According to IMDb, this is the most well-liked movie of all time. And true enough, I’ve never met a person who did not like it. A film about two convicts passing the time behind prison walls could have been an insufferable downer, but there’s a mystery behind Tim Robbins’ main character, Andy, that keeps you deeply engrossed in Stephen King’s story. Andy selflessly inspires the other inmates at increasingly greater risk to himself, eventually becoming almost a folkloric hero by the end. Along the way, he endears himself to a fine cast of supporting players headed by Morgan Freeman as Redd, who narrates the film more beautifully than a film has ever been narrated before.
Rob Reiner (This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride) adapts this dark coming-of-age tale from Stephen King, about a band of four boys who embark on a weekend journey to find the body of a missing teenager. Stand By Me is the best film of Reiner’s career, and the best film adaptation of King’s work. It’s a moving, hauntingly nostalgic piece, bolstered with healthy doses of good humor and some of the best adolescent performances ever put to film.
Brian DePalma directs this Stephen King tale of a ridiculed girl who discovers she has telekinetic powers she can use against her tormenters. King’s forte is character, and he’s got two rich ones with timid Carrie and her whackadoodle mama. Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie knock it out of the park in two Oscar-nominated performances. Their scenes together are magic — especially when Laurie drags Spacek by the scalp and locks her in a broom closet just for getting her first period. For me, someone who fears nothing more than blind religious conviction, few scenes are as terrifying as watching Laurie scream, “Eve was weak! Eve was weak! Say it, child!” while slapping Spacek in the face with the Bible.
