STAND BY ME - Rob Reiner, 1986

ABOUT THE FILM

The film is based on a semi-autobiographical story called The Body by celebrated horror writer Stephen King. The film makers changed the title because it was considered that the first one was too gory. The film begins with a writer - the grown-up Gordie Lachance who is reading about the death of a childhood friend Chris Chambers who was stabbed in a brawl. Reading about his friend's death in the newspaper makes Gordie remember his friends Chris, Teddy and Vern in the summer of 1959 when they were all hanging around in the small country town of Castle Rock in America. All four boys have a difficult family background - Chris is considered by the townsfolk to be a thief who comes from a bad family, Teddy is an erratic and unpredictable boy whose father was a soldier and who is now in a mental institution after attacking Teddy and trying to burn off his ear. Vern is the 'fat' boy and Gordie's much loved and admired elder brother Denny has just been killed in a jeep accident. He is trying to come to terms with his loss but his parents do not seem able to help him. In fact, they cannot seem to recover from this terrible accident either and as a result Gordie feels they had rather he had died instead of his brother.

Vern has overheard his elder brother talk about the fact that he and his older teen gang have found the body of a dead boy whilst they were out for a spin in a stolen car. Vern tells his friends and they set out on a macabre quest to find the body. They want to be famous. They have several adventures along the way that test their strength, courage, endurance and friendship. There is humour and warmth in their conversation as they struggle to answer some of the big questions of life - "If Mickey was a mouse, Donald was a duck and Pluto a dog...what's Goofy?"

Stand by Me is about the private world that young people create for themselves and the energy and exuberance of 'the gang'. The gang is an alternative society with its own raw language, rules, regulations and rituals. Some gang films represent young people as social problems Rebel Without A Cause, West Side Story, Rumble fish, Boyz N the Hood, this film is about the more positive aspects of this kind of friendship and the ways in which young people can form their own 'family' group in an insensitive world.

TASKS AND ACTIVITIES

Give a brief character sketch of the four boys. How have they changed by the end of the film? What do Gordie and Chris have in common?

This film is often described as a 'fall from innocence.' Do you see it that way or not? Explain your answer.

What is the meaning of the deer that Gordie sees and why doesn't he want to tell the other boys about it?

What do you think is the significance of the story Gordie makes up for his friend's 'The Revenge of Lard Ass Hogan' and what is their response to it? What did you think of it?

Why do you think the boys decide not to take the body of Ray Brower back to Castle Rock?

There are moments of repetition in the film's narrative. Can you identify them? What is their purpose? What effect do they have on the story?

What do the four boys talk about when they are together and how do they connect? Do the locations chosen by the film maker contribute to their sense of closeness?

Create the characters in a gang that you might belong to. What are their characteristics and interests? What is it that ties them together? Do they have a special way of dressing? Any particular code words?

Think of an incident or an event that might start your gang on some kind of investigation or adventure. Write a summary of the story and think about how you might film it. Take the first few scenes and write the screenplay and dialogue (the background and conversations) or storyboard a trailer for a film that would attract an audience to this gang and their adventure .

At the end of the film, Gordie says "I never had friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve." What do you think he means?

The soundtrack to the film Stand By Me was a big hit in its time - how does the song relate to the story in the film? Can you think of a film you have seen where there is one piece of music that really stands out?