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Misery

  • 19901990
  • RR
  • 1h 47m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
204K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,421
225
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Misery (1990)
Watch {VideoTitle}
Play trailer2:15
3 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Drama
  • Thriller
After a famous author is rescued from a car crash by a fan of his novels, he comes to realize that the care he is receiving is only the beginning of a nightmare of captivity and abuse.After a famous author is rescued from a car crash by a fan of his novels, he comes to realize that the care he is receiving is only the beginning of a nightmare of captivity and abuse.After a famous author is rescued from a car crash by a fan of his novels, he comes to realize that the care he is receiving is only the beginning of a nightmare of captivity and abuse.
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
204K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,421
225
  • Director
    • Rob Reiner
  • Writers
    • Stephen King(novel "Misery")
    • William Goldman(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • James Caan
    • Kathy Bates
    • Richard Farnsworth
Top credits
  • Director
    • Rob Reiner
  • Writers
    • Stephen King(novel "Misery")
    • William Goldman(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • James Caan
    • Kathy Bates
    • Richard Farnsworth
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 465User reviews
    • 174Critic reviews
    • 75Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 5 wins & 10 nominations total

    Videos3

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:15
    Official Trailer
    Misery | Anniversary Mashup
    Clip 1:19
    Misery | Anniversary Mashup
    Jane Levy of "Castle Rock" Is Bringing Pennywise to Your Next Party
    Video 1:48
    Jane Levy of "Castle Rock" Is Bringing Pennywise to Your Next Party

    Photos464

    James Caan in Misery (1990)
    Kathy Bates and James Caan in Misery (1990)
    James Caan in Misery (1990)
    Kathy Bates in Misery (1990)
    Lauren Bacall in Misery (1990)
    Kathy Bates and James Caan in Misery (1990)
    Kathy Bates and James Caan in Misery (1990)
    James Caan in Misery (1990)
    Kathy Bates and James Caan in Misery (1990)
    Kathy Bates in Misery (1990)
    Kathy Bates and James Caan in Misery (1990)
    Richard Farnsworth and Frances Sternhagen in Misery (1990)

    Top cast

    Edit
    James Caan
    James Caan
    • Paul Sheldonas Paul Sheldon
    Kathy Bates
    Kathy Bates
    • Annie Wilkesas Annie Wilkes
    Richard Farnsworth
    Richard Farnsworth
    • Busteras Buster
    Frances Sternhagen
    Frances Sternhagen
    • Virginiaas Virginia
    Lauren Bacall
    Lauren Bacall
    • Marcia Sindellas Marcia Sindell
    Graham Jarvis
    Graham Jarvis
    • Libbyas Libby
    Jerry Potter
    • Peteas Pete
    Thomas Brunelle
    • Anchormanas Anchorman
    • (as Tom Brunelle)
    June Christopher
    June Christopher
    • Anchorwomanas Anchorwoman
    Julie Payne
    • Reporter #1as Reporter #1
    Archie Hahn
    Archie Hahn
    • Reporter #2as Reporter #2
    • (as Archie Hahn III)
    Gregory Snegoff
    Gregory Snegoff
    • Reporter #3as Reporter #3
    Wendy Bowers
    • Waitressas Waitress
    Misery the Pig
    Misery the Pig
    • Selfas Self
    John Michael Quinn
    • Restaurant Patronas Restaurant Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Rob Reiner
    Rob Reiner
    • Helicopter Pilotas Helicopter Pilot
    • (uncredited)
    J.T. Walsh
    J.T. Walsh
    • State Trooper Sherman Douglasas State Trooper Sherman Douglas
    • (uncredited)
    Jay Dee Witney
    Jay Dee Witney
    • News Photographeras News Photographer
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Rob Reiner
    • Writers
      • Stephen King(novel "Misery")
      • William Goldman(screenplay)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Stephen King was quite impressed with Kathy Bates' performance in this film, so much so that he later wrote two more roles for her. The title role in his novel "Dolores Claiborne" was written with Bates in mind, and Bates later starred in the film adaption of Dolores Claiborne (1995). King also wrote the script for the TV mini-series The Stand (1994). His original novel featured a (male) character named Ray Flowers; upon hearing that Bates wanted to be involved in the miniseries, King re-wrote the part as a woman (Rae Flowers) just so Bates could play the part (uncredited).
    • Goofs
      When Paul is looking at Annie's scrapbook, her name in one of the news headlines and the body of the article reads "Anne M. Wilkes," but the accompanying photo gives her name as "Annie C. Wilkes."
    • Quotes

      Paul Sheldon: You want it? You want it? Eat it! Eat it till ya choke, you sick, twisted fuck!

    • Crazy credits
      Misery the Pig - Herself
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: 3 Men and a Little Lady/The Nutcracker Prince/Predator 2/Mr. And Mrs. Bridge (1990)
    • Soundtracks
      Shotgun
      Performed by Jr. Walker and the All Stars (as Junior Walker & The Allstars)

      Courtesy of Motown Record Company, L.P.

      Written by Junior Walker (as Autry DeWalt)

      Published by Stone Agate Music

      A division of Jobete Music Co., Inc.

    User reviews465

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    The best horror film ever adapted from a Stephen King book
    "Misery" accomplishes something which Hitchcock achieved in "Psycho" but which very few modern horror films achieve: it entertains without seeming exploitative. Even the movie's most gruesome scene, which ranks up there as one of the more memorably horrifying moments in all of cinema, ends with a laugh that somehow doesn't cheapen the material--maybe because it arises so naturally from the basic situation which the movie takes very seriously. We're not being urged to find the violence itself entertaining, as is the case for so many horror films these days. Rather, the humor is a way of breaking the tension of a desperate, nightmarish scenario. It is, we suspect, what helps the protagonist survive the ordeal.

    Like many of the greatest thrillers, "Misery" begins with a bizarre set of coincidences. A bestselling romance novelist named Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is on his way to the countryside to work on his next book when a blizzard causes his car to crash, leaving him severely injured and unable to walk. Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), a retired nurse and obsessive fan who was following him, takes care of him in her house without letting him leave or contact anyone. She is upset that he has recently killed off a central character in his series, and she forces him to write the new book more to her liking, though in total isolation from the outside world. His family and friends fear him dead, but the local sheriff (Richard Farnsworth) is investigating a little more closely.

    "Misery" belongs to a unique genre in which a single character is trapped in a small area and spends the entire story attempting to escape. I've been fascinated by this type of story ever since I first read Edgar Allan Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum." With his fine attention to detail, Stephen King has made two notable contributions to the genre: "Misery," and the unfilmable "Gerald's Game" (where a woman spends the entire novel handcuffed to a bed in the middle of nowhere). Everything is topsy-turvy in a story like this. The protagonist must adapt to a weird new set of rules that put a diabolical twist on normal routines. To most people, a house is a mundane setting where you wake up every day and leave without blinking an eye. For a house to become a prison seems almost unthinkable. Stories like "Misery" have the urgency of a nightmare, where the thing you fear most is always on the verge of happening.

    In particular, this movie has much in common with the 1962 suspense drama "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" (which I recommend). The basic structure of the story is the same, involving a disabled person in the house of an insane woman, who subjects her captive to physical and psychological tortures while almost everyone on the outside doesn't even know the victim exists. But in the older film, the motives were simpler, rooted in sibling jealousy and old wounds. "Misery" brings the conceit to a new level by making the captive a famous writer and the kidnapper a crazed fan. The movie makes much of the irony that she's a pretty good editor. She's not really sadistic or vengeful, as was the case with the Bette Davis character in "Baby Jane." The tortures she inflicts on Paul are the natural result of her trying to fit him into her bizarre little world.

    Kathy Bates won an Oscar for her performance, one of only three horror performances ever to receive that award. (The other two are Fredric March for "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and Anthony Hopkins for "Silence of the Lambs.") One of the best actresses working today, she's fortunate not to have been typecast in this sort of role. She later proved herself quite adept at playing vulnerable women, like the battered wife in "Dolores Claiborne." She brings to the role of Annie a certain earthiness that you don't expect in this kind of role. She plays the character as a woman who doesn't perceive herself as insane, who acts bubbly and cheerful most of the time and seems to view her sudden mood shifts as merely a personal weakness. At times, the movie almost comes off as a demented parody of a normal relationship between a man and woman living together.

    The very best of the Stephen King horror movies, "Misery" is a film which I count among my favorites even though it is so intense I sometimes have trouble sitting through the whole thing. With a screenplay by William Goldman, who has a knack for developing bizarre torture scenes (the Nazi dentist torture in "Marathon Man," the Machine in "The Princess Bride"), the movie manages to be scary and classy at the same time--a rare feat for a modern horror picture. Kathy Bates is in my nightmares!
    helpful•112
    29
    • kylopod
    • Feb 11, 2007

    FAQ11

    • What is 'Misery' about?
    • Is "Misery" based on a book?
    • I'm confused about "Misery's Child" and the book Annie makes Paul burn. Are they the same?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 30, 1990 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Nữ Anh Hùng Misery
    • Filming locations
      • Genoa, Nevada, USA
    • Production companies
      • Castle Rock Entertainment
      • Nelson Entertainment
      • Nelson Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $20,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $61,276,872
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $10,076,834
      • Dec 2, 1990
    • Gross worldwide
      • $61,277,271
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 47 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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