If you’re a fan of the macabre, thenStephen Kingmovies are probably right up your alley. However, this time we won’t provide news about his scary films. In fact, there’s nothing quite scary aboutStand by Me, except that it offers a surprisingly honest look at childhood and the good and bad things that come with it. For fans of this departure from King’s usual hokum, then you have to hurry and seeStand by Mebefore it leaves Netflix on February 1.
The coming-of-age movie will depart the catalog and will disappear for a while from the streaming-verse. Note that other titles leaving the streamer on February 1 includeSnowpiercer,Zero Dark Thirtyand 2021’sDune. If you haven’t heard about the 1986 movie, just know that it’s worth paying for a Netflix subscription even if prices are ridiculously high. Yes, it isthatgood.
Stand by Meis based on King’s novellaThe Body, which was included in the compilationDifferent Seasons. It was directed by Rob Reiner, but the road to making the movie wasn’t as smooth as other King adaptations. In fact, at one point it was on the verge of being scrapped. At first, the film was calledThe Body, however, the production company was sold to Columbia Pictures and no one in the new company believed in Reiner’s project. Norman Lear, the creator ofAll in the Family(where Reiner was an actor), co-owned Embassy, and he decided to fund the movie, regardless of if he lost any input as producer. He just had faith in Reiner.
At Columbia, the film was retitled after Reiner’s recommendation.Stand by Mewas a more appropriate title, considering it wasn’t a horror movie. As much as the film was based on aneerie story by King,it was also a coming-of-age movie, and that was the angle Reiner leaned into.Stand by Meis the story of four friends who decide to go on an adventure during Labor Day weekend in 1959. Gordie, Chris, Vern and Teddy each come from a different background, and they each have their own issues. However, being 12-years-old carries emotional baggage that they will each explore when they decide to take a trip to search for the body of a missing boy.
Is ‘Stand by Me’ the Best Stephen King Film of All Time?
Stand by Mewas critically acclaimed and a box office hit. At the time of the film’s release, King’s masterpiece ofThe Shawshank Redemption, arguably his greatest non-horror movie, was still a decade away, and he was mostly known for haunted houses, vampires and things that go bump in the night. The surprising film in King’s catalog was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium category, butA Room With a Viewwon. However, there’s no denying that Reiner’s beautiful film isone of the best adaptationsof the horror master’s work. Its legacy is unquestionable.
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The film is also among King’s favorite adaptations of his own work. His claims have varied with time, but along withShawshank(which came from the same collection of stories asThe Body) andStorm of the Century, he holdsStand by Mevery close to his heart. This is what he said to Reiner after a private screening:“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.”
Stand by Me
