Stand by Me (1986)

After the death of a friend, a writer recounts a boyhood journey to find the body of a missing boy.

Director:

Rob Reiner

Writers:

Stephen King (novel), Raynold Gideon (screenplay),

Stars:

Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman

Top 250 #176 | Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Wil Wheaton	...	Gordie Lachance
River Phoenix	...	Chris Chambers
Corey Feldman	...	Teddy Duchamp
Jerry O'Connell	...	Vern Tessio
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Ace Merrill
Casey Siemaszko	...	Billy Tessio
Gary Riley	...	Charlie Hogan
Bradley Gregg	...	Eyeball Chambers
Jason Oliver	...	Vince Desjardins
Marshall Bell	...	Mr. Lachance
Frances Lee McCain	...	Mrs. Lachance
Bruce Kirby	...	Mr. Quidacioluo
William Bronder	...	Milo Pressman
Scott Beach	...	Mayor Grundy
Richard Dreyfuss	...	The Writer

Storyline

4 young friends set out on an adventure. Geordie, Chris, Teddy and Vern go looking for the missing body of a local teenager - found by a gang of older boys. A story of boys hangin' out and growin' up.

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Plot Keywords:

friend | boy | writer | death | railroad track | 

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Taglines:

For some, it's the last real taste of innocence, and the first real taste of life. But for everyone, it's the time that memories are made of.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 August 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Body

Filming Locations:

380 South San Rafael Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$52,287,414 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Act III, Act III Communications

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While filming the scene in which Ace Merrill takes Gordie's brother's Yankees cap, Kiefer Sutherland's first instinct was to put it on, rather than hand it to Eyeball Chambers. Reiner told Sutherland not to put the hat on as a way of showing that Ace was stealing it just to be cruel to Gordie and not because the hat itself was at all important to Ace. Sutherland and Wheaton both confirm in the DVD's behind the scenes documentary that the reason that Gordie never gets the hat back from Ace is that Ace threw it away immediately after stealing it from Gordie.

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Goofs

Immediately before the boys start to cross the bridge.

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Quotes

[first lines]
The Writer: [voiceover] I was 12 going on 13 the first time I saw a dead human being. It happened in the summer of 1959-a long time ago, but only if you measure in terms of years. I was living in a small town in Oregon called Castle Rock. There were only twelve hundred and eighty-one people. But to me, it was the whole world.

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Crazy Credits

As the end credits begin, we see Gordie's son and his friend playing on his front yard on their way to a swimming pool.

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Connections

Referenced in Free Radio: Sidekick for a Day (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Hush-a-Bye"
by Doc Pomus (as D. Pomus) and Mort Shuman (as M. Shuman)
Performed by The Mystics
All rights administered by Unichappell Music, Inc.
Courtesy of Continental Communications Corp.

User Reviews

Biggest one in four counties

Perhaps this is a personal bias because I had friends like this when I was 12, but having said that this is one of the best films I have ever seen and it hits every chord perfectly.

There were four of us that were friends and we were known as the Stand By Me Crew. Mike, Gary, Andy and myself were inseparable. And as this film prophesizes correctly, the group has since split up and now I am only good friends with one of them. This movie makes you remember what it was like to have friends when you were 12 and it makes you glad that they were there when they were.

The story involves these four kids going on a weekend hike to find a dead kid that apparently got hit by a train. Now if that is all the movie was about, it would probably be pretty boring. But this film explores the fears and anxieties of what it was like to be 12 again. Twelve year olds deal with a plethora of issues and it is not often that adults listen to what kids have to say or see what they deal with. But this film is honest about it's assessment of how they feel.

The four boys are played brilliantly by Wil Wheaton, Jerry O'Connell

Coosh from Jerry Maguire ), Corey Feldman and River Phoenix. The story moves along and hits a nerve because of the life that these four actors brings to their characters. There is a real sense of comrarderie between the four of them. But ultimately it is Phoenix that brings the most life to his character and I would say that the milk money scene with him and Gordie (Wheaton) is one of the more touching and poignant scenes ever filmed.

What Stand By Me does is brings you back to a time when friendship was more pure and innocent and meant more. You can't help but get caught up in the nostalgia. Perhaps this film means more to me for personal reasons ( as I've already stated ) but it is a wonderful film and it should be enjoyed by everyone.

The last line of the movie is so true. Do we really ever have friends as good as the ones when we were twelve? I doubt it.