Better performance? Nicholson or Duvall in “The Shining”?

Johnny.

Neither. Both are atrocious.

Both are incredibly miscast, but at least Duvall works in the confines of the film's second half and actually is convincing as a battered woman pushed to her limits. Nicholson is a ridiculous goof impossible to take seriously and he actively ruins the film.

Duvall. Nicholson didn't make much of a good impression outside of the typewriter scene.

Nicholson isn't at his best but he's at least watchable. Duvall, on the other hand, is all-time bad.

Nicholson, but both of them gave impossibly insane high-wire performances that suited Kubrick's vision to a T and the fact that neither of their characterizations felt all there just heightened the film's sense of unsettling wrongness. From the very beginning, it feels like both of the characters are performing--Nicholsdon pretending to be a devoted a good father and Duvall pathetically (robotically even) placating to earn much-craved affection and attention. BOTH of them were brilliant and anyone saying different needs to do a double-take.

Love the movie too... Minus Duvall's performance 😁 The novel is a zillion times better, though.

You can include mine as well, Pac. Everything about The Shining was top notch. From the production design, the lighting, the photography, the camera movement and set-ups. Just magnificent! Nicholson was firing on all cylinders, that’s for sure. That ‘Here’s Johnny’ thing just about sums up the whole thing…in fact, sums up almost all of Kubrick’s work and his take on the maddening insanity of the human being/human race/human condition. Barry Lyndon has the same incredible satirical wit as The Shining. Great stuff! I have and shall continue to miss Kubrick films. One of the creepiest/eeriest ghost films i've ever seen.