Product Details

• Actors: Max von Sydow, Ed Harris, James Caan, Kathy Bates, Timothy Hutton
• Directors: Brian De Palma, Fraser Clarke Heston, George A. Romero, Rob Reiner
• Writers: George A. Romero, Lawrence D. Cohen, Stephen King, W.D. Richter
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 4
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• DVD Release Date: August 26, 2003
• Run Time: 447 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00009OWI3
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,590 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #8 in

  Movies & TV > Horror > Horror Masters > George Romero

• For more information about "Stephen King DVD Collector Set (Misery / The Dark Half / Needful Things / Carrie)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Misery
Based on the chilling bestseller by Stephen King, Misery was brought to the screen by director Rob Reiner as one of the most effective thrillers of the 1990s. From a brilliant adaptation by screenwriter William Goldman, Reiner turned King's cautionary tale of fame and idolatry into a mainstream masterpiece of escalating suspense, translating King's own experience with obsessive fans into a frightening tale of entrapment and psychotic behavior. Kathy Bates deservedly won an Academy Award for her performance as Annie Wilkes, an unbalanced devotee of romance novels written by Paul Sheldon (James Caan), whose books provide Annie with a much-needed escape from her pathetic life and her secret, violent past. After Annie rescues the injured Sheldon from a car accident, she seizes the opportunity to nurse her favorite writer back to health, but her tender loving care soon turns to terrorism as she demands that Sheldon write his latest novel according to her wish-fulfillment fantasies. 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. While Bates carefully modulates her role from doting kindness to sympathetic loneliness and finally to horrifying ferocity, Caan is equally superb as the celebrated author who must literally write for his life. It's essentially a two-actor film, but Richard Farnsworth and Lauren Bacall are excellent in supporting roles as they investigate the writer's mysterious disappearance. Frightening, funny, and totally irresistible, Misery was such a hit that some of Bates's dialogue entered the popular lexicon (particularly her nagging reference to Caan as "Mister Man"), and its nail-biting thrills remain timelessly intense. --Jeff Shannon

The Dark Half
Although it lacks the creepy subtleties of Stephen King's celebrated novel, George Romero's underrated adaptation of The Dark Half ranks among the best films based on King's fiction, with Romero taking care to honor King's central theme while serving up some gruesome gore in the film's much-criticized finale. Inspired by King's own admission that he wrote several novels under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, The Dark Half explores the duality of a writer's impulse, ranging from literary respectability to the viscerally cathartic thrills of exploitative pulp fiction. Author and teacher Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton) finds himself torn between those extremes when he "kills" his profitable, pseudonymous alter ego George Stark (the bestselling "dark half" to Thad's light), who then assumes an evil, autonomous form (again played by Hutton) to lethally defend his role in Thad's creative endeavors. Forced to wrestle with this evil manifestation of his own unformed twin, Thad must fight to protect his wife (Amy Madigan), their twin babies, and his own survival as an artist. Romero skillfully develops the twin/duality theme to explore the writer's dilemma, and Hutton is outstanding in his dual roles, playing Stark (in subtly fiendish makeup) as a redneck rebel with a knack for slashing throats. Julie Harris adds class in a supporting role, and horror fans will relish Romero's climactic showdown, in which swarms of sparrows seal Stark's fate. It favors a pulp sensibility with clunky exposition to explain Stark's existence, but The Dark Half is a laudable effort from everyone involved. --Jeff Shannon

Needful Things
Stephen King adaptations are strictly hit-or-miss propositions, and this supernatural thriller from 1993 is definitely a "miss," based on one of King's lesser novels and starring Max von Sydow as the evil proprietor of a small-town antique shop named "Needful Things." That's the place where anyone can go to find the one thing they cherish the most (the town's aging jock finds his old, high-school letterman's jacket there, for example), but of course there's a price for such priceless keepsakes. Yep, that's right ... von Sydow is Satan, and his customers pay for "needful things" with their souls. The sheriff (Ed Harris) catches onto this hellish predicament, and, well ... let's just say things go downhill from there, with von Sydow delivering sardonic wisecracks as he wreaks devilish havoc on the town. Lots of stuff gets blown to bits, by which time this movie has long since worn out its welcome. Harris and von Sydow do their best to liven up the dreary scenario (directed by Charlton Heston's son, Fraser), but this is strictly for die-hard King fans, and even then the recommendation is marginal. --Jeff Shannon

Carrie
This terrifying adaptation of Stephen King's bestselling horror novel was directed by shock maestro Brian De Palma for maximum, no-holds-barred effect. Sissy Spacek stars as Carrie White, the beleaguered daughter of a religious kook (Piper Laurie) and a social outcast tormented by her cruel, insensitive classmates. When her rage turns into telekinetic powers, however, school's out in every sense of the word. De Palma's horrific climax in a school gym lingers forever in the memory, though the film is also built upon Spacek's remarkable performance and Piper Laurie's outlandishly creepy one. John Travolta has a small part as a thug, De Palma's future wife, Nancy Allen, is his girlfriend, and Amy Irving makes her screen debut as one of the girls giving Carrie a hard time. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

Disc 1: CARRIE SPECIAL EDITION Disc 2: NEEDFUL THINGS Disc 3: THE DARK HALF Disc 4: MISERY

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Stephen King movies, June 28, 2005

By	A. Ross "indy31" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Movies derived from Stephen King's novels range from excellent (THE SHINING) to excremental films like Dreamcatcher. This DVD Collector Set has 4 of the greatest adaptations of Stephen King's impressive novels. MISERY (1990) is a top-notch thriller and one of the best that has ever been made. Psychological thrillers are the best of the genre thanks to an Oscar-winning performance from Kathy Bates as the obsessed fan. Set in the deserted part of America, moody and lethargic Stephen King delivers great human suffering, vanished and broken on the borders of true hell, ran by obsessed woman. James Caan is Paul Sheldon, an author who kills off his popular literary character Misery. Problem is, Annie Wilkes (Bates) reads his heroin-offing book, and goes a little crazy... The ankle-breaking scene is excruciating, and the final brutal fight between Caan and Bates is vicious. Like the excellent SECRET WINDOW, an obsessed fan getting a little too fanatical with the author's stories is a re-occurring theme. Everything in the film is absolutely great: acting, script, directing and a chilly musical score from Mark Shaiman.

THE DARK HALF (1993) is a movie with an implausible plot, but is executed very well. In fact, it's done so well that you end up forgetting how implausible it is. So if you postpone your disbelief a little, chances are you'll like it. Horror master George A. Romero handles the suspense very professionally, but above all, Timothy Hutton's acting is the stand out of the film. His portrayal of Southern madman (ghost) George Stark is intense and will make you thinks of straight razors in a whole new light. Not a horror classic, but original and it does get a few scares out of you. The Stephen King book was better, but the film does a surprisingly good job of adapting it. NEEDFUL THINGS (1993) is a fascinating story of a mysterious old man (Max von Sydow) who opens a novelty shop in a sleepy little Maine town. He has something that everyone wants, but wants something in return from everyone. Simple currency has little allure for this devilish merchant. He feeds off hate and carnage, and uses the simple townsfolk to carry out his desires. CARRIE is possibly the best King adaptation, and one of the most faithful. The problem with some movies derived from his novels, is that some inept directors norse up the source material by changing too much. But thankfully Brian DePalma gets this just right. Sissy Spacek turns in a great performance and John Travolta started his acting career in 1976 in his first movie. Put together with MISERY and DARK HALF, this is a very impressive collection of King movies and a must-have for horror buffs.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars King best movies, July 14, 2003

By A Customer

These are some of the best movies that are based from Stephen King novels. Carrie is a movie that any Stephen King fan must own. To have it on a box set with Misery is best. Dalf Half is also pretty good. For most who haven't seen it is about thee other half of the writter and how it can take control when it feels threaten. Needful things is a movie that goes beyond horror and teaches people a lesson. These are a few of Stephen King best movies. Which fans must own to have a true King's Collection.

5.0 out of 5 stars A great collection. , April 4, 2009

By	Missa "Missidoll" (Nowhere, South Dakota) - See all my reviews

Yep, a great collection for a great price. The cases aren't all the same, but- what can you say about that? Definately worth the buy though