Brand: Sony Pictures

Details: Amazon.ca A sleeper hit when released in 1986, Stand by Me is based on Stephen King's novella "The Body" (from the book Different Seasons); but it's more about the joys and pains of boyhood friendship than a morbid fascination with corpses. It's about four boys ages 12 and 13 (Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell) who take an overnight hike through the woods near their Oregon town to find the body of a boy who's been missing for days. Their journey includes a variety of scary adventures (including a ferocious junkyard dog, a swamp full of leeches, and a treacherous leap from a train trestle), but it's also a time for personal revelations, quiet interludes, and the raucous comradeship of best friends. Set in the 1950s, the movie indulges an overabundance of anachronistic profanity and a kind of idealistic, golden-toned nostalgia (it's told in flashback as a story written by Wheaton's character as an adult, played by Richard Dreyfuss). But it's delightfully entertaining from start to finish, thanks to the rapport among its young cast members and the timeless, universal themes of friendship, family, and the building of character and self-esteem. Kiefer Sutherland makes a memorable teenage villain, and look closely for John Cusack in a flashback scene as Wheaton's now-deceased and dearly missed brother. A genuine crowd-pleaser, this heartfelt movie led director Rob Reiner to even greater success with his next film, The Princess Bride. --Jeff Shannon Special Features Looking back on the popular 1986 film 14 years later, director Rob Reiner has several great stories to tell about his breakthrough hit. Reiner's folksy commentary and a new 35-minute featurette (with new interviews from the cast) illustrate how much of the film draws from the personal experiences of Reiner and novelist Stephen King. Both the featurette and Reiner's commentary touch on the tricky casting of the film (starring four adolescent boys), the problems with finding the right narrator (finally performed by Reiner's childhood friend, Richard Dreyfuss), and the ironic sadness of River Phoenix's death (whose character's premature death triggers the flashback that comprises almost all of the film). Descriptions of the production's originial producer-screenwriters and long-shot logistics are, unfortunately, relegated to the liner notes. Also contains an isolated musical score track (punctuated by several early rock favorites), production notes, the MTV video of the title song, and digitally remastered audio and video. --Doug Thomas

UPC: 043396073692

EAN: 0043396073692

Languages: Spanish

Binding: dvd

Item Condition: UsedVeryGood