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List Price: $29.98 | | Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Salesrank: 9043
Released: August 26, 2003 |
| Our Price: $15.00 |
| Used Price: $15.00 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Disc 1: CARRIE SPECIAL EDITION Disc 2: NEEDFUL THINGS Disc 3: THE DARK HALF Disc 4: MISERY
Description of Stephen King DVD Collector Set (Misery / The Dark Half / Needful Things / Carrie):
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
Stephen King DVD Collector Set (Misery / The Dark Half / Needful Things / Carrie) Reviews:
A great collection. 
2009-04-04 - 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
Good boxset collection
2007-12-26 - This is a great boxset if you are a stephen king fan....I got this boxset as a present & i love it....I would recomment this boxset.
Three of these movies rock and one sucks. 
2007-03-25 - An good set for the most part. Three of these movies are excellent and those films (Carrie, Misery, and The Dark Half) do justice to their books. Tha last one, however (Needful Things) is just a butchered mess. Just buy this for the three good films and junk the bad one.
Mixed bag of classics and also rans
2005-12-31 - While this set doesn't include all the best films made from King's novels, at least two of these are absolute classics. "Misery" is available here as a full and widescreen presentation. The image quality is decent here but it could look a whole lot better. There aren't any notable special features which is too bad--in the UK and Europe this has been released as a "Special Edition" with commentary by Director Rob Reiner and Writer William Goldman.
"Carrie" is the "Special Edition" released a couple of years back. The anamorphic widescreen presentation looks extremely good. This edition features "Acting Carrie" a very good documentary with Stars Sissy Spacek, Amy Irving and others. We also get "Visualizing Carrie" a documentary featuring Brian DePalma discussing his approach to the film. "Carrie: The Musical" a featurette on the disasterous Broadway version. Finally there's background on Stephen King and his novel as well as an animated photo gallery with behind-the-scenes photos. There's no commentary track from DePalma or any of the stars.
"The Dark Half" had much promise but George Romero's film of King's novel doesn't quite live up to its potential. Still, the film has its moments unfortunately this full screen presentation of the film doesn't do it justice. There's no extra features to speak of and the transfer is so-so and the film really would benefit from a widescreen presentation and commentary track by Romero.
"Needful Things" always felt over-the-top to me. It has a fine screenplay by W. D. Richter ("Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and "Stealth") but Fraser Heston's direction seems intent on proving his chops as a director at the expense of the story. The transfer is pretty good here as well. A couple of terrific performances highlight the movie including the late J.T. Walsh, Max Von Sydow, Ed Harris. Despite the potential here "Needful Things" just misses the mark despite an excellent cast and production design.
So I'd give five stars to "Carrie" and "Misery"; two stars for "The Dark Half" and "Needful Things". It's a pity that this set just repackages previous releases and doesn't have another disc of extras. This is a economic way to get all four films if you must have them but, really, only two of these films are essential.
Good value, light on features 
2005-08-10 - This collection is pretty good, but there really were no special features. Good value if you are a Stephen King fan and are just in it for the films themselves.
