Stephen King DVD Collector’s Set (MGM)
Picture:
C+/C/C/C+ Sound: C+/C/C+/C+ Extras: B-/C-/C-/C- Films:
Carrie (1976) B
Misery (1990) C+
The Dark Half (1991) D
Needful Things (1993) C+
As a
catch-all set for those interested, MGM has issued a box of four theatrical
feature films they have previously released on DVD and dubbed it the Stephen King DVD Collector’s Set. These are actually some pretty old DVD
pressings for the most part, though the films are uneven to boot.
The best
of them is easily Brian De Palma’s original 1976 film of Carrie, one of the very best versions ever made of a King
book. Sissy Spacek plays the title
character, a young lady rejected by her mean-spirited peers, stuck with a
psychotic mother who takes The Bible way to far and stuck in the world
alone. After an ugly incident in gym
class, some of the other girls (including Amy Irving, P.J. Soles and Nancy
Allen in star-making turns) get in trouble, but decide to retarget Carrie White
just the same.
It is her
gym teacher Miss Collins (Betty Buckley) who tries to help, but even her
co-workers in the administration of the school are ineffective, apathetic and
are as much of the problem as a result are as complicit. The prom is on the way and the girls plan to ignore
Collins and hatch a plot including the help of a few of their male friends
(including John Travolta and William Katt) to get back at Carrie.
Unfortunately
for all of them, she has a secret connected to her coming of age and if they do
not turn back their plans and self-centered hatreds in time, but they just
cannot help themselves resulting in one of the most unforgettable prom nights
in cinema history.
A big hit
that could have been bigger if United Artists had given it a top-rate Exorcist or Omen type of release, it is one of the most influential films of
the 1970s. It has been imitated,
ripped-off and there is even a terrible TV remake that was recently made and
quickly forgotten. Unfortunately at the
time, King and De Palma were not respectable enough and the film was not the
blockbuster it deserved to be. It is a
classic of its genre and has rarely been equaled since.
Rob
Reiner directed Misery and though he
did it with little distinction, James Caan was the right choice for author Paul
Sheldon of the hit book series he has grown tired of and Kathy Bates steals the
film in her remarkably consistent performance as obsessed fan Annie, who loves
the book series, lands up saving Paul from a car accident and then want to
“help” him until he finds out the heroine of the series will die in the last
book. She will not have that and will do
what she must to make him change his mind about changing the book’s
outcome. The film becomes almost
self-satire in Reiner’s indistinctive hands, making this critic always wonder
what would have happened if a stronger director handled the material.
Many have
bashed George Romero’s work on the hit anthology film Creepshow, but any problems that film has a re a picnic as compared
to the commercial and critical failure of The
Dark Half, a disastrous commercial follow-up to his very underrated Monkey Shines. Like Misery,
the story centers on a writer (Timothy Hutton) who wants to distance himself
from his franchise of murder books and comes up with a dumb scheme to do so,
which backfires when people actually start turning up dead. Despite Hutton’s best efforts, the
incoherence of the Romero and King styles really does not gel here and this
becomes very tired very quickly.
Finally
is the underrated Needful Things, a dark
comedy that became the last major Castle Rock production before Turner
Entertainment bought the company. Though
not perfect, the Fraser C. Heston-directed tale is about a mysterious figure
(Max Von Sydow) who visits the actual Castle Rock, Maine and brings nothing but
havoc in his wake, especially as the townspeople suddenly turn on each
other. The local sheriff (Ed Harris) is
befuddled as to why at first, then it becomes apparent their new guest is up to
something very evil. The cast includes
Bonnie Bedelia, Amanda Plummer and the late, great character actor J.T. Walsh
in one of the more underrated adaptations of a King work. This one is worth a look and some rediscovery
for its daring to be dark.
All of
these films were 1.85 X 1 theatrical releases, but are presented here in
various forms. Carrie and Needful Things
are anamorphically enhanced and fare the best, though both are softer than they
should be, with Needful Things
having less of an excuse since it is not over 30 years old like the De Palma
film. Mario Tosi’s cinematography is
particularly impressive, even against work by Barry (Misery) Sonnenfeld and the great Tony (Dark Half) Pierce-Roberts, B.S.C., while Misery is only full screen & letterboxed and Dark Half is actually only Full Screen! It looks the worse.
All the
films are Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, but with very weak surrounds, except Carrie.
At the time this then-25th anniversary DVD arrived, MGM still
has their great contract doing deluxe CD soundtracks with the Rykodisc label and
those discs often included samples of dialogue.
Now all collectible, MGM did a 5.1 remix of the previously monophonic Carrie and used the music to fill the
surrounds. It actually lacked the warmth
and fullness of PCM 2.0 Mono tracks on 12” LaserDisc releases of the film,
including a Criterion Collection edition, though Pino Donaggio’s score (with
pieces of Bernard Herrmann here and there) is terrific. This will need a remix upgrade with better
dialogue and sound effects sources like the Bond films when the Blu-ray
arrives.
Extras
include theatrical trailers on all four DVDs, booklets on all but Needful Things and the only other
extras are on Carrie. Though they are not all the extras from The
Criterion LaserDisc, they include King biography, piece on the attempted
musical version of the film, animated photo gallery and two solid documentaries
on the film: Acting Carrie and Visualizing Carrie. It’s easily the best film in the set and up
there with Apt Pupil and Kubrick’s The Shining as the best adaptation of a
King thriller ever set to film.
- Nicholas Sheffo
