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Product Description
From Amazon.co.uk
A sleeper hit when released in 1986, Stand by Me is based on Stephen King's novella "The Body" (from the book Different Seasons); but it's more about the joys and pains of boyhood friendship than a morbid fascination with corpses. It's about four boys ages 12 and 13 (Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell) who take an overnight hike through the woods near their Oregon town to find the body of a boy who's been missing for days. Their journey includes a variety of scary adventures (including a ferocious junkyard dog, a swamp full of leeches and a treacherous leap from a train trestle), but it's also a time for personal revelations, quiet interludes and the raucous comradeship of best friends. Set in the 1950s, the movie indulges an overabundance of anachronistic profanity and a kind of idealistic, golden-toned nostalgia (it's told in flashback as a story written by Wheaton's character as an adult, played by Richard Dreyfuss). But it's delightfully entertaining from start to finish, thanks to the rapport among its young cast members and the timeless, universal themes of friendship, family and the building of character and self-esteem. Kiefer Sutherland makes a memorable teenage villain and look closely for John Cusack in a flashback scene as Wheaton's now-deceased and dearly missed brother. A genuine crowd-pleaser, this heartfelt movie led director Rob Reiner to even greater success with his next film, The Princess Bride. --Jeff Shannon
Additional Features
Looking back on the popular 1986 film 14 years later, director Rob Reiner has several great stories to tell about his breakthrough hit. Reiner's folksy commentary and a new 35-minute featurette (with new interviews from the cast) illustrate how much of the film draws from the personal experiences of Reiner and novelist Stephen King. Both the featurette and Reiner's commentary touch on the tricky casting of the film (starring four adolescent boys), the problems with finding the right narrator (finally performed by Reiner's childhood friend, Richard Dreyfuss), and the ironic sadness of River Phoenix's death (whose character's premature death triggers the flashback that comprises almost all of the film). Descriptions of the production's originial producer-screenwriters and long-shot logistics are, unfortunately, relegated to the liner notes. Also contains an isolated musical score track (punctuated by several early rock favorites), production notes, the MTV video of the title song, and digitally remastered audio and video. --Doug Thomas
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Coming of age,
By
This review is from: Stand By Me (DVD)
Many times in my life I've felt on the verge of an adventure. Many times I haven't followed through, but when I have the world has opened up to a new understanding. That's what I think about when I think of this movie. A coming of age tale of stretching the view of the world and the lessons that are part of a growing understanding. Any person that has tried to stretch their wings and move out into an unknown opportunity or future can identify with the feelings such a choice encompasses. The moving story combined with a beautiful song are a hard combination to top.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best friendly film,
By Eric Chagnon (St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Qc, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Stand by Me (Widescreen) (DVD)
When I was 12 ( I'm 21), I fell in love for a movie called Now and then, starring Christina Ricci, Rosie O'Donnell, Demi Moore and more...It was a coming-of-age movie. So, on the box of the VHS, it was written : The best coming-of-age since Stand by me. It made me curious about this flick, but I didn't any chances to watch it, until last May. I was working (in a Video Store), when I saw the vhs box of the movie...And when I watched it, I immediately felt in love with this beautiful movie. I really think it's the better coming-of-age movie that I've seen in my life. I just bought the DVD and woaw, again, it's a great movie. The performances of the 4 boys are remarquabe, especially Wil Wheaton and River Phoenix. I will watch this movie again and again and again. You can't be tired of Stand by me. And I don't know what to say about the end of this movie.It makes me cry each times that I see it. The story is wonderful. When I'm listening this movie, I forget all my problems. It's a film you can't miss.It's a masterpiece !
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
New DVD Release Is the Definitive Version,
By A Customer
This review is from: Stand by Me (Widescreen) (DVD)
I'm not going to write a synopsis of the plot here or tell you how great the movie is. You already know that. If you are going to buy this movie on DVD and have never seen it, plan to watch the bonus documentary included on the new DVD release first, "Walking the Tracks," a behind-the-scenes look at the making of film as told by Rob Reiner, Stephen King, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman and Jerry O'Connell. You'll hear Wil explain why Gordie doesn't get his brother's Yankee cap returned, what Jerry O'Connell really thought of Kiefer Sutherland, and how Rob Reiner made two of the cast members weep during the train trestle scene! The docu footage appears to have been shot on the late 1990s or even early 2000, and it's wonderful to see these people together again (River Phoenix, who died in 1993, is not part of the documentary, but is referred to by just about everyone being interviewed). The DVD format has the advantage of letterbox format (don't worry--you won't get a shrunk and stretched-looking movie . . . the widescreen format for this movie is superb, and it will make you toss your old VHS copy in the trash five minutes into the movie). The sound is good as it gets, and you'll also have subtitle options (watch dialogue to the flick in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Tai, or Korean). Overdubbed voice options include French, Spanish, Portuguese, and of course, the original dialogue in English. The best part for me was watching the movie with English subtitles, which made me realize for the first time what some of the dialogue was (including some put downs my ears could never quite figure out--"wet end" and "whoremaster," among others). But far and away, the reason you must buy this DVD is to listen to Rob Reiner's personable director's commentary as the film plays. It's an option, so you can still watch and listen to the complete movie in its original format, but if you've already memorized the scenes because you've seen this movie countless times, listen to Rob's (apparently one-take and continuous) comments about each scene. He's also very funny, and his anecdote about the scene in which Ray Brower is found by the tracks is hilarious, despite the somber tone of this section of the movie. Other perks: the long-lost video of "Stand by Me," featuring singer Ben E. King, River Phoenix and Wil Wheaton (the song was originally a #4 hit in 1960 and was re-released in the fall of 1986, peaking at #9--Rob Reiner makes a comment about the song going to #1 both times, but he's not correct). Some other treats round out the DVD, like bios of each star and scene selection. Don't wait another minute. Buy/rent a DVD player if you don't already have one.
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