Director: Rob Reiner
Screenplay: William Goldman
Starring: James Caan, Kathy Bates, Richard Farnsworth, Frances Sternhagen, Lauren Bacall
Country: United States
Running Time: 107 minutes
Year: 1990
BBFC Certificate: 18
Kathy Bates delivered an astounding performance as unhinged superfan Annie Wilkes in the late Rob Reiner’s film adaptation of Stephen King’s Misery in 1990. She dominates the screen as the scary and malevolent Lucy Letby-esque ex-nurse who keeps her favourite author hostage.
Arrow Video is releasing Misery in 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible). This comes with the original lossless stereo and 5.1 surround audio options.
All on a single UHD disc, it’s a mega-package with numerous archival special features and commentaries, along with a new audio commentary from the Horror Movie Survival Guide podcast and supposedly a newly filmed interview with composer Marc Shaiman.
It’s a wonderful adaptation of the disturbing King novel which follows a superfan who holds an author hostage in her home after he crashes his car during a wintry storm in a small Colorado backwater of a town. James Caan (The Godfather) plays bestselling romantic novelist Paul Sheldon who slowly dawns how crazy his “number one fan” Wilkes is.
Caan is so expressive with many of his scenes merely showing him reacting to Wilkes’ crazy behaviour. He brings a salt-of-the-earth quality to the role. The fact he’s usually a more physical performer plays into the strengths of showing how trapped he is in a confined environment, strapped to a wheelchair as his broken legs heal.
Bates was virtually an unknown force in the film industry before she starred in this quick-paced thriller which earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress. Her performance as the dowdy if unhinged ex-nurse is multi-layered, she switches seamlessly from calm and off-putting to completely deranged. Her past misdeeds, which suggest she killed babies in her care, feels very timely an reminiscent of the Lucy Letby situation. That more recent real-life case really adds to how disturbing this character is.
Caan and Bates play off each other perfectly with phenomenal chemistry. It also stars Richard Farnsworth as world’s worst cop Sheriff Buster. He brings a rugged authenticity to the role, making the character somewhat redeemable despite his stupid actions. Golden Age icon Lauren Bacall appears as Paul’s agent in a couple of scenes. She’s barely in the film but has such a marvellous presence.
The picture is strikingly clear and cinematic. I decided to watch with the 5.1 surround sound option and the initial scenes in the snowstorm felt so immersive. With the images of jet white snow in the Colorado landscape complemented by the wind-whipping noises swirling across my living room. The score is fantastic in this film, using every trick in the book to enhance the drama with some marvellous orchestral moments flaring up as Wilkes goes into one of her terrifying rages.
Film:
Extras
- Archival audio commentary with director Rob Reiner
- Archival audio commentary with screenwriter William Goldman
- Brand new audio commentary by film critics Teri Gamble & Julia Marchese, co-hosts of the Horror Movie Survival Guide podcast
- Misery’s Chord, a newly filmed interview with composer Marc Shaiman
- Archival interview with director Rob Reiner
- Archival interview with effects artist Greg Nicotero
- Misery Loves Company, an archival making of featurette
- Marc Shaiman’s Musical Misery Tour, an archival featurette
- Diagnosing Annie Wilkes, an archival featurette
- Profile of a Stalker, an archival featurette
- Advice for the Stalked, an archival featurette
- Celebrity Stalkers, an archival featurette
- Anti-Stalking Laws, an archival featurette
- Theatrical trailers
- Image galleries
- Reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork options
- Collectors’ booklet containing new writing by film scholars Sean Abley, Kat Ellinger, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and David Moses
The amount of archival material really speaks for itself in terms of the breadth and depth of the special features. This is indisputably the complete package for any “number one fan”.
So, I’m going to focus on what’s new to this edition of the film. Arrow’s new commentary with the Horror Movie Survival Guide podcast duo completements the two archival commentaries from the director and screenwriter really well as it offers a detached objective, more analytical, perspective on the movie. They’re big King fans and they discuss the difference between book and movie at length, and they have a funny chemistry.
The newly filmed interview with composer Marc Shaiman. He’s sat at his piano while being interviewed which is a nice touch so he can show examples of the melodies he speaks about. He talks about first getting to know Reiner and being hired without any prior experience of working on a pychological thriller. He then speaks about how he came up with key compositions and his approach to realising them.
Extras:
Arrow releases Misery 4K on 21st September, 2026.