“The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.”
When it comes to premiere tales of horror in the modern era, novelist Stephen King is among the first names mentioned. His novels and short stories alike have been optioned time and again for cinematic and television adaptation with films like Carrie (1976), The Shining (1980), The Running Man (1987), Misery (1990), and It (1990) being among the most well-known, alongside novella adaptations like The Shawshank Redemption (1994). But of his novella adaptations, one that continues to impress for generations now is the Rob Reiner-directed Stand by Me (1986), originally released between Maximum Overdrive (1986) and Pet Sematary (1989). Unlike many of the features listed, Stand by Me isn’t a horror show involving supernatural or extraordinary events, but a story of growing up, the friends we make during adolescence, and how our greatest fears can always be overcome together. In celebration of the film, Sony Pictures is re-releasing Stand by Me on 4K UHD in a brand-new limited edition Blu-ray combo steelbook, along with all the previously available bonus features.
It’s 1959, Labor Day weekend, and four friends decide to head into the woods to seek out the presumed dead body of a long-missing child, Ray Brower (Kent W. Luttrell). Seeing as each one comes from a uniquely difficult home, none of the four see any reason to stick around at home when the chance for glory by being the ones who find Ray is at their fingertips. With dreams of being heroes and with each other by their sides, the friends take off down the railroad tracks, unware and unprepared for what lies before them and also who’s on their way to the same spot.
Right out of the gate, let’s be clear — this edition is all about the packaging. Back in 2019, Sony released Stand by Me on 4K UHD for the first-time with new materials and that’s what’s included in this edition. There’s no new treatment for the video as it also includes Dolby Vision and no new mix for the audio as it already possesses a Dolby Atmos track. So if you’re looking for new-hotness, you’ll only find it via the steelbook featuring a lovely-but-minimal design. The whole case is covered in varying blue shades with the front featuring the title and central cast list with a depiction of the four boys walking on their journey. The back showcases the scene in which Vern and Gordie (Jerry O’Connell and Wil Wheaton) try to outrun a train. Inside, underneath a clear plastic that runs the length of the inner cover, is a still frame of the four leads — Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation), River Phoenix (Sneakers), O’Connell (Joe’s Apartment), and Corey Feldman (The Goonies) — as they walk along the train tracks. It’s a simple and clean overall design that folks who have not yet purchased the film or are looking for a reason to upgrade will enjoy. Seeing as the desire for steelbooks has grown so much over the years, this is one that folks into that style of case will enjoy as much for what it represents within the film as it does to look at if placed on display.
Be advised that this version of the release is two-discs only, 4K UHD and Blu-ray, and no digital edition. It does, however, include all the legacy bonus materials, so it’s not as if this is a bare-bones release.
Unlike other recent 4K UHD releases, this one doesn’t benefit as much from the HDR and restoration process as one might presume. It’s unclear what the remastering process was and from what materials, but from the excessive heavy grain (especially in close-ups or establishing shots), the 4K UHD edition shows its age quite a bit. It’s not dirty or grimy, mind you, it’s just that there’s a lot of visual noise that often distracts from the images on display. That said, there’s good audio balance and the coloring is natural, so what this edition gets from the remaster certainly helps to preserve the film for a new generation. Interestingly, Stand by Me is a film that almost works better with heavy visual noise on display as the bulk of the film is, itself, a memory and, now, some 37 years later from release, it seems even further away in our minds. Thus, we who saw it early in its years or new generations who find it now, may get a sense of being transported backward to when things seemed simpler, even when they were just as complicated, if not potentially moreso.
There are certainly aspects that don’t stand the test of time, such as the slurs from Kiefer Sutherland’s (Young Guns) lead bully Ace, but they are indicative of his cruelty and character. Or the comments made about Teddy’s (Feldman) father being in an insane asylum, now that we understand more about untreated PTSD and the way war veterans were mistreated post-service then (and now). But, even as there are things that we might gloss over as “being of that time,” some aspects still remain as a thing that kids deal with now: abusive or neglectful parents, bullies, and a sense that found family serves us better than blood. These aspects are what make the journey to see the body more than just a macabre quest, but an opportunity for these boys on the cusp of being young men, however brief, to be out in the world. A task they only survive due to their respective skills and the care of the others. It’s difficult to watch this film exactly as it is without reminiscing even a little bit about one’s own life as an adult, which I think speaks to Reiner’s approach in adapting the work.
With the holidays upon us, this edition is ripe for gift-giving, should you know someone who’s missing this particular release in their collection. That it doesn’t offer anything new, well, this can be potentially be explained as Sony maybe holding off for a 40th anniversary edition. In which case, that being three years away, it’s close enough to give it a ponder, but far enough away that you might get some enjoyment out of this before anything new comes along. So really it comes down to how much you like the design of the steelbook and whether the possibility of something more arriving in a few years is the make-or-break for this decision.
Stand by Me Special Features:
4K Ultra HD Disc
- Feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision.
- Dolby Atmos + DTS-HD MA 5.1 and Mono audio options.
- Deleted and Alternate Scenes (presented in HD)
Blu-Ray Disc
- Feature presented in High Definition
- 5.1 audio.
- Picture-in-Picture Commentary with Director Rob Reiner and Actors Wil Wheaton & Corey Feldman
- “Walking the Tracks: The Summer of Stand By Me”
- Audio Commentary with Director Rob Reiner
- Music Video
Available on 4K UHD Blu-ray Steelbook Combo Pack December 5th, 2023.
For more information, head to the official Sony Pictures Stand by Me webpage.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews
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