[1994] The Shawshank Redemption

[Mave]

The Shawshank Redemption

This movie is a masterpiece.

I watched it two years ago for the first time and I actually cried at the end. It was so beautiful.

Some Awards

* 1994 Academy Awards; nomitated for; Best Picture, Best Actor– Morgan Freeman, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Original Score, and Best Sound Mixing
BUT, in the shadow of 1994's big winner Forrest Gump, did not win a single one.

*1998 In Shawshank was not listed in AFI's" 100 Years... 100 Movies", but nine years later (2007), it placed at the 72nd position on the revised list, outranking both Forrest Gump (76th) and Pulp Fiction (94th), the two most critically acclaimed movies from the year of Shawshank's release.

* In 1999, film critic Roger Ebert listed Shawshank on his "Great Movies" list, and in reader polls by the film magazine Empire, the film ranked fifth in 2004, first in 2006 and fourth in 2008 on the lists for greatest movie of all time.


Movie Info

The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, loosely based on the Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. The film stars Tim Robbins as Andrew "Andy" Dufresne and Morgan Freeman as Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding.

The film portrays Andy spending nearly two decades in Shawshank State Prison, a fictional penitentiary in Maine and his friendship with Red, a fellow inmate. Despite a lukewarm box office reception that was barely enough to cover its budget, The Shawshank Redemption received favorable reviews from critics and has since enjoyed a remarkable life on cable television, VHS, DVD and Blu-ray.

Technical Info

Directed by : Frank Darabont
Produced by : Niki Marvin
Written by : Frank Darabont, Stephen King
Starring : Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown, Gil Bellows, James Whitmore
Release date(s) : September 23, 1994
Running time : 142 minutes
Country : United States
Budget : $25 million
Gross revenue : $58,500,000

Real Life Imitation

In 2007, Union County Prison inmates Jose Espinosa and Otis Blunt escaped the jail using similar techniques to those in the movie. The escape note left behind by the escapees led to the suicide of prison guard Rudolph Zurick. The escapees were later recaptured. Jose Espinosa denied responsibility over the death of Zurick.

Plot

In 1947, a banker named Andrew "Andy" Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, based on strong circumstantial evidence. He is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences at Shawshank State Penitentiary in Maine, run by Warden Samuel Norton (Bob Gunton). He is quickly befriended by Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman), a fellow inmate serving a life sentence but has recently failed to gain parole. Andy finds Red has connections on the outside who can acquire contraband for the inmates, and first asks Red for a rock hammer in order to maintain his rock collection hobby, which he uses to fashion a home-made chess set. He later asks Red for a full-size poster of Rita Hayworth for his wall, replacing them over the years with ones of Marilyn Monroe and Raquel Welch

During manual labor, Andy overhears Captain of the Guards Byron Hadley (Clancy Brown) complain about having to pay taxes on a forthcoming inheritance. Andy risks punishment by explaining to Hadley how to circumvent the taxes legally; Hadley accepts Andy's advice and rewards his friends with a brief respite and beer. Andy's accountancy expertise is soon sought by other guards at Shawshank and nearby prisons, and Andy is given a space to work on their financial matters under the pretense of maintaining the prison library alongside elderly inmate Brooks Hatlen (James Whitmore). Hadley delivers a brutal beating to inmate Bogs (Mark Rolston), leader of "The Sisters", after his gangs' attempt to sexually molest Andy puts Andy in the infirmary; Bogs is paralyzed while the remaining Sisters leave Andy alone. Andy is able to use his good will with the guards to help expand the library; when one donation to the library provides him with the opera The Marriage of Figaro, he plays it for all the inmates to hear, well-aware of the punishment of solitary confinement he will receive for the brief moment of bliss.

Warden Norton creates a scheme to use prison labor for public works, undercutting the cost of skilled labor and discretely receiving personal kickbacks for it. Norton has Andy launder the money under a false identity, in exchange for allowing Andy to keep his private cell and to continue maintaining the library. Brooks is soon freed on parole, but is unable to adjust to the outside, non-regimented world, and hangs himself; Andy dedicates the expanded library to Brooks. In 1965, Tommy Williams (Gil Bellows) is incarcerated into Shawshank on robbery charges. Tommy is brought into Andy and Red's circle of friends, and Andy assists Tommy into getting his GED. Tommy reveals that one of his old prison-mates, Elmo Blatch (Bill Bolender) had claimed to have committed the murders for which Andy was charged. Norton, fearing that Andy may reveal his illegal activities if he were released, puts him into solitary confinement and has Tommy killed by Hadley, claiming he was an escapee. When Andy is finally released from solitary, Norton threatens to burn down the library if Andy does not continue to launder the money for him.

Shortly after, Andy informs Red his dream to live in Zihuatanejo, a Mexican-Pacific coastal town, and instructs Red, should he ever be freed, to visit a specific hayfield near Buxton, Maine to find something he had left there. The next day at roll call, Andy's cell is found empty. Norton, in anger, throws one of Andy's rocks at the poster of Welch; the rock tears through the poster, revealing a tunnel that Andy had dug with the rock hammer over the last decade that allowed him to escape Shawshank, along with a set of civilian clothes, his chess set, and the books he had kept for Norton, having swapped them for fakes the night before. Andy uses his false identity to withdraw all of Norton's money from the bank, at the same time, sending the evidence to a local newspaper. On the day the story runs, the police converge on the prison; Hadley is arrested while Norton commits suicide.

When Red finally achieves parole after serving 40 years of his sentence, he finds himself in the same bagging job at a grocery store as Brooks, and living in the the same apartment where Brooks committed suicide. Red decides to follow Andy's advice and visits Buxton. In the hayfield where Andy specified, he finds a cache of money and a note left by Andy, reminding him of Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Red violates his parole and travels to Mexico; he eventually comes across Andy on the coast, and they happily reunite.

Sources Used

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawshank_redemption

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/

 

[Panki]

Wow, i'll watch this ASAP.

 

[Impulse]

This is found one of the best movies made. I wathed it and actaully really like it.

 

[Snickers]

One of the best movies ever made, maybe even the best. Morgan Freeman is awesome. Also, I cried at the part where that old man, that prisoner, commits suicide because he thought he wasn't made to live outside.

 

[Austin]

Wow, i'll watch this ASAP.

How have you not seen this before? Rofl!