Stephen King's The Stand

King's "The Stand" sets up final conflict between good, evil
Hailed as one of the best fantasy/horror novels ever written, Stephen King's The Stand has been published in two different versions -- a slimmed down original edition in 1978 and a slightly updated and unabridged version in 1991. And although both stick to the same story -- a U.S. government-created strain of the flu wipes out 99% of humanity and the survivors join two opposing camps in the ultimate face-off between good and evil -- they differ somewhat, particularly at the very end.

Of all of King's novels, The Stand is the one most of his readers ask about or comment on, and until 1994, when ABC commissioned a miniseries based on this sprawling opus, one question always was "Will there be a movie based on this one?" (King replied in the foreword to the "uncut and unabridged" edition that he thought there might be...)

Unlike most of King's novels, the sheer scope of the novel guaranteed that The Stand would have to be a miniseries made for TV. To have...

Amazing adaptation of Stephen King's apocalyptic novel
From the moment I first sat down to watch this miniseries in 1994 and heard the first few opening bars of "Don't Fear the Reaper," I have loved this movie. I have read every one of Stephen King's books and have seen most of the movies adapted from these books. Some of the adaptations have been awful, others good, and a few, such as The Shawshank Redemption, truly great; The Stand definitely belongs in this elite latter category. I have heard that some fans of King's novel were disappointed in this miniseries, but to me, what's not to like?

What really makes this movie work is the exceptional--and at times unconventional--casting. The Stand was my first exposure to Gary Sinise, and I immediately fell in love with his perfect portrayal of Stu. One of my teen idols, Rob Lowe, did an absolute amazing job with the role of Nick, proving that he had true range as an actor long before The West Wing came along. I don't know why Adam Storke has not had more career success, as...

A Classic Good vs. Evil Drama
As Stephen King himself has said, The Stand is taken straight out of the Book of Revelations in the Bible, and this, in my opinion, makes the miniseries a classic tale of good versus evil. With nearly all the world's population dead due to a genetically engineered virus, the survivors begin to coalesce into two groups--one led by the benevolent Mother Abagail, and the other by the demonic Randall Flagg. It might seem through the first 3 parts of the miniseries that Flagg's group are in the ascendancy, but Mother Abagail & Co. have quite a few tricks up their sleeves.

The crop of actors in Stephen King's The Stand were a great bunch as well. Gary Sinise was perfect for the part of Stu Redman, the country boy from small-town Texas, and Molly Ringwald as Fran Goldsmith was very good. Adam Storke made a very believable Larry Underwood, and the casting of Coach's Bill Fagerbakke as Tom Cullen was an inspired choice. I especially loved the late Ray Walston as Glen Bateman, Jamey...

Click to Editorial Reviews