Stand By Me [1987]

This isn't the kind of film people will buy if they don't know what it's about, so I won't go into a synopsis of the film or a review of it. What I'd like to write about are the extras on the DVD. The extended "making of" feature answers all the questions we ever asked, with present-day interviews with Reiner, Wheaton, Feldman, Connell and Sutherland. None of them got *too* maudlin about River Phoenix... Also present is Stephen King, who hails SBM as the first movie adaptation of any of his books with which he was pleased, especially as the film cahnges the focus from the Chris Chambers character to Gordie.

Anyone who knows the film well should absolutely hear Rob Reiner's running commentary to the film. This is my one criticism of Columbia - it wasn't easy to find: the option on the menu page didn't work and it had to be called up by selecting Audio Soundtrack 7. Explaining both the technical ins and outs of how some of the shots were achieved (don't miss the train dodge!) and the impact of filming some of the scenes put a new perspective on the movie for me.

I was also glad to discover that I'm not the only one who thought that Will Wheaton's and the young doe's facial features looked remarkably similar... :)

All in all, if you've worn out your copy of the VHS, invest in the DVD - it's worth it! Not to mention that Rob Reiner knows how to use a panoramic cinema screen and the widescreen version just looks so much better than the P&S versions available on VHS!


"Stand By Me" is a lyrical, funny coming of age tale .....   December 6, 2003
Alex Diaz-Granados (Miami, FL United States)
15 out of 15 found this review helpful

Okay, I admit it. Like Rick Blaine in Casablanca, I am a "rank sentimentalist." As such, there are many movies that can bring me to tears: E.T., Summer of '42, Casablanca...no matter what era they were released or who directed them, there will always be movies that will jerk some heart-felt tears out of this mostly action-adventure film watcher.

Stand By Me, Rob Reiner's 1986 bittersweet coming of age story based on Stephen King's novella The Body, is definitely one of those movies that move me.

Starring Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation), River Phoenix (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), Corey Feldman (The Lost Boys), Jerry O'Connell (Sliders, Joe's Apartment) and Kiefer Sutherland (24), Stand By Me tells how a group of four boys goes into the woods in search of the body of train-struck Ray Brower, hoping to recover it before a gang led by Ace (Sutherland at his meanest, menacing best) does.

Reiner, working from a well-written screenplay by Raymond Gideon and Bruce A. Evans, excellently captures King's nostalgia-tinged story's mix of drama, comedy and even a bit of horror. He coaxes very natural acting from his four main actors, particularly from Wheaton, Phoenix, and O'Connell. Even Feldman, a child actor I really did not like in other films before his career flopped, is heartbreakingly poignant as Teddy Duchamp, the son of a mentally-ill World War II veteran. Despite being scarred by his father's harsh punishments, Teddy is proud of his father's wartime service. One of the best scenes is his confrontation with the mean junkyard operator of Castle Rock, where Teddy's conflicting emotions of anger and love for his dad are summed up by his tearful yell of "My father stormed the beach at Normandy!"

The heart and soul of this movie comes from the friendship between Gordie Lachance (Wheaton), the sensitive would-be writer, and Chris Chambers (Phoenix), a bright kid who seems destined for disgrace because he comes from the wrong part of Castle Rock. Chris projects a tough shell to hide his inner turmoil, while Gordie is having trouble coping with a family tragedy.

Reiner shines as a director capable of mixing moments of comedy (watch for a hilarious exchange revolving around the mystery surrounding Goofy's identity -- "Mickey's a mouse, Pluto is a dog...so what's Goofy?"), drama (an encounter with an approaching train), and a wickedly gross revenge story told by Gordie involving a very large boy and a pie-eating contest.

A particularly effective narration by Richard Dreyfuss (who plays the adult Gordon Lachance) adds just the right mix of wry humor and bittersweet nostalgia, and Jack Nitzsche's gentle and subtle score, with its interpolation of the classic rock 'n' roll song "Stand By Me" just heightens the poignancy of this affecting tale of boyhood friendship.


A quiet classic   January 16, 2007
Mr. B. Ercin
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

Adapted from the Steven King novella, The Body, Stand by me is set in 1950s Maine( well, it is Steven King) and follows four young freinds as they they set out on a hike in search of the dead body of a child of their own age, killed by a train. The film opens with Richard Dreyfuss seated in his car, the the grown up version of his character, Gordon Lachance, now a proffesional writer. The elder Lachance acts as narrator for the story, reminicing on the events of that trip , his relationship with his freinds, paticularly Chris, played by River Pheonix, and how the search for a dead body became more than just a trip out of morbid fascination but a search for themselves, their own personal hopes and dreams, pains and sorrows and their escape into each other. The movie differs from the book in certain areas, as it must, paticularly in the relationship between Gordy and his deceased older brother( John Cusack ), and the ending is slightly less sombre. The magic of this film is the exploration of childhood that everyone can relate to, and sets this film apart from many a sickly hollywood coming of age drama. Boasting an irresistible soundtrack of old rock an roll classics, this film is responsible for bringing the Ben E. King song of the title back to life. Nostalgic but not sickly, funny and sad, this film lures your childhood memories out of their hiding place and plays them before your eyes. Compellingly acted by its child stars, this film is made all the more powerful when watched now, knowing the real life fate River Pheonix. A must see.


Standing the test of time   March 1, 2007
Dave Jeffery (UK)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Stand by me was conceived from the Stephen King short story 'The Body' in his book Different Seasons (which also gave us The Shawshank Redemption and Apt Pupil). A group of children go on a road trip to find a body rumoured to be lying in the woods.

As a movie this is not only one of the best Stephen King adaptations it also stands the test of time. Sterling performances by the late River Pheonix and Cory Feldman aside, this movie captures the soul of youth and the destruction of innocence with consumate ease and sensitivity.

Bob Reiner, better known for Spinal Tap before this, is confident in his delivery of what has ultimately become a classic tale of childhood's end.


A truly wonderful film   August 15, 2001
whatisyouth@hotmail.com (London, England)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

It's one of those perfect films, that hardly anyone's seen but those who have remember it for all time. I suspect that the people who come to read these reviews have often seen the movie rather than not, so I won't waste time with telling you how good it is - you should really know that for yourself.

However, if you do need convincing; I watched this film when I was about 12, the same age as the boys in the film, and although I'm a girl most of what they were going through I understood. And even coming back to it now at 17, it strikes me everytime how innocent yet wise it really is.

I think the word 'bitter-sweet' pretty well describes it. And of course the song! the song at the end 'Stand by me' - Ben.E.King, which remains one of my favourite songs.

Talking it over with people, I made the common discovery that with the few who had seen it, it was also one of their favourite films.

Words like 'a timeless classic' really do not, do it justice, but the meaning is very true.

Oh, and as a finishing note - I thought it stange and a bit funny that - I know it's rude but I can't remember his name, the plump kid in the film - Jerry O'Connel? is that it? ends up as the hero in the sci-fi tv series Sliders. I thought his character would have been proud of him :o)