Stand By Me

I've been a Stephen King fan for a very, very long time. I've seen almost all of the film adaptations of his work and I have read all of his novels, short stories and novellas. Some of his works stand out for me more than others. Some of his stories go beyond the gore of horror to have real meaning and the story and its characters stick with you well after the credits roll on the movie or you turn the last page of the book. Stand By Me is one of those works.Simply put, this story is about four young boys who set out on a journey to see the body of a boy who was killed by a train. Sounds pretty basic and run of the mill horror, doesn't it? It is anything but. The journey the four young heroes of the film takes is more than just walking the 20-25 miles to where the body is located. It is a journey of discovery for each one of them. All four boys are flawed in some way. They all have something holding them back and keeping pain in their lives. On the way to find the kid, they find themselves buried beneath those flaws, come to terms with their pain and emerge stronger for it. Chris (River Phoenix) admits to his best friend, Geordie (Wil Wheaton) the truth about what really happened to the milk money that forever labeled him as a "thief". Chris comes from a poor family with a bad reputation so no one even bothered to find out the truth. Geordie finally confronts the death of his beloved brother, the clear favorite of the Lachance boys. Geordie's parents died the day their eldest son did and barely stop to realize they have another son who needs them and that they can draw comfort and strength from the family they have left. Geordie has been the "invisible boy" all his life. Teddy (Cory Feldman) comes from an abusive home but still somehow manages to love his father despite his having burned his sons ear on the stove. Teddy proudly tells anyone who will listen about his father storming the beach at Normandy and Teddy himself wants to demonstrate the same bravery his father did during the war. He craves something he will probably never get: his fathers approval and love. And then there is sweet little Vern (Jerry O'Connell). He's afraid of his own shadow and probably not the brightest bulb in the package. But he has a good heart, knows right from wrong and is a loyal, honest and trusting friend. Vern is the kind of friend that I think every one of us would like to have at some point in our lives. All of these young men are, really. Then there is the other side of the equation. Ace Merrill (Kiefer Sutherland) and his gang. These boys are bad to the core. They do whatever their leader Ace tells them to do and love the reputation they get from it. Two of Ace's gang are the older brothers of Chris and Vern and these two older boys are how the young boys find out about the body.This movie is set in 1959 but it can easily apply to any year, any person, any situation. There isn't a single one of the four main characters that someone cannot identify with. We all have a little bit of Chris, Geordie, Teddy or Vern in us; maybe a little bit of all of them rolled into one person. We're all afraid of something, we've all longed for the acceptance and love that never came, we've all been misunderstood because of something out of our control and we've all pushed emotions down so deep that it has taken something big to force us to deal with them. For every single one of us there is one point in our lives that we can remember with the clarity that the older Geordie (the narrator, Richard Dreyfuss) has of this overnight trip to find Ray Brower. Sometimes it brings us happiness but sometimes it brings us pain (maybe brings us both).This isn't a movie about a dead kid, this is a movie about life. All the ups and the downs, the good and the bad. It shows some things that are uncomfortable to deal with such as child abuse and the loss of a child. It doesn't sugar coat anything or leave you with the impression "this was just some made up junk in a movie". Between Stephen King's writing, Rob Reiner's directing, and the brilliant acting of four extremely talented young men this movie made you feel something. Perhaps it brings back some memories of your own childhood or even makes you think about something happening right now.The cast in this film is remarkable. No better choices could have been made for any role in this film. Each actor brought strength and power to their roles and it's easy to see why all of the main characters (the four boys as well as Ace) are all well-known and easily recognizable names now. You can't help but be moved watching this movie knowing that just like Chris, the amazing River Phoenix left this world much too soon.Unless there are outtakes or bloopers on a disc, I don't buy movies for the extras. I'm just not interested in that kind of thing. I want a quality copy of the title film and that's it. However, this DVD has some very nice special features on it. My favorite is the "Stand by Me" music video. It shows classic footage of the late Ben E. King then moves forward many years and shows him singing the song with a young River Phoenix and Wil Wheaton in the audience. Both young men get up and dance with King. With two of those men not with us anymore, that was a wonderful extra to have on the DVD.I would highly recommend this movie to anyone of any age. Young and old alike can take something good away from this movie and feel better for having watched it.

One of the best movies of all time. Definitely nostalgic for me and my daughter. If you haven’t already, you HAVE to watch it! Thank me later.

Arrived on time!Was in excellent condition 👍Good price too!

a classic movie i will always enjoy

I fell in love with "Stand By Me" ages ago. It's a brilliant coming of age movie that has ever come around. It will stay forever in everyone's heart and soul.

A good lay around on a rainy day movie.

Really shows you what the 50s were like for this children growing up & the challenges in their life. Excellent music from the time accompanies the film. One of my personal favorites

EXCELLENT