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Stephen King's The Stand [1994]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

After a government-spawned "superflu" wipes out more than 90 per cent of the earth's population, the devastated survivors must decide whether to support or resist the advances of a mysterious stranger from way down South (heh-heh) who wishes to claim this new world order for himself. Although the six-hour length of The Stand makes it nigh-impossible to digest in one sitting, this well-paced adaptation of Stephen King's apocalyptic magnum opus ranks among the best adaptations of the author's work, with strong performances from Gary Sinise, Miguel Ferrer, and especially Jamey Sheridan as a good-old-boy version of Old Scratch. The opening scene, set to the strains of Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper," is one of the most chilling things ever shot for television. Director Mick Garris is no stranger to King's world, having also helmed Sleepwalkers, the recent television remake of The Shining, and the upcoming Desperation. --Andrew Wright


Don't Fear The Reaper..
Review date: 2008-08-26 Rating: 8 out of 10

The Stand is a strange 'film' to review. It is, after all, a 6-hour mini-series split in the middle by a large time gap. Whilst this allows for deeper characterisation and plot development, it also means a smaller budget, B-list actors and cheesy acting. My God, is there cheesy acting. It is still my belief that Molly Ringwald had her eyes on all of the Razzie 'awards'.
The 'film' gets under way in spectacular fashion, with one of the greatest intro sequences / music cues ever, with Blue Oyster Cult's 'Don't Fear (The Reaper)' playing against the backdrop of an underground facility full of corpses. However, after the intro has finished, things take a brief downturn. ALL the supporting actors set new standards in wooden acting (check out THAT sneeze). In fact, Gary Sinise and Rob Lowe are the only actors who do a half-decent job in the whole film. Molly Ringwald hits new lows, Laura San Giacomo is pathetic and the actor who plays Harold is so direly miscast that its hard to like anything about him from the very start.
The music in the piece is fantastic right through. Some of the scenes of a post-apocalyptic New York are equally impressive and the hammy acting is charming, if you can warm to it. It IS lengthy (approx. 6Hrs-ish?) but I don't see why that's a problem in film today. There is no torture porn or MTV-style editing to be found here, either.
In short, this 'film' has received 4 stars because it has MASSIVE flaws, both in story and in cast. They are unmistakable and unforgivable. However, it more than makes up for this in heart. True, the lengthy time-jump between parts 1 and 2 split the audience (draw your own conclusions), and the ham-fisted acting is as likely to annoy you as charm you. And don't expect to get through this in one sitting. It may take 3 or 4, but if you allow it, this film will pull you in and entrance you like the best of them. In todays world of ADD cinema and youTube journalism, its sometimes nice to take a look back to more simple times

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Reviews


Sucker for Stephen King
Review date: 2008-05-05 Rating: 10 out of 10

I really, really loved the book and I really love the film. No book translates exactly to the big screen. We have already cemented the characters, locations etc in our minds. Its sometimes difficult to get your head around someone elses interpretation to film.

The characters are good. I couldnt relate to Harold in the film though. In the book he was an overwieght geek, not a slim guy in a leather jacket, but hey.

Ah hell! If you like Stephen King then you will like this. Its dark, comic, romantic, scary. Something for everyone then! he he ;)



be aware
Review date: 2008-03-25 Rating: 6 out of 10

read the book watched the movie when they first came out.this version is very heavily edited and took a lot of the impact away from the film

Oh come on!
Review date: 2008-02-18 Rating: 6 out of 10


Firstly, as good as Stephen King is at writing, this is by no means his best novel. It's a very overdone and obvious stroyline... epic disease wiping out half the human race, civilisation must reform, good and bad people fight until (low and behold) the good people win.

Even though the novel does go into depth with some characters, the greater storyline doesn't seem to make sense. For instance, the breakout kills most of America, but the rest of the world is never mentioned? Did the disease spread? Are we okay? Should I be in an isolated hospital ward somewhere, clinging to my life?

It's the usual 'all about America' Christian story where the Christians (of course) will prevail in the end. And to hell with those 'evil' folk, hiding away in the (shock! horror!) gamblers paradise, Las Vegas!

There are two sides to Mr. King. His 'I'm gonna think about this' side, where he comes out with novels such as Shawshank, Green Mile etc and then there's his 'quick buck' novels, such as The Stand where he writes whatever he can sell into a screenplay. Write about God, racism, sexuality and homophobia and it's a dead cert. to rile up the American crowds, flocking to the cinemas after viewing a good lynching.

However, after saying this. This adaption of the Stand is oddly addictive. It's extremely tacky, extremely obvious and pretty blnking cringe-worthy at times, but take it with a pinch of salt and it's an easy watch. Well I just bought it anyway.





Amazing book.....APALLING film.
Review date: 2008-02-11 Rating: 2 out of 10

The stand was the first stephen king book I read. I thought it was an epic masterpiece, and I dont use that term lightly. It was complex, believable, beautiful, meaningful, tense, sinister and truly moving.

I only managed to stomach the first two disastrous episodes of this TV mini series. From some of the positive reviews here, I feel like I must have watched a totally different film.

The acting is appaling. Imagine the cheesiest American soap. Yes im not kidding. Molly ringwald as Frannie is actually an offensive choice. She is extremely irritating. Gary Sinise as Stu is actually pretty good; it seems strange such a talented actor is trying to work amongst these amateurs. Harold is a joke, and when I saw that fake acne i nearly cried. The sets are extremely poor and mother abigails corn field made me wince - the corn was clearly plastic even on my non-hd-tiny-tv.

Tom cullen is pretty good, and he created some actually genuinely moving moments. I liked Nick, but as far as cast goes, fran (a main character) made me forget the merits of the rest - she is appalling.

I could rant all night - if you enjoyed the epic book. DO NOT i mean DO NOT touch this, let alone watch it. Why make a low budget tv series from a concept that quite clearly needs to be very high budget? I speak as a fan of the book - please be warned; dont let this disgrace taint your memory of kings masterpiece.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Ray Walston
Adam Storke
Molly Ringwald
Gary Sinise
Rob Lowe

Creators:
Gary Sinise (Primary Contributor)
Adam Storke (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Paramount Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Paramount Home Entertainment
EAN: 5014437833631
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2007-10-15
Number of discs: 1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 360 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1994-05-08

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