Misery on France 4: three things to know about Rob Reiner’s cult film

Rob Reiner’s claustro thriller inspired by Stephen King is broadcast this evening on France 4. Or how Kathy Bates magnificently lost her temper and James Caan took care of his ankles…

Miseryby the late Rob Reiner (who died tragically with his wife in December 2025), is rebroadcast this Thursday evening on France 4. It will be visible the next day, free of charge and in streaming, on the France Télévisions website. Here are three good reasons to see or rewatch this timeless classic.

Sponge Rob

When Rob Reiner learns that an adaptation of Stephen King’s new novel — Miserypublished in 1987 in the United States — is in the pipeline, it is positioning itself very quickly. Miserywith its obvious self-reflexive significance, encouraged King to shoot it himself but, scalded by Maximum Overdrive (1986) — his only achievement to date — he leaves it to others to take care of.

The novel tells the nightmare of Paul Sheldon, a famous writer kidnapped by Annie, a psychologically fragile fan. Annie thus intends to directly influence the author’s inspiration.

Rob Reiner seems ideally suited to get involved. A fan of King, he named his production company, Castle Rock Entertainmentin homage to Master of Horror — a company that he co-created in 1987. Castle Rock is, in fact, an imaginary town in Maine that can be found notably in Dead Zone Or Cujo. The filmmaker mainly adapted the short story The Bodyfrom the collection Different Seasonsunder the title Stand by Me (1986), a film that King considers one of the best transpositions of his work…