Stand by Me (1986)

Director:

Rob Reiner

Writers:

Stephen King (novel)
Raynold Gideon (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

8 August 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

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.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Boy | Writer | Death | Railroad Track

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

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
John Cusack	...	Denny Lachance
Madeleine Swift	...	Waitress
Popeye	...	Chopper
Geanette Bobst	...	Mayor's Wife
Art Burke	...	Principal Wiggins
Matt Williams	...	Bob Cormier
Andy Lindberg	...	Lardass Hogan
Dick Durock	...	Bill Travis
O.B. Babbs	...	Lardass Heckler #1
Charlie Owens	...	Lardass Heckler #2
Kenneth Hodges	...	Donelley Twin
John Hodges	...	Donelley Twin
Susan Thorpe	...	Fat Lady
Korey Scott Pollard	...	Moke
Rick Elliott	...	Jack Mudgett
Kent W. Luttrell	...	Ray Brower (as Kent Lutrell)
Chance Quinn	...	Gordon's Son
Jason Naylor	...	His Friend

Directed by
Rob Reiner

Writing credits
Stephen King		(novella "The Body")
Raynold Gideon		(screenplay) &
Bruce A. Evans		(screenplay)

Produced by
Bruce A. Evans	....	producer
Raynold Gideon	....	producer
Andrew Scheinman	....	producer

Original Music by
Jack Nitzsche

Cinematography by
Thomas Del Ruth

Film Editing by
Robert Leighton

Casting by
Janet Hirshenson
Jane Jenkins

Production Design by
J. Dennis Washington		(as Dennis Washington)

Set Decoration by
Richard D. Kent

Makeup Department
Cheri Ruff	....	hair stylist
Monty Westmore	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Steve Nicolaides	....	production manager
Jeffrey Stott	....	production supervisor (as Jeff Stott)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jim Behnke	....	second assistant director
Carol D. Bonnefil	....	additional second assistant director (as Carol Bonnefil)
Irby Smith	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Dave Brown	....	construction coordinator (as David Brown)
Richard L. Cowitt	....	assistant props (as Richard Cowitt)
Toni Devereaux	....	signwriter
Russell Goble	....	property master
Michael Hawthorne	....	painter
Darrell Huntsman	....	greensman
Michael Kohan	....	swing gang
Norm Lewis	....	swing gang
Richard McKenzie	....	set designer
Brenda Meyers-Ballard	....	lead woman
Erica Miller	....	swing gang
Jim Ondrejko	....	construction foreman (as James Ondrejko)
David Sherman	....	stand-by painter
Tom Cranham	....	illustrator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Terry Lynn Allen	....	sound editor (as Terry Allen)
Lorna Anderson	....	sound editor
Douglas B. Arnold	....	boom operator (as Doug Arnold)
Rick Ash	....	foley artist
Lon Bender	....	supervising sound editor (as Lon E. Bender)
David E. Campbell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Robert Eber	....	sound mixer (as Bob Eber)
Joe Gilbert	....	assistant sound editor
Stan Gilbert	....	adr editor (as Stanley Gilbert)
Randy Kelley	....	sound editor
Dan O'Connell	....	foley artist (as J. Dan O'Connell)
John T. Reitz	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dan M. Rich	....	sound editor (as Dan Rich)
Gregg Rudloff	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Greg Rudloff)
Sean Rush	....	cable person
Wylie Stateman	....	supervising sound editor
Alicia Stevenson	....	foley artist (as Alicia M. Stevenson)
Amy Vincent	....	assistant sound editor
Dan M. Rich	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Henry Millar	....	special effects
Rick Thompson	....	special effects (as Richard L. Thompson)

Visual Effects by
Ken Marschall	....	matte artist
Tim Donahue	....	visual effects art director: Introvision (uncredited)
Jon Macht	....	visual effects editor (uncredited)
William Mesa	....	visual effects supervisor (uncredited)
David Stump	....	effects director of photography (uncredited)
Marcus Tate	....	visual effects cameraman (uncredited)

Stunts
Rick Barker	....	stunt coordinator
Rick Barker	....	stunts
Jerry Brutsche	....	stunts
Jack Carpenter	....	stunts
Brian R. Carson	....	stunts (as Brian Carson)
Doc D. Charbonneau	....	stunts (as Doc Charbonneau)
Gary Cox	....	stunts
Harvey Keith	....	stunts
Sherry Peterson	....	stunts
Rick Seaman	....	stunts (as Richard Seaman)
Monty L. Simons	....	stunts (as Monty Simmons)
John Walker	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Bruce Birmelin	....	still photographer
Danny Buck	....	gaffer
Jeff Butters	....	best boy gaffer
Romeo De Santis Jr.	....	electrician
Craig Denault	....	camera operator
David Fay	....	key grip
Buzz Feitshans IV	....	assistant camera
Sherman Fulton	....	electrician
Antonio V. Garrido	....	grip (as Tony Garrido)
Jack Glenn	....	grip
Jerry Glenn	....	electrician
Christopher Ishii	....	assistant camera
Gary B. Kibbe	....	camera operator
Gerald A. King	....	best boy grip (as Jerry King)
Jon L. Kunkel	....	assistant camera
David L. Merrill	....	dolly grip (as David Merrill)
Michael G. Riba	....	assistant camera (as Michael Riba)
Greg Rundo	....	grip
P.J. Sherman	....	grip
Ronald Vidor	....	panaglide operator

Casting Department
Michael Hirshenson	....	casting associate
Katherine Wilson	....	extras casting: Eugene

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Thomas Costich	....	wardrobe (as Tom Costich)
Sue Moore	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Mallory Gottlieb	....	assistant editor
Terry Haggar	....	color timer
Cathy Rosenstein	....	post-production coordinator
Adam Weiss	....	assistant editor
Lisa Morlas	....	assistant film editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Brian Banks	....	music programmer
Brian Banks	....	musician
Jeff Carson	....	music editor
Mark Curry	....	music recording engineer
Anthony Marinelli	....	music programmer
Anthony Marinelli	....	musician
Celest Ray	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Helen Mercier	....	transportation co-captain
Rick Mercier	....	transportation captain
Tim Roslan	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Tom Ajar	....	projectionist
Jerry Atwood	....	projectionist
Peter Benoit	....	unit publicist
Faye Brenner	....	script supervisor
Mark Cooper	....	production assistant
Leslie Cornyn	....	post-production accountant
Tim Danforth	....	production assistant
Tomalene Evans	....	production secretary
Ernie Fuentes	....	first aid
Elizabeth Galloway	....	production coordinator
Rick George	....	craft service
Spencer Howard	....	production assistant
Janet Julian	....	production secretary
K. Lenna Katich	....	production accountant
Elizabeth Latshaw	....	production assistant
Mitch Marcus	....	assistant: Mr. Nicolaides
Steve Mason	....	caterer
Toni E. Mercier	....	assistant production accountant
Karl Lewis Miller	....	dog trainer
James R. Powell	....	production assistant
Jay Smith	....	production assistant
Kimberly Smith	....	production assistant
Madeleine Swift	....	personal assistant: Mr. Reiner
Pam Trzaska	....	first aid
Ron Welch	....	caterer
Ken Young	....	caterer

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (presents) (as Columbia Pictures)
• Act III (as An Act III Productions Presentation)
• Act III Communications
• The Body

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1986) (USA) (theatrical)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1988) (USA) (TV)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (2000) (Argentina) (all media) (re-release)
• LK-TEL (2000) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2000) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-release)
• Warner-Columbia Films (1986) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia (1987) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (DVD)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (19??) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray) (25th anniversary edition)
• Videosonic Arts (1988) (Greece) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Introvision International (special photo effects) (as Introvision Systems)

Other Companies

• Atlantic Records and Cassettes  original soundtrack album available on
• Compact Sound Services  re-recording at
• D. Bassett & Associates  negative cutting (as D. Bassett and Associates)
• DeLuxe Laboratories  prints by (as de luxe)
• Gooseline Railroad of Cottage Grove, Oregon, The  thanks
• Matte Effects  matte paintings
• McCloud River Railroad  thanks
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• People of Brownsville, Oregon  thanks
• Segue Music  music editing
• The Room  music recorded at (as The Room, Hollywood, Ca.)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | Netherlands:AL | Norway:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #28071) | West Germany:6 | Canada:PG | Brazil:12 | Iceland:L | Canada:G (Quebec) | South Korea:15 | France:U | Peru:PT | Japan:PG12 (2010)

Filming Locations:

380 South San Rafael Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

While practicing his lines, Jerry O'Connell was incredibly impressed that, as an 11-year old, he was being allowed to swear.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Ace and the others are playing chicken, the position of the logs off the truck change.

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "EastEnders: Episode dated 24 October 2011" (2011)

Soundtrack:

Mr. Lee

I remember.....

I find it hard to comment on this film without simply repeating what has already been said. It's not that I can't think of anything original, but that others seem to have felt the exact same emotions as I did when watching this film.

I saw this movie when I was about 12, 13, maybe 14 years old. So it didn't have the same nostalgic sense it had for so many. But what it did, was make me ache for those memories. I wanted (in the words of another reviewer) to be 12, and *that* cool. I wished I had been like that, that I had had friends like that, laughed like that, and had adventures like that.

The 'milk-money' scene was probably one of my all-time favourite scenes in movie history. Up until I saw this movie I had never held much regard for River Phoenix, but the poignancy and sincerity which River added to the role of Chris Chambers touched me to the point of tears. I read in yet another review that in this scene, River was asked to think of a time when he had been hurt by an adult, and that even after the cameras stopped rolling, River sat there still, sobbing and hurting. And I felt every tear and heard every word as though I were there with Chris.

This movie made me laugh, cry, rejoice and fear with Chris, Gordie, Teddy and Vern. I loved the campfire scenes, and today I look back on my own childhood, and remember with a laugh the amazingly similar things I used to laugh and wonder about with my friends. I remember dreaming about being a writer and an actress, I remember standing up to bullies, I remember walking or riding with my friends, I remember being afraid, and crying onto a friend's shoulder.

I guess what this movie does for everyone, is take them back in time, even though the situations may have been different, chances are you'll find the similarities, and remember with a smile that yes, your life was once *that* cool. In the words of Vern, "a great time"

I especially loved the ending. That they found out who was strong, and who just talked tough. I loved the last scene with Chris and Gordie, and the closing monologue.

"I never had any friends later on, like the ones I had when I was twelve...Jesus....does anyone?"