Misery (DVD, 2000)

Kathy Bates won the Oscar in 1990 for her portrayal of Annie Wilkes who is, in this Stephen King psychodrama, "the number one fan" of romance novelist, Paul Sheldon (James Caan).

Sheldon is sick of doing the Misery series so he kills his heroine, leaves his New England cabin in a blizzard, heads in his Mustang to NYC publisher (Lauren Bacall) and has a near fatal car accident.

A former nurse, Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), unfortunately finds Sheldon (Caan)and takes him to her home, where she holds him hostage "nursing" him back to health on a remote farm. We've got the best possible mixture of a King tale of comic-terror, Rob Reiner's perfect direction of killer obsession and Dante's hellish brand of social isolation, Caan's superb victim-survivor performance, Bacall's classy high-power woman publisher contrast, against Bates's Academy Award winning portrayal of a truly pitiful-deadly dangerous serial killer who is truly nuts. A MUST see.

Kathy Bates does an excellent job of bringing the sick and twisted nurse Annie Wilkes to life. I hope I'm never that woman's patient.
Paul Sheldon is played by James Caan.

I have always felt the underappreciated film, "Misery", from King's novel of the same name, was akin to some of the best of his films (and so many of the films made from his novels are drek!). I do think that the film would have profited from a better actor in the lead role of Paul Sheldon (Nicholson is said to have turned it down....DeNiro would have been a great choice, but my personal favorite was Kevin Kline, who also turned it down), but the casting of James Caan just gave us more ability to focus on Kathy Bates, a journeyman actress who had been in at least a dozen films before Misery launched her career. And Caan turns in a worthy performance.

King puts a modern day twist on the same kind of captivity and obsession that Fowles dealt with in his book, "The Collector". The title of this movie and also King's book is ironic. Misery, of course, is the name of the popular character in the Paul Sheldon (James Caan) series of books; he's a successful novelist with a romantic heroine he's grown tired of (Misery Chastain) and is killing off in his newest book, as yet unpublished (sort of like Patricia Cornwell with Kay Scarpetta...and while PC hasn't killed KS yet, one hopes she will, and soon) And misery (without the capital M) is exactly what he gets for having encountered Annie Wilkes, a psychopath immortalized by Bates. Injured and alone, Sheldon is made a virtual prisoner by his "number one fan".

The audience is uneasy....if Hitchcock had directed, the uneasiness would have grown into fear a lot sooner, but Reiner, a good director that's a little out of his genre here, invokes realism instead of symbolism to point to all the signs of an impending Annie breakdown. Even those who had not read the novel will be hit over the head by the clues Annie leaves to what will happen when she finishes his new book. It's the one element of the film that prevents it, in my opinion, from being truly great. There's a background story going on about the sheriff, his wife and Sheldon's publicist trying to find him. It's well kept in the background and necessary to inject realism into what is happening to Paul.

How Annie and Paul revenge themselves on each other is something you will recoil from, as you watch the film.

Bates is stunning in her role, won every award in filmmaking for it, and has gone on to be our most memorable character actress. Reiner and Caan (especially Caan, who resuscitated his post-Godfather career with this) also contributed heavily to the very real life tragedy of the stalking/obsessive phenomena that famous people sometimes have to live with. There are also a lot of bloopers in the film, most of which I think Reiner left in as sort of a signpost to see who would pick up on them. My favorite Reiner-ism is the video of "Harry Met Sally"...a Reiner film that is clearly visible on one of Annie's trips to the local store.

And the film is chock full of memorable quotes, that will stay with you long after the credits have rolled. I leave you with one, from Bates as Annie, at the height of her madness:

"Oh, This whole house is going to be full of romance, OOOH, I am going to put on my Liberace records."

Add it to your collection, it's a memorable thriller.

I just love this movie! There are very few movies I care to watch more than once, but this is one of the few. I've probably viewed this movie 8-10 times, and bought the dvd because I found myself in moods where I felt like watching it again, and searching the channels to see if it was on t.v. The story line and plot keeps you on edge, and is also one of a few movies that are as good or even better than the book. The acting is superb! Other movies I love are: Fargo, Braveheart, A Christmas Carol, The Godfather, Citizen Kane, The Excorcist.

It's one my Stephen King favorites (The Green Mile and Stand by Me!). Kathy Bates delivers her performance in this movie. She had me fooled. What a psycho!
I rented this movie just because I thought I would watch all the Stephen KIng movies ever made but as soon as I sent it back (netflix) I regretted it. I decided to purchase the movie instead so I could watch it any time. Oh yeah i forgot Secret Window is o.k. too. The only movie I have ever seen over a dozen times (secret window) not because it had any real performance but I kind of resonanted with me. I was going through a break up at the time and it really kind of helped to watch the movie. No, I didn't hurt anybody in real life but the movie kind explains the pain you feel. The point is that you need to WATCH MISERY!

it is winter in colorado when a famous writer slides off the road and is seriously injured but rescued by an obsessed fan and held hostage in her house and forced to write books, very entertaining.

Once again Steven King has written an excellent story, and Kathy Bates is one of my favorite actors. The scene where she "hobbles" James Caan is one of the best horror scenes I've seen. If you haven't seen this movie it is a must. It is a movie about obsession. Check it out, I promise you won't be sorry!

If you enjoy thirller movies then this is an excellent choice! "Misery" is a movies based on a very successful writer and his "Number One Fan" who actually is a stalker and very mentally ill. This is a great mix of drama, some humor, and parts that leaving you on the edge of your seat!! It is worth having if you are a collector of DVD's and if you enjoy Ms. Bates.

I started to watch this movie mainly because it featured Kathy Bates, my favorite actress. And in this movie she plays a bit of a crazy kidnapping nurse. A side of Kathys acting that I had never seen before. She played the part very well by the way. I bought this movie because my girlfriend had never seen it and we couldn`t ever catch it on TV at the right time.

PAUL SHELDON USED TO WRITE FOR A LIVING NOW HE'S WRITING TO STAY ALIVE.NOVELIST PAUL SHELDON (CAAN) DOESN'T REMEMBER THE BLINDING BLIZZARD THAT SENT HIS CAR SPINNING OFF THE ROAD. NOR DOES HE REMEMBER BEING NURSED BACK FROM UNCONSCIOUSNESS. ALL HE REMEMBERS IS WAKING UP IN A HOME OF ANNIE WILKES (BATES)-A MANIACAL FAN WHO IS BENT ON KEEPING HER FAVORITE WRITER AS HER PERSONAL PRISONER...FOR THE REST OF HIS 'COCK-A-DOODIE' LIFE!

You can't go wrong with a movie based on a Stephen King novel. I love Kathy Bates. She's one of my favorite actresses. Excellent price.

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This movie was in perfect shape.It is a great classic and I would recommend it to anyone who likes horror and suspence.

i like the movie. they pick a good actors to play the film. it got some action and cool way of doing the film.

HAVE BEEN WANTING TO GET THIS ITEM FOR A WHILE NOW. IT IS A GOOD MOVIE AND HAVE IT ON VHS BUT WANTED IT ON DVD. I DON'T BUY VHS ANYMORE -- ONLY DVDs.

TERESA JOHNSON

It kept one on the edge of his chair, it definately was a thriller, very good directing and acting. That is all I have to say. I bought it because I had read the book

I liked this movie very much because it had many of the ingredients that I like in a motion picture,such as suspense,drama,intruge,charcterization,ect. It's the kind of movie that keeps you at the edge of your seat showing how the main character suffers in the hands of his phycotic captor without having to resort to being gory or the use of exagerated bloodshed.
I decided to buy the movie because I originally started to watch it on t.v. but never got to see how it ended. The suspense of not knowing how it all ended was frustrating so I purchased it. It is now part of my DVD collection.

Excellent movie. I had to have it to add to my DVD collection.
Suspence and mystery at every turn. You will be on the edge of your seat if you have not seen this movie.....where have you been? You must see this one. It is a great flick. You can't go wrong.

This movie is a good guess what will happen next type, we really enjoyed this movie, we tell everyone about this movie, it is really a great movie to watch. We just had to have it.

When the writer of the hit novel Misery gets into a car accident and is dying, Misery's biggest fan comes to rescue him. Misery is more than a story to her; it's her religion. She is an exiled, maniacal nurse and will care for him. She comes up with all sorts of lies to keep him from calling for help and since he's not well enough to leave on his own, he's stuck there. Up to this point, he hasn't discovered that she's crazed. As he gets better, but before he fully recovers, she hatches a plan for him to write a Misery story in her honor. By this point, he can see that there's something wrong with her, as she has these unpredictable outbursts and mood swings; however, he's still too weak to leave. So, he reluctantly writes. He writes the story several hundred pages long where Misery dies. This drives her completely batty! She immediately orders him to burn it and start over!

In the interim, he has gotten well enough to use the wheelchair to get around the house whenever she is away. He can't find a useable phone and always seems to just get back to his room before she catches him. However, on one of these trips, she finds that an ornament is out of place and so she knows. She realizes that she may have underestimated how well he is doing now. She then makes it impossible for him to leave on his own; I won't spoil it, but I will tell you that it is the best scene in the movie.

So, now, it's back to rewriting the story. As he's doing this and one time when she's away, he steals some of the drugs that she had been using on him. She's so caught up into Misery that she agrees to a Misery victory dinner, as he completes the story. He slips the drugs into her drink, but, as if she had a special intuition, she knocks the glass over spilling the contents. A sherriff gets onto her trail and comes out looking for the writer. She knows that the authorities will come and so she suggests they commit suicide together. He plays along momentarily, but then when an opening arises he attacks and a battle ensues where he wins his freedom. I won't tell you exactly how.

i decided to buy it after seeing a comercial using the sledge hammer sceen from the movie. My boyfriend never saw the movie and it has been years since I have. I truely enjoyed it again.

it is a great movie,great actors,and i found it on dvd very cheap,one of stephen kings best movies ever. i also liked the seller,very easy to work with,easy to make a purchase.

Recently advertisement for 1 of the satellite systems reminded me of this film & just had to have it in my Library. Great Acting,great characters portrayed by Kathy Bates & James Cann, who, to me are wonderful actors whom we see very little of on screen these days. They have a chemistry that makes this film work & work well. Even @ my age, I cringe @ the physical abuse, & have wonderment @ Canns' portrail of being able to tolerate, but further overcome the abuse & use it to obtain his eventual freedom.