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Misery is directed by Rob Reiner (Stand By Me) and
stars James Caan (The Godfather), Kathy Bates (The Waterboy)
Richard Farnsworth, Frances Sternhagen and Lauren Bacall.
The film is based on the Stephen King novel and features
a screenplay written by William Goldman (All The President’s
Men.) The film was originally released in 1990. ***
A successful author has decided to move on with his
career, ending a series of well-received novels he has written.
Following a car crash around the time of the latest novel’s
release, he is nursed back to health by a woman who just
happens to be his biggest fan. Unfortunately for him, she
is a complete psychopath – and she doesn’t take the death
of her favorite novel character lightly. Forced to write
a new novel to appease his captor, he begins plotting an
escape – but with his injuries and a deadly woman watching
over nearly every move he makes, it won’t be an easy task.
***
Everyone knows Stephen King novels adapted for the
screen tend to get a mixed reaction. I seriously had doubts
about Misery, especially considering the film was being
directed by Rob Reiner – a director who was (at the time)
best known for COMEDIES. Fortunately, Reiner proves his
versatility as a director – and Misery is a success on all
fronts. This was actually Reiner’s second adaptation of
King material; he had previously adapted King’s novella
The Body to the screen as Stand By Me. ***
Misery is a fantastic adaptation of its source material.
James Caan (you may remember him best as Sonny from The
Godfather) is excellent as our author hero. This is a far
cry from the “tough guy” roles he is so well known for,
yet he manages to give the performance of his career. The
real stand-out here, however, is Kathy Bates as his number
one fan. This character goes right from loving and kind
to a psychopath that wouldn’t think twice about killing
our hero. I have no doubt this is the role people are going
to continue associating with Bates, and rightfully so. I
can’t imagine anyone else playing this part. The supporting
cast is solid as well. ***
Rob Reiner’s direction keeps the film moving along at
a comfortable pace – never does the movie feel like it drags.
There is always something going on, and the movie doesn’t
fail to hold the attention of the viewer. With a great cast,
solid writing and source material, and a superb director
at the helm, Misery does not fail to please. ---
Image and Sound:
When it comes to releasing Blu-Rays of older titles,
MGM tends to be a hit-and-miss studio. After seeing some
of their past releases, I was a bit nervous about how Misery,
one of my favorite films, was going to look in 1080p. Well,
let me be the first to tell you that MGM rights all past
wrongs on this release. The level of detail in this release
is astonishing, and there are no negative issues with the
print, like damage and dirt. Film grain is intact and never
a distraction, revealing that MGM didn’t overprocess the
release. Audio holds up just as well, loud and clear throughout
the film. This is a surprisingly good release from MGM,
and definitely holds up as one of their best back-catalogue
releases to date.
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