What has always struck me as just a little funny about the movie, is how the kids act toward each other. We struggle even as adults to deal with our feelings, and these kids kind of play psychiatrist for each other better than any grown-up would be able to do. Stand By Me is a magical movie that has endured as a recent classic of American cinema, and I'm sure it will continue to do so for some time. The main drawback to the transfer is edge enhancement that is noticeable in some of the brighter scenes. Aside from this, you're not really going to see a lot of transfer-related defects.
Flesh tones are even and natural, and blacks are solid with a lot of depth.
Overall, the picture quality retains an almost theatre-like appearance that is faithful to the intended look of the film. The sound mix is the film's original monaural track, and it gets the job done. It's certainly not an active sound mix, and it lacks the depth and range of newer films, but it's a good mono mix. Dialogue is steadily maintained and clear throughout the film. Never does it sound hollow or tinny like many older films can, but I can't help but wonder why Columbia didn't decide to include a new 5.1 mix with the original mono track.