STAND BY ME
Anyone that knows me knows my favorite movie of all time is Stand By Me. The 1986 coming of age story from director Rob Reiner was adapted from the novella “The Body” by Stephen King. It follows four young boys, Chris, Gordie, Vern, and Teddy who go in search of a missing body. They sneak out for an ill-prepared adventure in the woods full of trains, leeches, and loose change in their pockets and becomes a weekend they’ll never forget as they learn more about themselves, the value of true friendships, and what it means to be vulnerable around each other.
Reiner couldn’t have cast this film any better and part of the truth on screen comes from him casting four boys similar to their characters with River Phoneix (Chris), Wil Wheaton (Gordie), Corey Feldman (Teddy), and Jerry O’Connell (Vern). King wrote four unique characters each one offering something a little different to the friend group. You believed them, you rooted for them, you laughed and gagged along as Gordie told the pie story, you cried as Chris opens up about feeling rejected and stereotyped, you cried when Gordie felt unwanted by his parents, laughed when Vern lost his comb, or when Teddy forcibly yelled at Milo Pressman at the junk yard. In just 90 minutes, Reiner and his cast made the audience feel something truly special on screen. It’s timeless and the true definition of a “coming of age” movie. Life seems to imitate art a little too closely given we have since lost River Phoenix. Wil Wheaton and Jerry O’Connell still remain close friends to this day appearing in The Big Bang Theory and being the in Star Trek universe.
The new 4K SteelBook doesn’t offer any new special features that weren’t already on other 4K, Blu-Ray, or DVD releases, but the artwork on the SteelBook is incredible and worth buying for any Stand By Me fan. The cover art is gorgeous in its matte blues with an iconic image of the boys inside the set. This now makes copy number seven in my collection. See the video below for all of them. This release does have the 4K and Blu-Ray together, but it does not come with the digital copy. Here’s what you can expect for special features.
4K Disc
- Feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision.
- Dolby Atmos + DTS-HD MA 5.1 and Mono audio options.
- Deleted and Alternate Scenes – A MUST-WATCH if you’ve never seen them before!
Blu-Ray Disc
- Feature presented in High Definition
- 5.1 audio
- Picture-in-Picture Commentary with Director Rob Reiner and Actors Wil Wheaton & Corey Feldman
- “Walking the Tracks: The Summer of Stand By Me”
- Audio Commentary with Director Rob Reiner
- “Stand By Me” Music Video from Ben E. King
Here’s the video I made for TikTok
