Directed by:
Rob ReinerCinematography:
Thomas Del RuthComposer:
Jack NitzscheCast:
Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell, Kiefer Sutherland, Casey Siemaszko, Gary Riley, Bradley Gregg, Marshall Bell, Richard Dreyfuss (more)Plots(1)
In a small woodsy Oregon town, a group of friends--sensitive Gordie (Wil Wheaton), tough guy Chris (River Phoenix), flamboyant Teddy (Corey Feldman), and scaredy-cat Vern (Jerry O'Connell)--are in search of a missing teenager's body. Wanting to be heroes in each other's and their hometown's eyes, they set out on an unforgettable two-day trek that turns into an odyssey of self-discovery. They sneak smokes, tell tall tales, cuss 'cause it's cool and band together when the going gets tough. When they encounter the town's knife-wielding hoods who are also after the body, the boys discover a strength they never knew they had. STAND BY ME is a rare and special film about friendship and the indelible experiences of growing up. Filled with humor and suspense, STAND BY ME is based on the novella 'The Body' by Stephen King. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (8)
I first saw Stand by Me a long, long time ago, before I’d even read the original short story by King (I didn’t notice that I knew the story until the separate scenes of the movie started to unfold in front of me) and I really liked it. Now, god knows how many years later, almost nothing has changed. Maybe just that I savored it more and enjoyed seeing the young Kiefer “Jack Bauer" Sutherland in the role of Ace. The young actors put on amazing performances, most of all River Phoenix, who is no longer with us. This really is one of the best adaptations of a King book.
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My bookcase is decently stocked with Stephen King's work, so it’s no surprise to me that he can write more than just horror stories. I even feel that his great strength is mostly in how engagingly he can write about common things. For example, when I first read “It” I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the passages where the boys (and Beverly) were building a dam in the Barrens and fighting against Henry and his gang. This novella is similar. Fortunately, its great atmosphere was transferred to the film, which is almost unheard of in film adaptations of King's novels. I had a great time. Even though some moments leave a little to be desired after all these years, I stick to my original rating.
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When I first came across Stephen King's novel The Body, I immediately thought it would be worth adapting it into a screenplay from the first lines. And when I reached the passage with the dog at the dump, I remembered that someone else had already done it for me a long time ago, and that I had even seen the film; and the scene where Chopper chases Gordie, even though it's not fatal and luckily the heroes don't suffer any consequences from it, often haunted me in childhood dreams. Fortunately, a successful and surprisingly fascinating film was made from this amazing source material, which will be understood by all those who still retain at least a hint of the melancholic and half-playful mood of the boys who are slowly finishing elementary school. Even in short scenes, it is possible to show the fateful bond with an older brother, and above all, the whole film literally shines with King's melancholic mood, which seemed to me to be the toughest challenge while reading the original book. Everything could have turned out badly if it weren't for the great child actors. Moralizing about young boys is always a tricky matter, but here, everything was brilliantly handled by the fifteen-year-old River Phoenix, who convinced me that if it weren't for his tragic death, Americans could have a current acting genius. The icing on the cake is Kiefer Sutherland, who endowed the originally more or less routine villain Ace with such an aura that you will shiver when you look at him. In the end, the source material remains unbeaten, but the film was able to capture its most precious aspect – the mood it evokes, which will stay with the viewer for a long time.
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At first glance, it's an incredibly unassuming film, much like Stephen King's unassuming novel. But when you take a closer look and let yourself be drawn into the story of a few boys, you realize just how powerful and beautiful the drama is, serving as a portrayal of the differences between being a child and an adult. It's almost like betting. What do you think will become of that boy? No, you can't tell when he's 12 or younger.
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Beautiful. I love the premise and I'm delighted that it managed to come to life so well thanks to all the boys and Rob Reiner. I was wondering how the ending could have moved me so much when almost nothing actually happens in it... And it's probably that I was just moved by the whole film, and merely saving it for the end.
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Photo © Columbia Pictures Corporation
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