Stephen King's 'favourite' film version of his books set to stream on Netflix
Stand By Me, which is based on Stephen King's novel The Body, will be available to stream on Netflix from September – delighting horror fans up and down the country
A new film is set to hit Netflix next month and it's a favourite of renowned author Stephen King. The acclaimed movie Stand By Me, first released in 1986, will be available for streaming in September.
The film is an adaptation of Stephen's popular 1982 novel The Body and remains one of the author's most cherished screen adaptations. Upon its release, Stand By Me garnered widespread acclaim from critics and audiences worldwide, performing impressively at the box office.
Directed by Rob Reiner, the film boasts a star-studded cast including River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell and Wil Wheaton. These four actors portray the characters of friends Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern.
The quartet embarks on a quest to find the corpse of a missing boy named Ray Brower during a Labor Day weekend in 1959. Ray met his untimely death after being struck by a train.
Throughout their journey, Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern gain profound insights about themselves, each other, friendship and morality, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Stand By Me narrates the tale of the foursome's expedition through the perspectives of the characters, filled with emotional moments and impactful scenes. Both the movie and book closely mirror each other in terms of characters and narrative structures, although the film omits some story details from the novel.
Stephen King himself has given his seal of approval to Stand By Me. It was reported that the author was shown a private screening of the film before its release in the 80s.
According to director Rob Reiner, the author was "pretty broken up" after watching it alone in the room.
Stephen King was deeply moved by the adaptation of his story in the film Stand By Me, directed by Rob Reiner. As reported by Screen Rant, after a private screening, King was visibly affected and took a moment before returning to share his thoughts.
He told Rob: "We showed the film to Stephen King alone in a screening room, and when it was over he was pretty broken up. He excused himself for about 15 minutes."
Upon his return, King praised the film, saying, "When he came back he said, '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. All that was made up was the device of the hunt for the body. I was the writer,' King said, 'and my best friend was the guy who actually did instil the confidence in me to become a writer. And he actually was killed as a young man.'".