First & Last 017

Can you guess the movie from its first and last image?

Try this one without the last image (after the jump along with the answer) since the last image will surely give it away... 

okay here's the last (giveaway) image

Yes, it's Misery (1990) the hit thriller that earned Kathy Bates her Oscar as James Caan's "Number one fan". Do you recall the first time you saw Misery ? Was it on cable, at the movies, or on streaming?

Comments

[Paranoid Android]

This is the first one I’ve guessed correctly! So glad Bates won for this.. such an atypical performance for Oscar.

[Edwin]

I didn’t start following the Oscars until the 2000 race (or rather, the 2001 season celebrating films released in 2000), so most of my knowledge of Oscar buzz before that comes from watching the old Siskel & Ebert specials. They did an episode either shortly before or after the nominations for 1990 where they indicated Anjelica Huston was the frontrunner for Best Actress, but based on precursors it seems to me like Kathy Bates’s victory was a fairly safe bet, so does anyone here have any insight on this? Was Anjelica the frontrunner early in the season only for Kathy to take the lead once the Globes, etc. started handing out their awards, or did Siskel & Ebert just have it wrong (which is possible considering Ebert in particular was a big fan of The Grifters and may have been doing some wishful thinking)?

[Mike in Canada]

@Edwin I think Woodward was seen as a strong contender too. Precursors weren't as meaningful back then (best actress drama doesn't align with the winner much in the '80s).
So it was a pretty open race.

I'll always appreciate James Caan for being one of those actors that takes the second string lead to a more dynamic female lead. If you want to see the key work from Bates, Mason, Streisand, Fonda, Midler... you'll see a lot of James Caan.

[charlea]

I don’t remember the first time I watched Misery but I’m pretty sure it was after I read the novel first. I was one of those kids reading Stephen King novels probably too early (middle school age if not earlier) and Misery was actually the first one I read. It’s a good film and Bates is great. Personally I think Anjelica Huston was robbed flat out for her greatest role ever in The Grifters. And I also think Kathy Bates was also robbed flat out for her greatest role ever in Primary Colors. Oh if I could control the winners…

[Mr Ripley79]

I started to take a real interest in the Oscars around 1990 so i'm old enough to remember this race.

Huston was considered the favourite due to critical wins with Bates after the Globe win a spoiler or maybe that years big breakout star Julia Roberts could win a la Audrey Hepburn in 53.

The thing was bar Roberts and Bates the other 3 Woodward,Streep and Huston had Oscars, Huston's came just 5 years prior.

I also think the hoo hah around Pfeiffer being cast in the Frankie and Johnny role Bates did on stage might have played into it but i'm just speculating.

My own ballot I know some worship Meryl in Postcards but I feel she's slightly miscast but still good and MacLaine for me walks all over her,Joanne Woodward always leaves me cold.

Bates - Misery
Roberts - Pretty Woman
Huston - The Grifters
Sarandon - White Palace
Winger - The Sheltering Sky

[Joe G.]

This is such a great Oscar win, and I do think it's one that really mattered in the performer of the career. Kathy Bates, while enormously talented, was doing small parts in films before she won. While I suspect she would have had a fine career, with a few emmys on her mantle, I do think this win was essential for her to become a household name and to get plum (if supporting) roles in films.

I've recently wondered about someone like Margo Martindale. What if she had gotten a role like the Annie Wilkes one in the mid-90s?

[Finbar McBride]

Misery was a difficult movie to cast. Reportedly Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, Mel Gibson, Robert De Niro, Harrison Ford, Michael Douglas, Al Pacino, and Gene Hackman all declined the leading role of the imprisoned writer.

Among the actresses who declined to play the Oscar winning lead were Barbra Streisand, Anjelica Huston, and Debra Winger. Acknowledging that Kathy Bates is very good in Misery, I have two actresses who I would like to have seen in the role.

I do wish Bette Midler hadn’t been afraid of the role. She explained on the talk show with Arsenio Hall that she was worried what her fans would think. She expressed specific concern about the scene where Annie Wilkes hobbles Paul Sheldon.

The prominent actress who really wanted the part was Mary Tyler Moore. Director Rob Reiner thought Moore was too pretty to play the villain. Looking at her work in Ordinary People and her strong comedic skills, I contend Moore was right to lobby for the role, I think she would have been brilliant.