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 a body of a missing boy

Plot Keywords:

Story Within The Story | Imperative In Title | Famous Line | Memory | Friend

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 9 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

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
Richard Seaman	....	stunts
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
Craig Denault	....	camera operator
Romeo De Santis Jr.	....	electrician
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

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

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1986) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1988) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (2000) (Argentina) (all media) (re-release)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (19??) (Argentina) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (2000) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2000) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-release)
• RCA Home Video (video)

Special Effects

• Introvision Systems (special photo effects)

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:

The Body (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

France:U | Peru:PT | Brazil:Livre | Iceland:L | Canada:G (Quebec) | South Korea:15 | 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 | West Germany:6 | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Brownsville, Oregon, USA

Company:

Act III

Trivia:

When they were filming the scene where Gordie and Vern are about to be run over by the train, Wil Wheaton and Jerry O' Connell did not look scared enough; In frustration Rob Reiner yelled at them to the point where they started crying and that's when they were able to film the scene.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When the two drivers of the teenage gang are playing "Chicken" on a straight section of a two-lane highway, the center lines of the road consist of yellow hash marks. Though the picture was set in 1959, center lines for passing zones on two-lane highways were painted white until 1971.

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:

Featured in The 44th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1987) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Stand By Me

One of the best adaptations of a Stephen King story ever.

Stand By Me is yet another one of the stories made into a movie from the author who has had more stories made into movies than any other author in history, Stephen King. Clearly, the central character here is Gordie Lachance, from whose point of view the story is told and who obviously symbolizes King himself, given many of his characteristics as well as some of the content of the film. This movie is literally filled with actors who have achieved varying degrees of success over the years, such as Jerry O'Connell, who played Vern, River Phoenix, who could have been bigger than Leonardo DiCaprio if he hadn't died, Corey Feldman, who has grown into an unenviable but visible existence, Kiefer Sutherland, who has become an excellent and very well known actor, John Cusack can be seen in a small role as Gordie's late brother, and of course, Richard Dreyfuss, who played the narrator and Gordie as an adult, has remained famous but originally achieved fame more than a decade before Stand By Me was filmed or the original story was even written.

Stand By Me takes place in the summer of 1959, the general time period that Stephen King is most skilled at presenting, and four friends set out to find the body of a kid who was killed by a train, hoping to find what they predicted would be astronomical fame. Unfortunately, the town's bullies are also out to find the body for the same reason, which leads to the films ultimate final climax. Even though this is a very clever story with which to tell a fall from innocence story, it is the brilliant characterization and the incredible acting that really make this a classic film. It is extremely rare that a film comes along that stars young kids and is so moving and powerful. Also, every one of those kids is made three dimensional in creative and smooth ways, making you feel like you really knew them by the end of the film. Vern is the fat kid who always gets picked on, Teddy and Chris both have abusive or deranged fathers, not to mention Chris's cruel brother, and Gordie is a young boy who lost his brother three months earlier in a violent accident and who has been largely ignored by his parents ever since. In one memorable scene, Gordie wonders how Teddy can be so enthusiastic about his father's alleged military achievements when the man once held his head to a stove, nearly burning his ear off. Gordie is mystified because he could care less about his own father, who hadn't laid a hand on him since he was three years old and got caught `eating bleach under the sink.'

Stephen King pokes fun at his own craft many times in the film, such as in Gordie's vehement line, `F*ck writing. I don't want to be a writer, it's a stupid waste of time!' Not only that, but there are also obvious references to his other works, such as when the boys first realize that no one brought food, and Teddy says, `This is great, what are we supposed to do, eat our feet?' People who actually read instead of just lazily watching the movies will recognize this as a major part of the plot of another of King's short stories, `Survivor Type,' from which Cast Away borrowed heavily. And why don't you people read these books? `The Body,' which Stand By Me was based on, is only 148 pages long, you could read that in a couple of hours and the experience is totally different from a movie. It's even more disturbing that `The Body' was published in the same book (Different Seasons) as a couple of King's other famous stories – `Apt Pupil' and, of course, `Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.'

Stand By Me is a story of how one event can unexpectedly change lives. It seems to be a story about friends and how important they are, but this possible theme is clearly dispelled in a line from the narration spoken at the end of the film – `As time went on, we saw less and less of Teddy and Vern, until eventually they became just two more faces in the halls. It happens sometimes, friends come in and out of your life like busboys at a restaurant.' Instead, the film is about learning from a life changing experience and actually making changes or modifying your life in some way because of it, and this is heavily emphasized at the end of the film.

Stand By Me is a timeless film. Stephen King's story is skillfully brought to the screen under the direction of Rob Reiner, and the 1950s are brought back to life just as successfully as King so often does in his stories and novels, with the slicked back hair, the hot rods, and in the film, and excellent 50s soundtrack. There is so much more to this film than just the superficial story – things about the characters and the story, but also about the tremendously talented man who wrote it all.