If you’re a fan of the macabre, then Stephen King movies are probably right up your alley. However, this time we won’t provide news about his scary films. In fact, there’s nothing quite scary about Stand by Me, except that it offers a surprisingly honest look at childhood and the good and bad things that come with it. For fans of this departure from King’s usual works, you have to hurry and see Stand by Me before it leaves Netflix on February 1. The coming-of-age movie will depart the catalog and will disappear for a while from the streaming-verse. Note that other titles leaving the streamer on February 1 include Snowpiercer, Zero Dark Thirty, and 2021’s Dune.
If you haven’t heard about the 1986 movie, just know that it’s worth paying for a Netflix subscription even if prices are ridiculously high. Yes, it is that good. Stand by Me is based on King’s novella The Body, which was included in the compilation Different Seasons. It was directed by Rob Reiner, but the road to making the movie wasn’t as smooth as other King adaptations. In fact, at one point, it was on the verge of being scrapped. Originally, the film was called The Body; however, the production company was sold to Columbia Pictures, and no one in the new company believed in Reiner’s project.
Norman Lear, the creator of All in the Family (where Reiner was an actor), co-owned Embassy and decided to fund the movie, regardless of whether he lost any input as a producer. He just had faith in Reiner. At Columbia, the film was retitled after Reiner’s recommendation. Stand by Me was a more appropriate title, considering it wasn’t a horror movie. As much as the film was based on an eerie story by King, it was also a coming-of-age movie, and that was the angle Reiner leaned into.
Stand by Me tells the story of four friends who decide to go on an adventure during Labor Day weekend in 1959. Gordie, Chris, Vern, and Teddy each come from different backgrounds, and they each have their own issues. However, being 12 years old carries emotional baggage that they will each explore when they decide to take a trip to search for the body of a missing boy. Stand by Me was critically acclaimed and a box office hit. At the time of the film’s release, King’s masterpiece, The Shawshank Redemption, arguably his greatest non-horror movie, was still a decade away, and he was mostly known for haunted houses, vampires, and things that go bump in the night.
The surprising film in King’s catalog was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium category, but A Room With a View won. However, there’s no denying that Reiner’s beautiful film is one of the best adaptations of the horror master’s work. Its legacy is unquestionable. Stephen King is a brilliant author, hence most screenwriters and filmmakers stick to his vision, but occasionally, things get altered. The film is also among King’s favorite adaptations of his own work.
His claims have varied over time, but along with Shawshank (which came from the same collection of stories as The Body) and Storm of the Century, he holds Stand by Me very close to his heart. This is what he said to Reiner after a private screening: “That’s the best film ever made out of anything I’ve written, which isn’t saying much. But you’ve really captured my story. It is autobiographical.” King’s sentiments exemplify the film’s significance, making it a must-see for any enthusiast of his work or a lover of poignant storytelling. Don’t let this opportunity pass; catch Stand by Me before it’s gone!