Stephen King's The Stand (DVD)

I saw a pale horse and upon it a pale rider.
The name of the horse was Pestilence.
The name of the rider was Death ... Revelation 6:8

Stephen King's epic novel was finally brought to the small screen in the mid-nineties. The long-awaited adaptation features an array of carefully crafted characters, survivors of a plague that wipes out most of the world's population. Essentially there are two groups who have survived the man-made virus known as the super flu: one who will follow Mother Abigail Freemantle [a messenger of God], and those who are tempted by Randall Flagg [suggested in the story as being the devil]. Each character experiences vivid dreams that feature either Mother Abigail or Flagg and is told to meet others of their kind in order to prepare for the ultimate fight between good and evil. The super-flu itself represents the end of mankind as told within the pages of the bible, Flagg being likened to one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Death, who rides a pale [sickly] horse and spreads plague and pestilence among those mortals who walk the earth. Those who are immune to the disease signal a chance for a new beginning.

As the streets become choked with bodies and the survivors light funeral pyres for the dead, it becomes evident that only one of the two groups can triumph. It is time for those who can still see good in mankind to take a stand.

The TV mini-series [6 hours in total] tracks the progress of each character in detail, although not in nearly as much depth as King achieves in his book. Like Dickens before him, King's characters are colourful and diverse:

Those who follow the aging Mother Abigail [Ruby Dee] to the Free Zone include a deaf mute [Rob Lowe], a retarded man-child [Bill Fagerbakke] a female student [Molly Ringwald], a quiet homely guy [Gary Sinise], a musician [Adam Storke], a retired judge [Ossie Davis] and a professor of sociology [Ray Walston] ... oh, and Kojak the dog, who outlived his master.

Those who follow the Darkman [Jamey Sheridan] to Las Vegas include a criminal [Miguel Ferrer], a schizophrenic pyromaniac [Matt Frewer], an unstable teenage girl [Shawnee Smith] and two troubled characters who are seduced by Flagg and defect [Laura San Giacomo; Corin Nemec].

The result being: educated, creative and good-natured characters Vs the dregs of humanity.

Mick Garris is the man to bring 'The Stand' from book to screen, having directed other King works such as 'The Shining' TV, 'Quicksilver Highway', 'Riding the Bullet', 'Desperation' and 'Sleepwalkers'.

'The Stand' also features Ed Harris and cameos by Stephen King, Mick Garris [director], Sam Raimi, John Landis [dir. American Werewolf in London] and Tom Holland [dir. Thinner & The Langoliers]. The double-sided DVD boasts many extras including director's commentary and interviews with the cast and crew.

Matthew J Lee-Williams, Review.

i love everything abt it, it never gets old, it doesn't date, it has a valuable and strong moral, its good prevailing over evil, in a real feel good film tinged with sadness along the way. it has everything, it coldn't be better. i bought it because i've seen it many many times before, but i wanted to share it with others who haven't seen it, and its something u can watch time and time again. buy it u won't regret it.

Very biblical.

Excellent at the start, week in the middle and unfortunately we didnt make it to the end of the DVD!

Stephen King is the King and im sure that this would have been a cult classic in its day.

I have been thinking about getting The Stand for a long time. I noticed it on e-bay when I was looking for another film. It was realy great to be able to sit and watch it with no adverts.

I've never been a particular fan of Stephen King and i still aren't.I bought this because i saw it on tv a good 10 years ago but missed the ending and every now and again over the years i've told myself i will watch it again and see the whole thing.
It is fantastic,scary and thought provoking(what if that were to really happen,how would we cope?) but cheesy enough to make it easy to watch.The soundtrack is amazing and the next chance i get i will be out to buy it.
So even if your not a Stephen King fan i would still recommend this.

If you are unsure on where you stand on Stephen King television remakes (there have been some stinkers) then make sure you watch this one, its a mammoth epic tale that looks at several different characters as they attempt to survive an apocalyptic future.

The main Good and Evil characters are well balanced and theres enough action, jumpy moments and scares to keep you entertained through what is an awesome book well adapted for the screen.

Some of it has dated slightly but overall a classic -4 1/2 stars!

was searching for this film for ages absolutely love it. now ive got to find the time to sit down and watch it.

Having read the book I was a bit disappointed with the fim,it was very long and drawn out.I bought this mainly for my husband who thinks it's a great film.Well worth renting but not really one for my collection,no where near as good as the Green Mile which is a classic.

Love this film it is fantastic but not as good as the book but they never are are they. I'm a big fan of stephen king and this is one of my best it keeps ya grip.

cannot give correct rating, as delivery was fast,packaging was good, but as i did not play dvd ( 2 disc dvd) for several weeks until after receipt, i only then discovered that disc two was faulty and would not play. otherwise rating would probably be higher.

I'm not a huge SK fan but the plot sounded interesting so bought this DVD. Firstly, it's a Made for TV mini series first shown around 1994 so it's a bit dated now. Plenty of familiar faces and obviously they all look at lot younger! Not so impressed with the acting, it was a bit weak and OTT throughout. Probably popular film with those who enjoyed the book but I'll be putting my copy back on EBay asap.

A fantastic book, which has been converted into a reasonable film. Some really good bits but a lot more really terrible elements make this a real mixed batch of a film.
Much like a number of other Stephen King books made into movies this disappoints in a lot of areas but there is still enough in it for Stephen King fans.
I'm glad I bought this and watched it but sad it wasn't what it could have been