After a government-spawned "superflu" wipes out more than 90 per cent of the earth's population, the devastated survivors must decide whether to support or resist the advances of a mysterious stranger from way down South (heh-heh) who wishes to claim this new world order for himself. Although the six-hour length of The Stand makes it nigh-impossible to digest in one sitting, this well-paced adaptation of Stephen King's apocalyptic magnum opus ranks among the best adaptations of the author's work, with strong performances from Gary Sinise, Miguel Ferrer, and especially Jamey Sheridan as a good-old-boy version of Old Scratch. The opening scene, set to the strains of Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper," is one of the most chilling things ever shot for television. Director Mick Garris is no stranger to King's world, having also helmed Sleepwalkers, the recent television remake of The Shining, and the upcoming Desperation. --Andrew Wright

I may be slightly biased (this is the first horror type thing I ever saw, and basically got me into horror in the first place) but this is just great that is pretty much all I have to say about it

This is a good adaptation of Stephen Kings book, the book was brilliant and this DVD made for enjoyaable long viewing also, it killed a lot of time, there's hours worth of viewing. They've done a good job and it compliments Kings book very well.

The Stand is a strange 'film' to review. It is, after all, a 6-hour mini-series split in the middle by a large time gap. Whilst this allows for deeper characterisation and plot development, it also means a smaller budget, B-list actors and cheesy acting. My God, is there cheesy acting. It is still my belief that Molly Ringwald had her eyes on all of the Razzie 'awards'.
The 'film' gets under way in spectacular fashion, with one of the greatest intro sequences / music cues ever, with Blue Oyster Cult's 'Don't Fear (The Reaper)' playing against the backdrop of an underground facility full of corpses. However, after the intro has finished, things take a brief downturn. ALL the supporting actors set new standards in wooden acting (check out THAT sneeze). In fact, Gary Sinise and Rob Lowe are the only actors who do a half-decent job in the whole film. Molly Ringwald hits new lows, Laura San Giacomo is pathetic and the actor who plays Harold is so direly miscast that its hard to like anything about him from the very start.
The music in the piece is fantastic right through. Some of the scenes of a post-apocalyptic New York are equally impressive and the hammy acting is charming, if you can warm to it. It IS lengthy (approx. 6Hrs-ish?) but I don't see why that's a problem in film today. There is no torture porn or MTV-style editing to be found here, either.
In short, this 'film' has received 4 stars because it has MASSIVE flaws, both in story and in cast. They are unmistakable and unforgivable. However, it more than makes up for this in heart. True, the lengthy time-jump between parts 1 and 2 split the audience (draw your own conclusions), and the ham-fisted acting is as likely to annoy you as charm you. And don't expect to get through this in one sitting. It may take 3 or 4, but if you allow it, this film will pull you in and entrance you like the best of them. In todays world of ADD cinema and youTube journalism, its sometimes nice to take a look back to more simple times

I really, really loved the book and I really love the film. No book translates exactly to the big screen. We have already cemented the characters, locations etc in our minds. Its sometimes difficult to get your head around someone elses interpretation to film.

The characters are good. I couldnt relate to Harold in the film though. In the book he was an overwieght geek, not a slim guy in a leather jacket, but hey.

Ah hell! If you like Stephen King then you will like this. Its dark, comic, romantic, scary. Something for everyone then! he he ;)

read the book watched the movie when they first came out.this version is very heavily edited and took a lot of the impact away from the film