(A small note. The trailer here is from the original release of THE STAND on DVD. The review is of the new release on blu-ray with a much improved image.)
I was a huge fan of author Stephen King early on in his
career. Then I felt that things changed. With THE TOMMYKNOCKERS book I suddenly
felt like he was writing as if he was being paid by the word. I stopped reading
his novels. But one I’m glad I read that was, at the time, his most lengthy
novel was THE STAND. While reading it I couldn’t see a way that they could make
a movie out of this book. There were too many characters and all had major
roles in what would transpire. Thankfully it wasn’t made into a feature film
and instead was done as a mini-series on TV. Now that complete mini-series is
on disc and the result is fantastic.
If you’re unfamiliar with the story it’s an end of the world
scenario that beings in one of the most logical progressions ever written. When
a killer virus is accidentally released on a top secret base, a low level guard
grabs his wife and child and escapes in their car. Unfortunately they were
still exposed.
At a gas station miles away and a few days later a group of
friends is hanging around and talking. This is the old Mayberry style station
where people would do that. Among them is Stu Redman (Gary Sinise). The guard’s
car heads toward the station and crashes into the gas pumps. He is pulled from
the wreckage and the bodies of his wife and child are bloated and rotting
inside the car. He only has enough life in him to say that they didn’t make it.
A cousin of one of the men in the station, a State
patrolman, shows a few days later to let them that the military is closing off
the town. Stu is fine but several of the others are beginning to show signs of
illness. What happens, and the books explains this in detail, is that the
patrolman has now been exposed to the virus as well and everyone he stops from
thereon is exposed. Ticket writing is now a cause of the spread of the disease
as well as those the escaped guard came into contact with.
When the military takes over the town Redman and his friends
are put in isolation. The scientists realize that he has a natural immunity to
the disease. But he’s not alone. Across the country while so many die, others
are surviving. Singer Larry Underwood (Adam Storke) in New York City is
surviving while his mother dies. Frannie Goldsmith (Molly Ringwald) survives
along with her friend Harold Lauder (Corin Nemic) who helps her bury her
father. Deaf mute Nick Andros (Rob Lowe) survives in a small town where he was
helped by the local policeman.
All of these survivors as well as others begin having
dreams. In the case of some they dream of an elderly black woman named Mother
Abigail who sits on her porch in front of a corn field telling them to come and
gather around her in Nebraska. But for others they dream of a black demon like
figure named Randall Flagg (Jamey Sheridan) who urges them to meet with him in
Las Vegas. These two characters represent good and evil and a battle between
the two over the fate of humanity is coming.
The reason for the length of the book and the mini-series is
that the number of characters whose backgrounds need to be established as well
as their motivations is what moves the story forward. A simple battle between
good and evil would not involve the viewer unless they cared and knew about the
characters. In so doing it creates a story that draws you in and has you taking
sides.
But not all characters are good and some who begin that way
end up being traitors to the causes they espouse. Betrayals take place and may
affect the outcome of the ensuing battle. And the survivors will lead the world
or see its destruction once that battle ends.
There is no way to single out a performance in this
mini-series to lay claim to the best. Everyone involved here brought their
A-game and it shows. Sinise, one of the best actors around, was just coming off
some successful smaller roles and about to break out with his performance in
FOREST GUMP which came out after this role. He was more than capable of
handling Stu here, the centerpiece of the tale. But so was everyone else.
The mini-series has been available in the past so why bother
talking about it now? It’s because it is now being released in a restored
collector’s edition on blu-ray. While the previous DVD release was fine the
difference in image here is noticeable with a much cleaner and crisper version
to enjoy. The colors are noticeably different and less washed out than before.
As a fan of the mini-series I was particularly glad to hear this was getting
the special treatment it deserves. It may not come with a ton of extras like
some releases do but it is the item itself that should be enjoyed and at 6
hours it won’t be something done in one night. Now it can be enjoyed with
repeat viewing the way it was meant to. I can’t begin to recommend this one
enough.
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