MovieChat Forums > The Stand (1994) Discussion > Love the atmosphere

Love the atmosphere

posted a year ago by Drooch (5333)
3 replies | jump to latest

There’s something intoxicating about this mini-series, with something of the quality of a David Lynch film.

Randall Flagg is wonderfully mysterious, especially early on, where we only get glimpses of his various forms - a bit like Coppola’s Dracula - you never know what form he’ll take next. His human form is funny and menacing, Jamie Sheridan is perfectly cast.

I think Lynch was actually inspired by this version of Flagg when he created Mr C in the recent series of Twin Peaks - walking along roads, demonic powers, epic mullet etc.

The low budget and TV-movie quality actually work to trim away big spectacle and leave plenty to the imagination. You really get the sense of this entirely dead world, a creepy vast expanse in which the surviving characters are little nodes of warmth that meet each other.

The acting is generally very good although things can seem ‘stagey’, like the military scenes with Ed Harris, they clearly had no budget for creating a bustling government agency or military compound, but that’s OK, the story is so powerful and the acting strong enough you just get swept up in it. Like, the cheap production values actually add to the surreality of the world.

Mick Garris is a real mixed bag as a director. On the one hand he’s very bland and ‘TV’, but on the other he’s very eccentric and funny - I mean WTF is with that scene where Mother Abigail is operating a remote-controlled lawn mower while cackling? I burst out laughing whenever I see that, it’s so goddam random.

Garris also directed one of my favourite films - Sleepwalkers (also written by King) it’s utter crap but thoroughly entertaining and hilarious.

People tend to praise the first two parts of The Stand ‘94 and dump on the second, I actually enjoy the whole story and am happy just to go with it and see what King has in store for all these great characters. I also like the crummy morph effects and various demonic Flagg faces we get toward the end.

The ‘hand of god’ ending is still too on-the-nose and unsatisfying, but I’m not sure exactly how else it should have ended. Any suggestions?

But yeah, every few years I get a strong urge to revisit The Stand. Weirdly, I start to get dreams about it and have to fire up my blu-ray. As soon as we get ‘Don’t Fear The Reaper’ over those opening credits I’m all-in for the next six hours. One day I’ll have to read the book…

[–] [email protected] (5504) a year ago

Yes, this is a miniseries I have to watch again every so often.

I agree about the low budget and how that enables the viewer to use his imagination. One thing I wonder about throughout the story is why the survivors didn't catch it. It's never addressed and I find it very tantalizing and somewhat scary to ponder.

For instance, was the flu still around? Lurking dormant in some of the survivors? When they started to repopulate the world, would all their descendants have immunity or would the superflu sweep through the land again?

You NEVER read the book? Oh boy, you really should. It is very long and Stephen King has a tendency to overwrite sometimes. But this book has so much wonderful backstory (sometimes too much, but that's King for ya!). If you love the miniseries, you owe it to yourself to read the book.

As for the TV ending being unsatisfyling for you, the book ends differently. Maybe you'll like that ending better.

Like most readers, I mentally cast the actors in my mind. So many were just perfect. I had a totally different picture for Randall Flagg. I thought Jamie Sheridan would be wrong. But after seeing his portrayal, I realize that he was just PERFECT. He captured Flagg's evil while still coming across as charming.

The rest of the cast was just great with the unfortunate exception of Molly Ringwald as Frannie. The book's Frannie had way more depth and personality. As much as I love, love,love her as Claire in "The Breakfast Club", Molly Ringwald was miscast as Frannie. Maybe it was the fault of the TV adaptation, but the movie Frannie was kinda dull and one-note compared to the book.

[–] TandyMan (10390) a year ago

Probably my favorite mini-series from that era of network tv mini-series. I still watch it every few years. I truly love this form of story telling. They possess a charm that for some reason the high budget limited series made for streaming is lacking.

[–] Gary O. (997) 10 months ago

But yeah, every few years I get a strong urge to revisit The Stand. Weirdly, I start to get dreams about it and have to fire up my blu-ray. As soon as we get ‘Don’t Fear The Reaper’ over those opening credits I’m all-in for the next six hours. One day I’ll have to read the book…

I believe that you would enjoy the book. It is my favorite SK book and one of my favorites by any writer.