Misery is one of my favorite Stephen King adaptations though in fairness, I’m not exactly a King die-hard. Still, the movie is an successful character-drama with some psychological thrills thrown in for extra measure and features strong performances from James Caan and Kathy Bates.
Misery
— Collector’s Edition —
(1990)
Genre(s): Thriller, Drama
Shout Factory | R – 108 min. – $34.93 | November 28, 2017
Date Published: 11/16/2017 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 4.25/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Novelist Paul Sheldon (JAMES CAAN) doesn’t remember the blinding blizzard that sent his car spinning off the road. But he will never forget Annie Wilkes (KATHY BATES). As Paul recuperates from his injuries in the secluded cabin of his benefactor Annie, he begins to discover that beneath the seemingly kind of naïve exterior of his self-described “number one fan” lurks a mind that is cunning, unhinged, and bent on keeping her favorite writer as her personal prisoner for the rest of his “cockadoodie” life.
Quick Hit Review: Misery is probably my second favorite Stephen King adapted novel behind The Shining. Beyond being a solid drama-thriller, it’s a showcase of fantastic dueling performances from James Caan and Kathy Bates, the latter taking home an Academy Award for it. This is a fantastic character-driven film that is straight-forward with few, if any, twists and a mean, twisted dark comedy bent in many scenes, especially early on before Bates’ Annie turns down a more demented path upon reading the fate of her favorite character, Misery. Beyond the characters, and as outlined in the featurettes on this disc, is the psychological pathology of Annie and the stalking mentality which in this day and age of Facebook and Twitter is a growing issue making way for stricter stalking laws. In the end, this is just a well made, and quintessential, psychological thriller from director Rob Reiner who is perhaps an underrated filmmaker, at least back in the 1990s.
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SPECIAL FEATURES – 4.0/5 |
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This “Collector’s Edition” release comes with a matted slip cover and reversible interior artwork revealing the original theatrical poster. Audio Commentaries
Interview with Rob Reiner (37:09; HD) – Director Reiner reflects on his career, starting the Castle Rock Entertainment production company and taking on the Stephen King adaptation of Misery. He’s still an engaging fellow and this is well worth checking out. Interview with Greg Nicotero (26:12; HD) has the Special Makeup Effects Artist, who now is on The Walking Dead, discussing his own career and eventually his work on Misery. Featurettes:
Also included are some trailers (4:47; HD). |
VIDEO – 4.25/5 |
| Misery loves company on Blu-ray presented in its original 1.85 aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer culled from a new 4K transfer from the original film elements. For the most part, looks good. Detail is fairly sharp and there is some decent pops of color as well as natural skin tones. Now, it’s not perfect as I did notice some ever so minor specs and the final scene the image looks a bit soft. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| The disc comes with what I presume was the old DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track (along with the usual 2.0 option on these Shout Factory titles) that came with the original MGM Blu-ray release. Even so, it’s a nice sounding lossless track and all offering up clear dialogue levels from the center channel and some okay ambient sounds for things like the snowstorm early on. Nothing overly dynamic but effective. |
OVERALL – 4.0/5 |
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Overall, Misery is one of my favorite Stephen King adaptations though in fairness, I’m not exactly a King die-hard. Still, the movie is an successful character-drama with some psychological thrills thrown in for extra measure and features strong performances from James Caan and Kathy Bates. This “Collector’s Edition” release from Shout Factory and has good video and audio transfers and a nice selection of bonus material. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.