Stand By Me [DVD] [2000]

My wife and I first watched Stand by Me on video in the mid 1980's shortly after its release and were not all that taken with it. When the movie was made (1985 / 1986) the makers were our age, in their thirties, and the young actors the same age as our kids (11 and 13 at the time) and I suppose we had had enough of kids of that age, so a movie about more kids didn't really appeal. Nearly 30 years on and we have a completely different perspective on the movie.The story is so well known that I won't repeat it save as to say it takes place in Oregon in 1959 and is about four young lads looking for the body of a local boy who has gone missing and presumed to have been killed by a train. The story was originally written by Stephen King based on his childhood memories and probably originates from his own chilhood horror of have a friend killed by a passing train. The incident was so terrible that he has no recollection of it and it was pieced together by family and friends. Both Stephen King and director Rob Reiner used the telling of the story (originally titled "The Body") to examine both boyhood and the relationship of boys with their fathers, including their own, which can be funny, sad and also scary at times.Regarding the movie the boys are Chris (the late River Phoenix) whose father is a drunk; Gordie (Wil Wheaton) who footballer brother and his protector dies in a motor accident and whose father wishes it was Gordie who had died and not his brother; Teddy (Corey Feldman) whose father saw action in WW2 in the Normandy landings and comes home so mentally scarred that he burns his son's ear on a stove and is institutionalised. In the movie Teddy wears an army style T-shirt and his father's GI dog-tag. Light relief comes in the form of Vern (Jerry O'Connell) while the villians of the piece, played by Kiefer Sutherland and gang, were real enough to actually scare the younger boys when the movie was made.In chosing his young cast members Rob Reiner looked for boys of the right age, background and temperament whom he could mould into the characters to fit the story. This he has managed to do wonderfully well, as the boys never seem to be acting at all but are just boys as boys are at that age and is probably some of the best-ever movie making using kids of that age - they are just so real. The movie is both laugh out loud funny in parts and movingly poignant in others and brough back many memories of my own boyhood and the relationship I had with my father.The 2000 release DVD comes with a mono sound-track so this needs a bit of adjusting on a home theatre system to get the sound right but overall the picture quality is excellent with no mandatory Hollywood thunder storm and crashing sound effects. The DVD includes a 30 minute featurette on the making of the movie with excellent background information from Stephen King, Rob Reiner, Kiefer Sutherland and the three surviving cast members (Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman and Jerry O'Connell) who were in their late 20's when the featurette was made. It's actually worth exploring the featurette before watching the movie as the background information adds much to the understanding of the characters and the development of the story. It also includes a nice tribute to River Phoenix who tragically died of an accidental drug overdose a few years after the movie was made. There is also full-length commentary by Rob Reiner which is both informative and funny in parts but does tend to take away some of the magic of the movie.I am not sure if younger viewers will get as much out of the movie as us 70 year olds as it takes place when we were kids - a different era - no mobile phones and technology, but with a freedom to be kids and sometimes getting into all sorts of trouble.

Watched this with my daughter (14) as we wanted a break from the DC / Marvel universe.This film is special, and the kind of film that may not immediately grab you, but can linger in the mind for years / a life time - as it has with me.For me it's a great 80s americana gritty tale of camaraderie, from the viewpoint of one of 4 kids on an adventure... we all know the type of characters, and we can all probably relate to some more than others...Subtle / poignant / fun films like this need to be seen... as an antidote to the CGI crazy spectacles that are the norm at the moment...Beautiful.

Small town Oregon 1959. Four 12 year old boys decide to go in search of the body of a boy their age. They hope to become heroes for finding him, it's a challenge and adventure but also an unspoken pilgrimage of sorts. This is one of those movies where not a lot happens in terms of plot but there's a huge amount actually in it, if that makes any sense. The story is told as the narrated reminiscences of one of the boys, Gordie, as an adult writer. The characters of the boys are really well fleshed out with plenty of back story. Gordie (as a boy) is thoughtful and sensitive. After the death of his older brother, Gordie feels, and is made to feel, inadequate and unwanted. Chris comes from a 'bad' family so is expected to be bad. Under his tough exterior Chris is surely the most diplomatic, kind and empathic teenager one is ever likely to meet. Livewire flamboyant Teddy also has a traumatic back story. Teddy worships his father who 'stormed the beach at Normandy' but was violent to him. Vern is chirpy but nervous and scares easily. Vern overhears about the dead body and sets the boys' adventure in motion. They set out along the railroad tracks and face a series of challenges, sometimes amusing, sometimes terrifying, that gradually bond their friendship. Most important, they get support and encouragement from each other having been let down by parents and teachers, the meaning of the title.Unfortunately the town's older teenage thugs are also on the trail of the dead boy once they get their cars and idle asses in gear. They seem to spend a lot of their days driving around playing mailbox baseball on their ways to collect their social security payments. Basically they're an unpleasant waste of space. Scarily some of these are older brothers of some of the four boys.Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman and Jerry O'Connell are amazing, really outstanding as the boys. Astonishing that Jerry O'Connell's chirpy assured performance is his first acting credit. Wil Wheaton and River Phoenix give very convincing, mature performances. Corey Feldman's colourful performance is a joy to watch. Kiefer Sutherland, as the leader of the older gang, is surely the scariest knifewielding 'cheap dime store hood' - great performance. The narration of Richard Dreyfuss adds appropriate dry humour and cynicism. My only reservation about the movie is the liberal use of swearing. Super soundtrack of the era, including such greats as Buddy Holly, used appropriately within the context of the story and photography. Great photography especially in the rural locations and the stunts with the trains. Picture quality is excellent on the DVD but sound level (mono) is too low. There are optional subtitles and a very interesting commentary with director Rob Reiner. There is also a behind the scenes documentary including interviews with Stephen King, whose novella is the basis for the script, and the surviving young stars.In memorium - River Phoenix. A really talented actor who died too young.

This is one of my all-time favourite films. Watched it many times just can’t seem to stop watching it. Love it highly recommend it.

You need to see this, it's mandatory. Love the pie eating contest part, the best. Just get it and watch it.

It’s just rly good

Good

cool

Exactly the same as International Bluray with all the extras.

Prodotto arrivato puntuale, imballaggio ottimo, dvd all'interno in ottimo stato, ho fatto una bella figura..Questo film è stupendo ho tanti ricordi insieme ai miei amici e ogni volta che lo vedo mi mette tanta nostalgia....Il film è ambientato nell'estate del 1959: Gordon 'Gordie' Lachance, Chris Chambers, Teddy Duchamp e Vern Tessio sono quattro amici dodicenni che vivono nella piccola cittadina dell'Oregon di Castle Rock, e si preparano a passare al ginnasio.Un giorno Vern, cercando dei soldi che aveva sotterrato, ascolta per caso la conversazione tra suo fratello maggiore Billy e un amico, viene a conoscenza che i due, dopo aver rubato una macchina per fare un giro fuori città, si sono imbattuti casualmente nel cadavere di un ragazzino e non ne hanno denunciato il ritrovamento alla polizia a causa del furto appena commesso.Vern corre a raccontarlo agli amici, i quali capiscono debba trattarsi del corpo di Ray Brower, un dodicenne scomparso tre giorni prima, dopo essersi allontanato da Castle Rock per raccogliere mirtilli. I quattro ragazzi, spinti dal desiderio - ognuno per un motivo diverso - di riscattarsi e diventare degli eroi agli occhi di tutti, decidono di andare alla ricerca del corpo e si mettono in cammino lungo i binari della ferrovia. Alla fine, dopo aver superato mille ostacoli, fra cui anche quello di essersi dovuti scontrare con la banda dei più grandi, capeggiata dallo spietato Asso, trovano il cadavere. Durante il viaggio sono però maturati a tal punto da pensare che una telefonata anonima alla polizia sia la cosa migliore.Molti anni dopo, Gordie, ormai adulto e con figli, coronato il sogno di divenire uno scrittore, apprende da un giornale la notizia della morte di Chris (accoltellato perché aveva cercato di porre fine a una lite).Decide allora di scrivere un nuovo romanzo, in cui narrare la storia del loro viaggio alla ricerca del corpo di Ray Brower. Sua è la voce fuori campo che accompagna lo spettatore per tutto il film.Personaggi ModificaGordie Lachance ModificaÈ il protagonista del film, un bambino sensibile, molto intelligente e con un talento nel raccontare storie, che lo porterà a diventare scrittore. Alla morte del fratello maggiore Denny viene ignorato dai genitori, soprattutto dal padre, tanto da pensare che l'uomo avrebbe preferito la sua morte a quella del fratello. È il migliore amico di Chris.Chris Chambers ModificaÈ il leader del gruppo, nonché il migliore amico di Gordie. I membri della sua famiglia hanno una pessima reputazione e ciò porta gli abitanti di Castle Rock a considerarlo un poco di buono, malgrado non sia affatto tale. Chris si rende conto del dono di Gordie per la scrittura, ma anche di come rischi, a suo dire, di rovinarsi frequentandoli; per questo motivo diventa per lui una sorta di "padre spirituale", pronto a spronarlo a tirare fuori il meglio di sé. Suo fratello è Caramello Chambers, che fa parte della banda dei Cobra. Alla fine del film, ormai adulto e divenuto un ricco e famoso avvocato, si verrà a sapere che morirà accoltellato in un fast-food perché aveva cercato di porre fine a una lite, poiché ha sempre cercato di rimediare a tutto.Teddy Duchamp ModificaÈ un ragazzo molto eccentrico con dei grossi occhiali da vista neri. Nonostante il padre insano di mente (ex-militare che ha partecipato allo sbarco in Normandia e che è poi stato rinchiuso in una clinica psichiatrica) gli abbia bruciato un orecchio appoggiandolo su una stufa accesa, lui continua a volergli bene e a difenderlo imperterrito da ogni sorta di accusa. Alla fine del film si scopre che ha tentato addirittura di arruolarsi nell'esercito per seguire le orme del padre, ma la vista e l'orecchio non glielo hanno consentito, ritrovandosi così a fare lavoretti saltuari nei dintorni di Castle Rock, finendo diverse volte in prigione.Vern Tessio ModificaÈ un ragazzo timido molto pauroso e un po' impacciato, spesso preso in giro dagli altri poiché sbadato e in sovrappeso. Ha un fratello maggiore, amico di Caramello Chambers della banda dei Cobra. Da grande lavorerà come manovratore di gru, si sposerà e avrà 4 figli.

Sicuramente uno dei film più belli che siano stati fatti sulla difficile età adolescenziale, insieme con Il Buio Oltre La Siepe, di Mulligan,altro capolavoro, tratto dal libro omonimo,altrettanto bello, di Harper Lee. La visone di questi film,con la lettura dei libri,dovrebbe essere obbligatoria nelle scuole, a partire dalla terza media. Senza dimenticare Truffaut che ha detto anche lui cose molte belle su quest'età.Penso a I 400 Colpi e a Gli Anni In Tasca.

Quel bonheur de retrouver ce film avec un telle image ...Pour les amoureux de ce film, il s'agit bel et bien d'une édition maitresse de ce film !!!

J'ai découvert ce film à la télé quand j'étais adolescent et J'ai redécouvert la puissance émotionnelle de cette histoire !Ce film aborde les thèmes de l'amitié et la découverte du monde avec justesse.