Stanley Kubrick used nine hundred tons of salt and crushed Styrofoam to create the winter maze scenes at the end of The Shining, creating a massive environmental nightmare on the backlot of the studio.

A closer look

Stanley Kubrick used nine hundred tons of salt and crushed Styrofoam to create the winter maze scenes at the end of The Shining, creating a massive environmental nightmare on the backlot of the studio. This fake snow was so intensely white and toxic that it is a miracle half the crew did not develop weird respiratory issues while Jack Nicholson was chasing a child with an axe. It perfectly highlights the psychotic dedication of auteur directors who will cheerfully dump a literal mountain of non-biodegradable plastics onto a set just to ensure the cinematic lighting reflects off the fake frost with absolute perfection