Review by Stuart O'Connor
Stars Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell,
Kiefer Sutherland, Casey Siemaszko, Bradley Gregg | Written by Raynold Gideon & Bruce Evans
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £19.99 | BD Region ABC | Runtime 88 minutes | Directed by Rob Reiner
It's rare to find a decent adaptation of a Stephen King story, and Stand By Me – based on his novella The Body – is easily the best of the lot. Yes, better even than The Shawshank Redemption, based on another story from the same book, Different Seasons.
Set in the 1950s, it's the tale of four young friends who go on an overnight hike in the woods to find the body of a kid their age, who has been struck and killed by a train. A simple plot, yes, but in the hands of director Reiner and his amazing young cast, the superb material simply sings. It's a coming-of-age drama, but it also deals with the timeless theses of friends, family and growing up.
Hard to believe it's now 25 years old (and one of the cast, River Phoenix, is no longer with us), but Stand By Me is as beautiful, moving, powerful and amusing as the day it was released. And this newly-remastered Blu-ray release does the film perfect justice. A true modern classic.
EXTRAS ★★★★ An audio commentary with director Reiner; a 25th anniversary reunion picture-in-picture retrospective commentary featuring Reiner and stars Wheaton and Feldman; the featurette Walking the Tracks: The Summer of Stand By Me (36:46); the Stand By Me music video, featuring Phoenix and Wheaton.