8.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.3 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.3 |
After the death of a friend, a writer recounts a boyhood journey to find the body of a missing boy.
Starring: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell, Kiefer SutherlandComing of age | 100% |
Teen | 85% |
Drama | 27% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: Dolby Digital 5.1
Hungarian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Polish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Polish VO, Spanish Castilian and Latin American, All Dolby Atmos tracks have a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) core
English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Polish, Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Turkish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Sony has released Director Rob Reiner's 1986 classic 'Stand By Me' to the UHD format. The new UHD disc includes 2160p/HDR video, Dolby Atmos audio, and a new collection of deleted and alternate scenes presented in 1080p. The bundled Blu-ray, which is identical to that which Sony released in 2011, carries over all of the legacy BD supplemental content.
The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.
Stand by Me shines on UHD courtesy of Sony's brilliant 2160p/HDR presentation. The HDR color enhancement reinvigorates the movie. White
luminance is striking right out of the gate. "Columbia Pictures Presents" and the film's title blast good, clean intensity against a richly dark
background. The Blu-ray looks comparatively milky and flat, both these white titles and the entirety of the picture to follow. Gone here is that
creamy look, replaced by a more stabilized, crisper, brighter, more intense palette that brings out extreme blues from skies and greens from nature.
Period clothes and rewarding 1950s locales, whether the Lachance home or a local convenience store, are amongst the newly improved color
highlights, but it's really the natural world that is the HDR's greatest fine-tuning accomplishment. Skin tone depth is greatly improved, as are black
levels. There's a vibrance to the picture that renews it without altering it. Colors are more intense, more deep and true, reinforcing the movie's color
structure rather than redefining it.
The 2160p resolution brings a new dimension to the movie's sharpness and textural presentation as well. Clarity of rocks along the tracks, period
attire, grasses and weeds, rusty old odds and ends around the junkyard, everything finds a more agreeable, organic feel for tactical definition. Facial
textures enjoy more agreeable clarity and visibility of various prosthetics, like Teddy's burned ear or a scar around the eye belonging to one of Ace's
friends. There's a depth to the picture that's missing on the Blu-ray (particularly evident in long, expansive shots along the boys' journey), a natural,
filmic sharpness that is accentuated by the added resolution. Grain is
maintained for the duration, admittedly a bit dense and noisy at times but largely healthy and flattering to the production. This is another knockout
UHD presentation
from Sony.
Stand by Me features a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, which one might consider to be overkill for a film with few opportunities to sonically shine,
but it's actually quite a nice and well-rounded complimentary presentation. The first notes of Jack Nitzsche's score, the theme arranged from the song
from which the film derives its title, are wonderfully detailed and gently immersive, folding in rear and overhead usage in a tasteful manner that adds
to the airy quality rather than overwhelming it. The track is without many opportunities for major stage expansion or detailed, low end effects. A train
rumbles by in chapter four, the one Teddy is eager to dodge. There's not a feel of massive weight but there is good movement through the stage as it
approaches, rushes by, and fades off to the right, an effect that is essentially recreated in chapter seven. There is not a mammoth subwoofer
engagement here, but there's enough low end push to enhance the drama in both instances. The Atmos configuration helps
to better define the various environmental effects -- singing birds, rustling leaves, crackling fires at night, light blowing winds as the boys cross the
train track bridge in chapter seven -- that give a critical feel for the wooded environments through which the boys travel. There are few truly distinct
overhead components but the added opportunity to expand the stage helps to subtly, gently draw the listener into the surrounding serenity. Dialogue is
the sonic driver; it's true to its natural front-center position. Clarity and prioritization delver without flaw or failure.
Sony has also included DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and mono English presentations in addition to a myriad of additional dubbed language and subtitle
options, both greatly expanded from the previous Blu-ray.
Stand by Me's UHD disc includes several new deleted and alternate scenes. The bundled Blu-ray is identical to that which Sony released in
2011. Below is a
listing of the new deleted scenes and the extras from the included Blu-ray. For full Blu-ray supplemental coverage, please click here. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.
UHD:
Stand By Me stands as one of the giants of the 1980s, a quintessential coming-of-age classic that is also one of the rare examples of a film besting the source story, a particularly noteworthy accomplishment considering it comes from the mind and pen of Stephen King. Sony's new UHD is terrific, delivering stellar 2160p/HDR video and a quality Dolby Atmos soundtrack. The UHD disc adds a few deleted and alternate scenes on top of the carryover extras found on the bundled Blu-ray, which is identical to the 2011 disc. This UHD release of Stand By Me earns my highest recommendation.
25th Anniversary Edition
1986
25th Anniversary / Holiday Ugly Sweater Slipcover
1986
1986
30th Anniversary Edition
1986
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