Stand By Me (1986)

In this article, we will be looking at 2019’s book “1001 Movies to See Before You Die” and going through each film in a random order that I have chosen. We will be looking at what constitutes this film to be on the list and whether I think this film deserves to be here at all. I want to make perfectly clear that I won’t be revealing details from this book such as analyses by film reporters who have written about the film in question, so if you want the book itself you’ll have to buy it. But I will be covering the book’s suggestions on which films should be your top priority. I wouldn’t doubt for a second that everyone reading this article has probably watched many of these movies anyway. But we are just here to have a bit of fun. We’re going to not just look at whether it should be on this list but we’re also going to look at why the film has such a legacy at all. Remember, this is the 2019 version of the book and so, films like “Joker” will not be featured in this book and any film that came out in 2020 (and if we get there, in 2021). So strap in and if you have your own suggestions then don’t hesitate to email me using the address in my bio. Let’s get on with it then.

Stand By Me (1986) dir. by Rob Reiner

Based on the book “The Body” by Stephen King, this was one of the best coming-of-age films I had seen during my teen years. River Phoenix was absolutely brilliant in this film and I have no doubt that if he did not pass away he would have become one of the greatest and most respected actors in Hollywood of his generation. He was just that talented.

When it comes to Stephen King, I think we all know that he did not think very much of Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” because of the way they made the father out to be basically a brute instead of a loveable family man. However, when it came to the adaptation of his story “The Body”, he had some more things to say. Let’s have a look at how the Chicago Tribune recalled this occasion:

''We showed the film to Stephen King alone in a screening room,'' Reiner continued, ''and when it was over he was pretty broken up. He excused himself for about 15 minutes. When he came back he said, `That`s the best film ever made out of anything I’ve written, which isn`t saying much. But you’ve really captured my story. It is autobiographical. All that was made up was the device of the hunt for the body. `I was the writer,` King said, `and my best friend was the guy who actually did instil the confidence in me to become a writer. And he actually was killed as a young man.`"

Rotten Tomatoes rates the film with an eight out of ten with most of the reviews being positive. The critical consensus reads the following:

"Stand By Me is a wise, nostalgic movie with a weird streak that captures both Stephen King's voice and the trials of growing up.”

The Los Angeles Times also weighed in on the film, stating about Reiner’s directing that there is a lot of imagination and depth to it. Check out what they said:

“What a director Reiner has become. These four young actors (and, among the less differentiated roles of the older gang, Kiefer Sutherland) have a depth and understanding that makes each character soar and live for days after the film. They are simply brilliant. These are also roles with enormous risks to them, but Reiner has seen that his cast stays honest and his movie marvellously restrained--except for one scene, staged to be as marvellously gross and unrestrained as a kid’s unfettered imagination can make it.”

And they finish their review with one of the most memorable paragraphs in any review about this film ever and the one that I think really does sum up the greatness of this movie as it is intended to be a classic:

“The film’s R rating, for the boys’ imaginative and far-rangingly blue language (and probably for the pie-eating contest gross-out), is understandable but sad. It is the way kids talk; other kids will recognise that in an instant. And “Stand By Me” is far too fine to be kept for over-17-year-olds alone; it’s a portrait of an age and a moment that its peers will recognise as an unvarnished classic.”

Here are the reviews:

Chicago Tribune

Los Angeles Times