After Jack argued with Wendy about “Danny did it himself”, he storms out of the hotel room. As he’s leaving Wendy, he walks past the camera and stares at it. Anyone else notice that? Did Kubrick notice that? Was it intentional?
shareGreat question. We know Kubrick was a perfectionist. Why did he leave that in there? We'll never know.
shareIt's very possible he is also glaring into Danny's room, as it's located directly behind the camera.
shareI’ve heard that it was intentional.
sharei noticed it too. no way in hell kubrick didnt notice that. he would do 40 takes of the most mundane things, like people walking or drinking water. there is no way he didnt tell jack nicholson to intentionally look into the camera. why tho? i have no idea.
shareI don't have the whole Shining analyses I've read over the years completely memorized but here's my attempt to make sense of the camera-glance: When Jack is tossing the kitchenware off the nearby tables near the end of the movie, at least one visibly bounces off the camera. Then later When Wendy walks through the same area she glances at the objects now on the floor, drawing more attention to said objects. Then there's the camera feeling like a "pursuing entity" following behind Danny when he's riding his tricycle and running in the maze. There are several closeups of Jack, Wendy, and Danny basically looking into the camera in the second half of the movie.
shareNoticed this too, after watching it so many times. To agree with the other comments, Danny's room is behind the camera.
shareIt’s a resentment look at Danny’s room for Danny in his mind self inflicting himself and causing the drama.
shareMaybe it's Kubrick winking at the audience, saying, "Look at all the inconsistencies in this movie. Just imagine what conspiracy theories they're inspire 20 years after I'm dead!"
share