Stand by Me

Beautiful. I love the premise and I'm delighted that it managed to come to life so well thanks to all the boys and Rob Reiner. I was wondering how the ending could have moved me so much when almost nothing actually happens in it... And it's probably that I was just moved by the whole film, and merely saving it for the end. (20/07/2020)

I first saw Stand by Me a long, long time ago, before I’d even read the original short story by King (I didn’t notice that I knew the story until the separate scenes of the movie started to unfold in front of me) and I really liked it. Now, god knows how many years later, almost nothing has changed. Maybe just that I savored it more and enjoyed seeing the young Kiefer “Jack Bauer" Sutherland in the role of Ace. The young actors put on amazing performances, most of all River Phoenix, who is no longer with us. This really is one of the best adaptations of a King book. (05/04/2008)

A bunch of youngsters who, a couple of years later, became normal actors, got together here in a pretty solid form and experienced a very extraordinarily ordinary adventure, which I will probably never forget. A great movie adventure done in the American way that reminded me of my childhood, which only adds to it. Nobody makes these ordinary children’s adventures anymore… a pity. (28/04/2016)

Despite not having read the book, I’m not afraid to say that this is an excellent adaptation. It has all the ingredients that make the work of Stephen King so distinctive and remarkable: the problematic relationships of the heroes with their parents, the loss of a loved one, Maine in the 1950s, a conflict with a physically stronger antagonist and child protagonists maturing during a series of symbolic events. The simple story is lined with the heroes’ journey to a goal that gradually gives way to situations, conversations and flashbacks, during which the kids become full-fledged characters, while the questions regarding death, affection and friendship take on concrete meanings. The pace is very slow at times, and the villains are exaggeratedly evil (as it’s traditional with King), but the power of the easygoing and unsentimental narration wins, and when in the end you hear the notes of that beautiful Ben E. King song, you feel like grabbing your sleeping bag and embark on a proper adventure with your mates – though instead of a corpse, I’d rather go looking for a sleeping beauty or a wandering beer barrel. (05/02/2019)

The 1950s to the fullest, as well as King's proprieties, but the central four boys have no chemistry with each other, nor does Reiner's narration. This adventure has a simple plot but discourages via the narrative lapse that subjectively stretches the runtime to twice its length. This is because there are a dozen more problems the boys worry about before they start liking girls, but instead of a teenage epiphany, we get an endless camera romp without passion or drama. (19/03/2017)