The Stand (2020)
THE STAND is Stephen King’s apocalyptic vision of a world decimated by plague and embroiled in an elemental struggle between good and evil. The fate of mankind rests on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old Mother Abagail and a handful of survivors. Their worst nightmares are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the Dark Man. Based on Stephen King’s best-selling novel of the same name, CBS All Access’ THE STAND will close with a new coda written by the famed author himself.
For in-depth thoughts on The Stand (2020), please see my colleague Tia Fabi’s review from its original weekly release here and here.
The Stand (1994)
My thoughts on The Stand were previously expressed in my review of the Stephen King 5-Movie Collection. These thoughts have been reposted below.
After a deadly plague kills most of the world’s population, the remaining survivors split into two groups – one led by a benevolent elder and the other by a malevolent being – to face each other in a final battle between good and evil.
The Stand is one of King’s most ambitious adaptations with over 125 speaking roles for this six-hour post-apocalyptic tale. This particular project hit a little bit too close to home as the idea of a plague wiping out such large swaths of the population is more believable than ever. Perhaps it is because such loss is commonplace at the moment that I did not find this all that engaging. Sure, there were characters I enjoyed such as Rob Lowe’s deaf-mute character Nick Andros or Ruby Dee as Mother Abigail, but the evolution into an all-out battle between good and evil just did not do it for me on a narrative level. I appreciate the ambitious nature of this miniseries, as the level of care put into crafting this, especially before the large-scale productions that are more familiar these days, was much appreciated. While it did not knock it out of the park for me, I enjoyed it enough that I look forward to revisiting it one day once we are not living through a pandemic.
Video Quality
The Stand (2020) comes to Blu-Ray with an eye-popping 1080p presentation in 2.39:1 that pushes the format to its limit. The series is filled with intricately detailed settings and gorgeous cinematography that is presented with perfect clarity on this disc. From the more brightly lit scenes to the numerous darker, shadowy sequences, the skin tones and facial details are incredibly rendered in a way you could almost mistake this for a 4K disc. The way the show blends the CGI with the natural world is frankly quite startling in its seamlessness. Colors from the blood and costumes pop off the screen alongside the varied stark landscapes. Black levels are very deep and never betray the objects on screen. No instances of compression artifacts crept up during the viewing. This is an immaculate presentation that perfectly showcases a beautifully shot series.
For thoughts on the Video Quality for The Stand (1994), check out our previous assessment here.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 track that is quite lively. This kinetic series engages in some truly immersive environmental effects that keep the surround speaker filled with unsettling sounds.. There is some nice ambient activity in the rear channels, especially during moments where tension is building to a nice scary payoff. The dialogue primarily stays in front center channels and is reproduced clearly. The track does a good job of making sure neither sound effects nor the score ever overpowers dialogue. The series music from Nathaniel Walcott and Mike Mogis brings an essential element to the series that fills up the room on this track. When the thrills kick in, there is some heft to the low end that is appreciated in a series such as this one. This track has a substantial dynamic range that should please fans of the series.
For thoughts on the Audio Quality for The Stand (1994), check out our previous assessment here.
Special Features
The Stand (2020)
- An Apocalyptic Epic – Adapting The Stand: A decent 20-minute featurette in which the cast and crew express their admiration for the story, discuss the makeup and special effects, the themes of the story, the process of adapting these characters for the screen, the impact certain actors like Whoopi Goldberg had on set and more.
- Gag Reel: A four-minute collection of flubbed lines, ruined takes, malfunctioning props, uncooperative birds, goofing around on set and more.
The Stand (1994)
- Audio Commentary: Author Stephen King and Director Mick Garris take you through an in-depth exploration of the program from start to finish. King starts out by giving you some background on the inception of the story and getting it developed into a series with Mick. Garris has some guests pop in to discuss shooting the film, as well. This is extremely detailed, especially since the participants have to fill up the six hour runtime. Worth a listen if you are a fan of the series.
- Making Of: A nearly six-minute look at the construction of the epic miniseries. It covers the basics such as the themes of the story, the casting, shooting locations, special effects and more, but you really wish for something a bit more in-depth given the sprawling nature of the story.
Final Thoughts
Both adaptations of The Stand thus far have elements that are quite engaging, but never enough to truly make these works that live up to the source material. Characters are what Stephen King does best, and even at nine episodes the series somehow does not get you completely invested in the fates of the protagonists. With this new series, the structure undercuts much of the tension (along with some baffling acting choices), while the older series has a more classic structure but less time with the people you want to know more about. Some of the negative feelings may still be attributed to the times that we are living in being too close to what is on screen to be considered entertaining right now, but not all criticisms can be dismissed by this. CBS Home Entertainment has released a new 2-Pack Blu-Ray of The Stand featuring a stellar A/V presentation for the new version and a passable presentation for the older verison. It is interesting to compare and contrast how these two adaptations work in tandem with one another. If you are going to check this out, this is probably the way to go.
The Stand: The Definitive Two Series Collection is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: CBS Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
