Misery 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		0.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Misery 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 24, 2026

There's a perhaps unavoidable if understandable feeling of melancholy some viewers will have when watching Misery, even aside and apart from the inherent horror of the actual story, when director Rob Reiner's name appears on the credits, but there is probably no better way to appreciate Reiner's contributions to film than by watching one of his efforts, and in that regard, Misery is certainly among his most memorable achievements. If Kathy Bates' Academy Award winning performance as demented über fan Annie Wilkes is the undisputed highlight of the film, Reiner's mastery of pace and tension building is just as undeniably a major element adding to the film's impact. Arrow's UK branch has released the film in 4K, porting over supplements from Kino Lorber's own 4K release for Region A as well as adding some new bonus items into the mix. As tends to be the case, however, Arrow's release does not include a 1080 disc as was the case with the Kino Lorber release.

Misery has received several reviews through the years here in both its 1080 and 4K editions, and those interested can persuse the following links for plot information, lists of supplements, and reactions to the technical presentations:

Misery Blu-ray review

Misery Blu-ray review

Misery 4K Blu-ray review

Misery 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: This release does not include a 1080 Blu-ray, so these screenshots are taken directly from the 4K UHD disc and downscaled to 1080 and SDR. Color space in particular is therefore not accurate, and I recommend those interested to look at some of the screenshots in the two above linked 1080 reviews for a probably better representation of the palette. Since this release does not include a 1080 disc, the 2K video score above has been intentionally left blank.

Misery is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet offers the following basic information about the presentation:

Misery is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with 5.1 and 2.0 stereo audio. The film is presented in 4K resolution in HDR10 and Dolby Vision.

The restored 4K master was supplied by MGM via Park Circus.

Arrow typically notes when it has done additional work on 4K releases which have already had a Region A release from Kino Lorber, and the absence of any such mention may subliminally suggest this is very similar to the well reviewed Region A release. Detail levels are consistently appealing throughout, including everything from almost individually discrete snowflakes in several vignettes, but more noticeably things like textures on fabrics in Annie's quaint (?) cottage, as well as the many close-ups of both Paul and Annie, where virtually every wrinkle (or, in Paul's case, injury) is precisely defined. The palette is beautifully suffused for the most part, with only a few very dimly lit scenes offering a bit less vividness and arguably just hints of deficits in shadow detail (which probably only up the angst levels). There are no discernable signs of age related wear and tear, and grain resolves naturally throughout the presentation.

Misery 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Misery really doesn't offer an overly baroque sound design, and so both the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 options on this disc may not have a lot to "play" with, so to speak, but the surround track definitely opens up some of the background ambient environmental effects (noticeably some of the blizzard material), as well as offering a very spacious accounting of Marc Shaiman's nicely moody score. Some sound effects like the horrifying hobbling vignette are memorably powerful. Dialogue is rendered without any problems. Optional English subtitles are available.

Misery 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: More information on the previously released supplements is available in the above linked reviews. I've indicated the supplements that are new to this edition with asterisks (*) below.

• Audio Commentaries

Commentary by Rob Reiner




Commentary by William Goldman




Commentary by Teri Gamble & Julia Marchese*

• Interviews

Rob Reiner Directs a Thriller (HD; 37:10)




Greg Nicotero: Practical Effects and Human Replicas (HD; 26:13)




Marc Shaiman: Misery's Chord* (HD; 14:53) is a new interview with the composer.

• Misery Loves Company (HD; 29:52)


• Marc Shaiman's Musical Misery Tour (HD; 14:29)


• Vintage Featurettes

Diagnosing Annie Wilkes (HD; 8:48)




Profile of a Stalker (HD; 6:20)




Advice for the Stalked (HD; 5:00)




Celebrity Stalkers (HD; 5:09)




Anti-Stalking Laws (HD; 2:24)

• Trailers

Teaser Trailer 1 (HD; 1:00)




Teaser Trailer 2 (Season's Greetings) (HD; 2:28)




Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:22)

• Image Galleries

Posters (HD)




Black & White Promo Stills (HD)




Colour Promo Stills (HD)

Arrow's insert booklet contains longer than usual essays by Sean Abley, Kat Ellinger, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and David Mose, all of which contribute some interesting analyses. The keepcase sleeve is reversible, and packaging also features a slipcover.

Misery 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

For such a "simple" premise, Misery creates significant unease and increasing tension, and it certainly offers an extremely memorable performance from Kathy Bates. Technical merits are solid and Arrow has aggregated some very appealing supplements. Recommended.