Plot: What’s it about?
An unstoppable flu strain is accidentaly released in a government lab, and transmitted through the country by a fleeing MP guard as he and his family try to outrun the infection. As “Captain Tripps” tears the United States apart with it’s deadly venom, a small segment of the populace never even gets a sniffle. Not even Flu Buddy can save the rest however, as they suffer through painful, but quick deaths. As the herd gets trimmed by this superflu, the surivors begin having unusual dreams, some see a kindly old woman, some see the “Walkin’ Dude”, very different visions for very different people. The old woman, Mother Abigail (Ruby Dee), is a kind lady who lives in Nebraska, and still makes her own bread. When I say old, I mean old, like as in triple digits! The Walkin’ Dude (Jamey Sheridan)on the other hand, is a bad role model for kid’s everywhere. He wears jeans that are too tight, and disguises himself as a crow often. These dreams will pull the survivors to the real life editions of these two dream characters.
The survivors make their way across the country, in small groups, headed either for Hemingford Home, Nebraska to Mother Abigail, or Las Vegas, where the evil guy, Randall Flagg, has already begun laying plans for his group. Once the groups are with their respective leaders, they set up “free-zones”, and begin to resume life as it was before. But they both start to wonder about the other group’s intentions, and handle their curiousity in very different ways. The Nebraska group, who sets up permanent base in Boulder, Colorado, sends three spies to find out what nefarious deeds they are up to, whereas Flagg readies a missile-armed fleet of airplanes and even plants some of his own inside Abigail’s crew, and has plans for them to take out most of Abigail’s people from the inside! Who will prevail? Who the hell knows!
The Stand was written by horror-master and super nerd Stephen King, who also wrote the scree-play, produced, and has a bit part in this television spin on the novel. A lot of people are big-time King fans, and I like a select few of his works, but all in all, just because King wrote it, that doesn’t mean it makes a good flick. Look at Trucks, Christine, and The TommyKnockers, all were highly anticipated, and all were total bombs. Well, so no one really gave a shit about Trucks, but I needed a third flick real quick. But still, King does not equal movie magic, not on my watch anyway. So when ABC annunced they were bringing The Stand, one of few King novels I enjoy, onto film, I was not too optimistic. But once it was aired, I sang a different tune. This is one of King’s stories that took to the screen well, and takes to DVD even better!
In case you don’t know, The Stand is one fat-ass book. And the movie is no slouch in size either, with four episodes, each lasting eighty-nine minutes. So, a grand total of nearly six hours, this extended length made the movie so much better, trying to cram this story into anything would have been a disaster, even this amount of time makes the material seem rushed. But the story’s major points are covered well, and no serious plot devices are sacrificed. But don’t let the six hours pull you away from this one, the DVD seperates each episode, so you watch in normal hour and a half segments, if you can’t stomach the whole puppy in one sitting. But by all means, if you can watch it all at once, DO IT, as it is best viewed like that.
The whole idea of a “made for the boob tube” movie just f’n reeks of cheese, if you ask me. You know what I mean, no cursing, no big time budgets, no blood, no guts, all in all, no good. Well, again The Stand breaks that notion, but still has the restraints of television’s standards though. Director Mick Garris commented that he had to beg and plead, borrow and steal, and trade and barter to get everything into the movie that he did. “I’d have to trade two bitches for a bastard” Garris remarks on the commentary track found on this DVD. As far as violence, you don’t get much better than the end of the world and nuclear warheads, if you ask me. The budget issue was also not an issue here, as the film cost $28 million to make, not too shabby, even by big-screen standards. Blood and guts are here as well, with fantastic make-up effects, most of which showing the effects of the superflu. Garris states “I think more “snot” was used in the making of this film than every other film combined”! How can you go wrong with all this snot? In closing, the movie does have a TV feel, but not as much as other made-for-TV flicks, and The Stand is feature quality, without a doubt.
The cast of The Stand is big. Real big. No really, it is, with over 100 speaking roles, and it assembles a great group of actors. And yes, I mean both male and female by the term actor. This is probably the largest number of recognizable faces in any film. Ever. The best performances are by Gary Sinise and Rob Lowe. Lowe plays deaf/mute Nick Andros, not a typical Lowe role. It pushes him, and he delivers. This role seriously changed the way I look at him, and the way others did as well. Sinise steals the show, and gets head billing, with good reason. He grounds the film with his portrayal of Stu Redman, a resident of a small Texas town. Stu holds the MP guard that spread the virus in his arms as he dies. The guard dies, not Stu, don’t wanna confuse you here. But Stu is the us in the picture, and the movie usually centers on him, but not much more than the others, just enough to let us know he is the main character. These two really set the stage for the rest of the cast, who followed with great performances of their own.
Before moving on to the rest of the cast, I want to devote some digital ink to Matt Frewer, who plays my favorite character in The Stand, Trash Can Man. His role is small in screen-time and lines, but he has the most important job in whole flick. When you see the movie, you’ll understand. Frewer brings all the inner torture of Trash Can Man to the screen very well, and the book goes in-depth into the development of him. Frewer, not usually known as a great actor, soars here as Trash, and he delivers what I feel is the best justice to his novel counterpart. I just had to say that, sorry.
While the rest of the cast deserves mention, I am not Leonard Maltin, just a DVD site guy, so I have to summarize a lot. Stand outs in this immense cast include Ruby Dee, Jamey Sheridan, Shawnee Smith, Adam Storke, Corin Nemic, Ray Walston, Ossie Davis, ::breathe::, Laura San Giacomo, Miguel Ferrer, Molly Ringwald, and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Wow…also making very small appearances are Stephen King and director Mick Garris, as well as numerous crew members as dead people. This is a block-buster cast to say the least, and they bring The Stand to life better than I ever thought could be done.
In conclusion, The Stand is worth your time, I say that with no hesitation at all. You need some time to take it all in, and it is well worth the investment. Fans of the book will not be let down, as the movie stays close to the original, and the characters are very reminiscent of their novel roles. This is not easy, and many movies made from block-busters disappoint, but not this one. Just check it out, you’ll get your money’s worth. It’s like the packaging says…”The End of The World…Is Just The Beginning….”
Video: How does it look?
The television production values kinda show here…full frame only, and a bit lacking. When compared to the VHS version, this one is perfect, crystal clear, but compared to other movies, it seems dull, very bland. The colors seem muted, not as sharp as Hollywood master-pieces. But no artifacts exist, and very little grain can be found. The movie is not dependent on the colors, and when it is, this transfer does a decent job. Not fantastic, but it gets the job done.
Audio: How does it sound?
Again, attack of the TV bug. Dolby 2.0 is used, but not much else is needed. Not many effects, well there are, but it’s six hours long. Not frequent effects anyway. But the audio is decent, and makes sure every gun-shot, bell-ring, and explosion is clear and audible. The dialogue is clear as well, seperated from the effects and music nicely. The music is very good too, so listen closely for it!
Supplements: What are the extras?
Well…you get a hand-ful of storyboard comparisons, which are cool, but only a few? I know there are like a million of these out there. Where are they?? A series of about ten make-up effects photos are included, but big deal…again a good idea, but such a small number! A making of featurette is advertised, but suprisingly, only a few minutes of the thing made it onto this DVD! Wait, you mean that’s the whole thing? I guess Universal has spoiled me, I expect more out of these making ofs. The main draw in the supplements is the running commentary. Mick Garris, Stephen King, Rob Lowe, Ruby Dee, Miguel Ferrer, Jamey Sheridan, and Editor Pat McMahon all give their two cents on the picture. Now, they do take turns, but that’s right, they talk through all six hours…and yes, I did listen to the whole damn thing. Just for you guys…
