The film misery is highly consisted one of the best movie adaptations based on a book. I did a book report on this book back in 9th grade, much to the dismay of my teacher. That being said, the acting in the movie was phenomenal and couldnt have been done better. While writing, paul is planning to kill annie, but the plan is discovered and pauls ankles are smashed by a hammer by annie. Misery is probably one of the most faithful king adaptations out there. The film opens with paul sheldon caan completing work on his latest novel, a break from. Great story with great actors and very entertaining. Bates won the academy award for best actress at the 63rd academy awards. Do you remember for all those years, nobody ever knew who misery s real father was, or will they ever be reunited. When annie discovers that paul has killed off the novels heroine, her reaction leaves paul shattered literally. Book s almost finished, your legs are getting better. After finding out what happens in his new book, she begins to torture sheldon in a violent manner. What happens to misery chastain in pauls latest book.
In the novel, paul titles it fast cars, and is a story reminiscent of 1950s detective dramas, and one hundred eighty degrees away from the victorian era set misery novels that made him famous. I was hooked from the very first page, and misery is a book that will haunt yours days and nights long after youve finished. Misery has to cut certain worldbuilding elements in order to keep the audience on their side, while a book can basically be as long as necessary. Caan and bates capture the movie s roguish spirit perfectly. Misery is the only film based on a stephen king novel to win an oscar. He is rescued by annie wilkes bates an exnurse who starts to nurse him back to health. Paul sheldon is a popular writer celebrating the completion of a new book, when his car goes off a mountain road in a snowstorm. The book released 1987 strengths 1 pauls misery is threefold so, we know misery is the protagonist in a series of romance novels written by paul sheldon. Misery is the film based on a novel with the same name by stephen king. Misery 312 movie clip misery the pig 1990 hd youtube. There is really no profanity of sexual context, but there is a ton of violence. Most of his books to movies have worked i felt although rewatching salems lot now, as. The king of grim, the heir of scare, the duke of puke, the prince of mince well, maybe not that last one. It is a drama film, but also a thriller and sometimes even a horror.
Misery quotes by stephen king goodreads share book. Based on a stephen king novel, the story follows famed novelist paul sheldon whos. Book vs film it is rare to find an actor so good that when they are the only thing on screen you want to stick around for two hours just to see what they do. Most, though not quite all, of the pleasures of misery are equally subliminal. Misery is one of kings more intimate tales of terror, focusing on as it does almost entirely on two characters in a single room, and thats true on the screen as well. That being said, lets take a look back at this classic film and go over 10 things you probably didn. Fans often regard the film as one of the best stephen king adaptions, praising the acting of the two leads, kathy bates and james caan. Aug 14, 2019 these annie wilkes quotes are from the misery movie. I have to admit it was cool to watch the movie years after reading the book. The very first two minutes of the movie, is all about building the idea of the. Misery has always been one of my favorite horror movies of all time.
If you enjoy stories where the characters are in a claustrophobia environment i highly recommend this one, book or movie. Misery is the tale of paul sheldon, a popular author who travels from his home in new york, to a hotel whereas to fnish his final attempt at mainstream writing in his novel fast cars. Could you help me to write an analysis of stephen kings misery. Hey guys im pretty new to kings work but really love what ive read so far especially misery. He is helped by annie wilkes kathy bates who claims she is his number one fan. Until now, movies have shown far too much sentimental respect for the creative impulse. Whats the difference between misery the book and misery the movie. Misery 512 movie clip book burning 1990 hd youtube. The blunt reason misery had to change its most gruesome. This 63page guide for misery by stephen king includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 119 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. Annie stabs him with a sharpened cross and runs over him with the lawnmower.
During paul sheldons writing career, he wrote his best known series of misery chastain novels and annie wilkes believe these to be his magnum opus, little to her knowledge in paul sheldons last misery chastain book, misery s child he finally manages to kill off the main character misery so as to pursue his true dream of becoming a. From this point forward, misery percolates to a boil as equal parts mystery, thriller, and cleverly dark comedy, with the helpless author pitched in deadly warfare against his number one fan. The novels narrative is based on the relationship of its two main characters the popular writer paul sheldon and his psychotic fan annie wilkes. Buster richard farnsworth and his charming wife virginia frances sternhagen are characters made up for the movie. But when an enraged annie discovers that paul kills off her favorite character misery chastain in his latest book, she decides to hold him. Take misery, for example, the story of a writer who finds himself the captive of his selfproclaimed no. The title is a nice play on words but it could have more than one meaning. Dont let people miss on a great quote from the misery movie add it here. Featured content includes commentary on major characters. When annie discovers that paul has killed off the novels.
Academy award for best actress at the 63rd academy awards. Miserys infamous hobbling scene is much worse in stephen. Gradually, paul realizes that he is a prisoner and. I like the movie and agree with pretty much all your points. Misery is a treasure of a movie that only gets better with age. Misery is a really tense film and the amount of dread and expectation, like a lot of kings films, develops as the movie goes deeper and deeper in. Kathy bates in particular turns in a great performance. While bates carefully modulates her role from doting kindness to sympathetic loneliness and finally to horrifying ferocity, caan is equally superb as the. After one try that annie rejects as unfair because it contradicts the events in miserys child, paul takes on the challenge and produces, he finally acknowledges, the best misery book, misery. Secondly, stephen king is a master storywriter in joke for those who have read the book.
The biggest differences i can think of are book and movie spoilers. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. This movie has some tense scenes in it gunshot wounds, injections, characters are beat and one is tortured. While not as bloody as a slasher horror movie, there are some violent moments, including the movie s bestknown scene in which the novelist is tied to a bed and hobbled with a sledgehammer to both. This movie is about paul sheldon caan, who is a writer of a famous romance novel series. Misery certainly managed it as 99% of the entire film revolves around only two people and their relationship. After a while, his car swerves off the icy road in a blizzard. Misery is a 1987 novel by stephen king novelist paul sheldon crashes his car in a colorado snowstorm while driving west to celebrate finishing his latest book.
Kathy bates rocked annie wilkes it will be wild to see how lizzy caplan will stack up. The gruesome inside story of miserys terrifying ankle. When paul is seriously injured following a car accident, former nurse annie brings him to her home, where paul receives treatment and doses of pain medication. Read misery online free from your iphone, ipad, android, pc, mobile. He is up in the mountains and has decided that he is going to stop the series by killing off the main character, misery. Stephen king has a modest but undeniable genius for being able to find horror in everyday situations. Paul is critically injured, but is rescued by former nurse and pauls number one fan annie wilkes. However, its very different from the book, somehow less brutal, because as it was written, no one wanted to work on the movie. Jul 01, 2014 the film misery is highly consisted one of the best movie adaptations based on a book. How is stephen kings book misery different than the movie. Misery 612 movie clip annie feels unappreciated 1990 hd. The popular novel misery by stephen king was adapted for a film in 1990, but the filmmakers made some changes from the book. Based on the novel by him, misery is a real stephen king film. Why misery is one of the best stephen king adaptations medium.
The main breaking point is when annie finds out about misery, a character in paul sheldons latest book in a series of books. Music by kevin macleod, licensed for use through creativ. And the further into the book you get, the crazier paul gets. The popular novel misery by stephen king was adapted for a film in.
Anne wilkes in the book was far crazier and cringeinducing than the one i. Paul sheldon james caan is a popular novelist, famous for a book series. Writer paul sheldon james caan gets in a car accident. So after a lot of years of watching horror movies and loving horror movie adaptations of stephen king books, i realised i had never watched misery, after watching it. Misery, the motion picture, is a breakthrough of sorts. The infamous scene where annie wilkes hobbles paul sheldon in misery is cinematic legend, but what she did to him in stephen kings book was worse. From director rob reiner comes the intense suspense thriller misery. But a friend insisted that i read misery, and i was astounded by kings talents. His legs shattered, he is rescued by annie wilkes, a former nurse, who takes him to her isolated house in the countryside.
Although this was a great read, i found i didnt love this as much as pet sematary, but it was still classic king writing, and it kept me pretty unsettled, until the very end. When romance novelist paul sheldon james caan is rescued from a horrific car accident by reclusive loner annie wilkes kathy bates, in her academy award winning role, he finds out shes his number one fan and has read all of his books. Rob reiners film of stephen kings bestselling book misery functions on more than one level. Synopsis in this darkly humorous thriller, james caan portrays romantic novelist paul sheldon, famously renowned for his trademark character, the films namesake misery chastaine. Thrown from the wreckage of his 74 camaro, paul sheldon, author of a bestselling series of historical romances. Misery is a gruesome story of torture with blood, guts, and a psychopath. Its a well told tale, the characters are well developed and the fact that there are only two of them never gets boring. Firstly, kathy bates and james caan are incredible. I especially enjoyed the part where paul gets hobbled in the movie. Misery is a 1990 american psychological horror film directed by rob reiner based on stephen. The book, in my opinion, was scarier than the movie, because you got an insight into his stream of consciousness thoughts. Stephen kings misery is an example of how some fans can take things too far, way too far.
As such, we learn a lot about the actual character of misery from within pauls book series. As a celebration, he asks annie for a cigarette and a match, as per his normal practice after finishing a book. Memorable quotes and exchanges from movies, tv series and more. Oct 22, 2015 based on kings 1987 novel of the same name, misery tells the story of a successful but disgruntled romance novelist, paul sheldon james caan, who has just written the final book in his series. I would say the book takes the prize over the movie hands down. Misery is an american psychological horror thriller novel written by stephen king and first published by viking press on june 8, 1987. In the movie annie cuts off one of pauls feet with an axe, and later a thumb. In the movie, annie forces paul to burn his manuscript which is untitled as seen in the closeup. Oct 22, 2015 however, its very different from the book, somehow less brutal, because as it was written, no one wanted to work on the movie. In the movie, what does annie do to pauls feet to keep him from running away. Jun 07, 2011 what the book has, however, that the film doesnt have is time. My notion is that he starts with a germ of truth from his own life, and then takes it as far as he can into the macabre and the bizarre. The book really manages to explore the sheer length of time paul sheldon is stuck in that bed, wholly dependant on annie his saviourcaptor. King adaptations turned into exceptionally good films.
Every stephen king movie ranked, from worst to best. The film opens with paul sheldon caan completing work on. Based on kings 1987 novel of the same name, misery tells the story of a successful but disgruntled romance novelist, paul sheldon james caan, who has just written the final book. In one scene the horror is very clear, you will know what scene i mean. Misery is a 1990 american psychological horror film directed by rob reiner based on stephen kings 1987 novel of the same name, starring james caan, kathy bates, lauren bacall, richard farnsworth and frances sternhagen about a psychotic fan who holds an author captive and forces him to write her stories. Bestselling novelist paul sheldon is on his way home after completing his latest book, when he crashes his car. The slow build, the incredible acting, and the sense of dread all lend to the amazing movie which was produced. Stephen kings horror story misery is, at its heart, a deeply psychological study of a tormented. It is the sheriff and annie shoots him with a shotgun. At first, buster knows only that paul sheldon is the author of the misery novels and has been staying at the silver creek lodge working on a new book.
Therefore he decides to end everything that has to deal with misery. In the case of misery i think the book was better, and it took the term fucked up to a new height. The blunt reason misery had to change its most gruesome scene. After one try that annie rejects as unfair because it contradicts the events in misery s child, paul takes on the challenge and produces, he finally acknowledges, the best misery book, misery. Wayne and i take the time to dig into what we enjoyed about the book as well as the movie. James caan gives an adequate, uninspired performance in the rather passive. But this means he also has some fantastic book to film adaptions out there. Paul had killed off misery so that he could concentrate on more serious writing about subjects other than 19th century romance in the novel, its explained that paul had grown sick of writing about misery chastain and had with him in the car a new book, an untitled manuscript in the novel, its titled fast cars completely removed from the. He uses the match to seemingly light his manuscript on fire, but actually sets fire to a stack of notes with the misery title page on top. Adapted from a stephen king novel, rob reiners misery cast james caan as a writer at a career crossroads.