, 606 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
11 women and 17 men in the cast. 6 women and 10 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 2 of 911.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 85 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 26% of the words (2,107), men 74% (5,862). Women have 30% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.
Exhibit D: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
0
Two men
28
Exhibit E: behind the camera
4 of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 17% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Stanley Kubrick (man)
- Written by
- Diane Johnson (woman), Stanley Kubrick (man)
- From the novel by
- Stephen King (man)
- Produced by
- Stanley Kubrick (man)
- Shot by
- John Alcott (man)
- Edited by
- Ray Lovejoy (man)
- Music by
- Wendy Carlos (woman), Rachel Elkind (woman)
- Production design by
- Roy Walker (man)
- Costumes by
- Milena Canonero (woman)
- Cast by
- James Liggat (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Art
1 women, 9 men, 7 not listed
-
Sound
2 women, 10 men, 2 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 9 men, 2 not listed
-
Production
2 women, 7 men, 2 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
-
Editing
0 women, 4 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 4 men
-
Lighting
0 women, 1 men, 2 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 40 on average. Men: 48 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Shelley Duvall 30, Lia Beldam 35, Anne Jackson 54
Men
Danny Lloyd 7, Jack Nicholson 43, Tony Burton 43, Joe Turkel 52, Philip Stone 56, Barry Nelson 63, Scatman Crothers 70
Exhibit G: the money
It made 2.6 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $19 million
- Box office
- $50.3 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 232 scenes and 911 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
