THE MOVIE

Famous for a series of romance novels that chronicle the life of the fictional character Misery Chastain, bestselling author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) has decided to move on from the character. He kills her off in the eighth novel and heads to New England cabin to write his first Misery-less novel. On the way back to New York, with the completed manuscript, he has a car accident. After Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) rescues the injured Sheldon, she seizes the opportunity to nurse the bed-ridden writer back to health. A devoted fan of Sheldon's Misery romance novels Annie's tender loving care soon turns to terrorism when she purchases his eighth Misery book and discovers that Sheldon has killed her beloved character. Sheldon is forced to write another Misery novel and resurrect the character of Misery or be at the mercy of his "Number One Fan".

Based on the bestseller by Stephen King, Misery is one of the most effective thrillers of the 1990s. Brilliantly adapted by screenwriter William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid).and directed by Rob Reiner (Stand By Me and A Few Good Men), the film is virtually faultless (the only faults being a few minor plot holes) with the cinematography, make-up, lighting, editing, acting and directing combining to make this a classic thriller. The acting is first rate, with Kathy Bates deservedly winning an Academy Award for her performance as Annie Wilkes. Equally superb are Caan and the supporting cast including Richard Farnsworth as the sheriff investigating the writer's mysterious disappearance, Frances Sternhagen as the Sheriff's wife and Lauren Bacall as Sheldon's agent. Frightening, shocking, and funny, Misery remains a gripping, tense and entertaining thriller.

THE TRANSFER

Video:

Misery is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is 16:9 enhanced. Considering the age of the movie, the quality of the print and the transfer itself is impressive. Although some low-level grain is present at times the image is sharp throughout. Shadow detail, black levels and colours are very good. Film artefacts are present but occur infrequently and do not distract. Layer change occurs between scenes and isn't too noticeable.

Audio:

Re-mixed from the original Dolby Stereo-Surround track, the disc features a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. Rear speakers are rarely utilised and are mainly used for ambience, the occasional sound effect and the suspenseful score. Most of the dialogue is placed in the centre speaker, although some separation and panning across the front speakers occurs. The subwoofer comes into play occasionally, mainly for various sound effects. Dialogue is always clear and easy to understand and audio sync is excellent. Overall a very nice, although a little front heavy, audio track.

THE EXTRAS

Improving on the original R4 bare bones release this edition is packed with bonus material.

Misery Loves Company (29:51) - Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, with Dolby Digital stereo audio, this featurette includes interviews with key members of the cast and crew and some behind the scenes footage of the production. The featurette takes a retrospective look at every stage of making the film including getting the film rights from King, casting, and stunts. Although it is a little self-congratulatory, it does provide an interesting insight into the creation of the film.

Composer Marc Shaiman’s Musical Misery Tour (14:28) - Shaiman discusses his experiences scoring the film.

Two separate audio commentaries from director Rob Reiner and screenwriter William Goldman are included.. Reiner, discusses problems with filming, shooting on set as opposed to on location, and how particular shots were achieved. Goldman delves more into the story and the adaptation of the book, the plot development, character development, pacing and casting. Although both commentaries provide some insights and anecdotes, both are a little sparse, have a number of silent patches, and the participants occasionally cover the same topics or repeat information covered in the Misery Loves Company featurette. The commentaries remain interesting though and are worthwhile watching at least once.

Photo Gallery - Series of eight photo galleries that can be viewed separately or by selecting the play all function. All are self-navigating and are silent.

Theatrical Trailer (2:15) - Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with Dolby Digital stereo audio the print used is unfortunately grainy, dark and contains a number of artefacts. An effective trailer that generates interest in the film.

Theatrical Teaser Trailer (0:54) - Less interesting then the theatrical trailer but with a better quality print the teaser trailer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, with Dolby Digital stereo audio.

SUMMARY

Misery remains an entertaining, engaging, and believable thriller and does so without having to rely on special effects or action scenes. Combined with very good audio and video quality and some worthwhile extras, this special edition release replaces the inferior bare bones DVD released a few years ago. Strongly recommend for those who are fans of the movie, or for those who enjoy a very good thriller.