'Stand By Me' one of two best King adaptations

By Terry Lawson
Knight Ridder News Service

Of the films that followed the writer's original blueprints, the two best are Brian De Palma's adaptation of "Carrie" and Rob Reiner's "Stand by Me," now available in a DVD deluxe edition (Columbia-TriStar).

The 1986 film is based on "The Body," one of four novellas collected in "Different Seasons" and was notable for its lack of horrific or supernatural themes. Set in the '50s, it's about a tight-knit quartet of boys (played by Wil Wheaton, the late River Phoenix, Jerry O'Connell and Corey Feldman), who go looking for a missing kid and find his corpse.

Unfortunately, the director's commentary track accompanying the DVD is lifeless; to Reiner, apparently, this was just another movie. (To be fair, his commentary track on the original release of "This Is Spinal Tap" is pretty obligatory, too.)

Some of Reiner's reflections are repeated in a new retrospective documentary that also includes new interviews with the actors. There's also a feature that allows you to listen to nearly all of the well-compiled soundtrack of '50s (and cheating a bit, early '60s) pop and doo-wop, including the title song by Ben. E. King, and a 32-page booklet of the sort usually found only in Criterion Collection titles.

Revisiting 'neverland'

"Finding Neverland" won only one of the seven Academy Awards for which it was nominated (for original score), but devoted fans of best-actor nominee Johnny Depp will be rearguing his case with the release of the DVD (Miramax).

We can revisit his quiet and affecting portrayal of J.M. Barrie, the writer who drew on his relationship with the family of a troubled boy (excellently portrayed by Freddie Highmore) in creating the classic "Peter Pan." The additional commentary comes from director Marc Forster and the film's producer and writer, and there's also a brief making-of doc, a few minutes of deleted scenes and flubbed line-readings.

There are a lot more extras included on the DVD of "Bridget Jones — the Edge of Reason" (Universal), including three scenes cut from this sequel. It follows the romantic misadventures of the title character (Renee Zellweger), who still finds it difficult to choose between stable but stuffy suitor Colin Firth and dashing cad Hugh Grant.

"Being Julia" (Columbia-TriStar) remains what just about everyone who saw it said it was: a slight bit of whimsy about a London stage actress who is worried she is getting old, with a sterling performance by Oscar-nominated Annette Bening.

Jedi alert: 'Star Wars' release

Ewan McGregor, left, and Liam Neeson in "Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace," released on DVD this week. Advertiser library photo

The content and presentation are the same as the original discs.

The films had been officially unavailable or, as the industry calls it, "on hiatus" for the last six months, so LucasFilm could focus its attention — and buyers' attentions — on "The Star Wars Trilogy" box set, containing the three original films (Episodes IV, V and VI) released late last year.

In more "Star Wars" news:

To whet the appetite for "Revenge of the Sith," director George Lucas has approved the DVD release of "Clone Wars Vol. 1" (Fox). It seeks to do for "Star Wars" what "The Animatrix" did for "The Matrix" movies — fill in some story points between chapters via short animated films.

These 20 animated films, each running about 5 minutes and originally shown on Cartoon Network, won an Emmy, but they lack both the artfulness and imagination of "The Animatrix." It's for "Star Wars" obsessives only, but they'll undoubtedly appreciate the featurette, including a new interview with Lucas and a few glimpses of what we can expect from "Revenge of the Sith."