Shawshank Redemption

The next edition of Tom’s Movie Reviews is the film Shawshank Redemption. I should start by saying this is one of the best films of all time. If you haven’t seen it yet, stop reading this review, and go rent or buy it now. But, if you’re still hesitant on my word and still want to know what it is about, then keep reading.

The storyline of the film revolves around Andy Dufrense (played by Tim Robbins), who is a successful banker who is sentenced to life in prison for murdering his wife and her lover. In the prison for the first years, he is lonely and separated from the rest of the prison population but over the years, he gains the respect of some of the other inmates, most importantly “Red” Redding (played by Morgan Freeman), who is the smuggler of goods into the prison. They forge a friendship throughout the years. Andy asks Red to get him a small rock hammer to continue with his hobby of rock collecting and posters of beautiful women such as Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe. He also befriends the warden and the officers by doing their finances, to make his life in jail easier. Shawshank Redemption is about the relationship between Red and Andy and their lives behind bars.

This film is based off of a Stephen King short story Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption in his collection Different Seasons. It has been said by many critics and readers that it is his greatest work. It was adapted for film in 1994 and was nominated for seven Academy Awards including: Best Picture, Best Actor (Freeman), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Original Score. It did not win the Best Picture that year because the competition was so great. 1994 was also the year that Pulp Fiction and Forrest Gump came out, and while most critics thought the race for Best Picture was between Pulp Fiction and Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump snuck out with the statue.

The fun fact of the day is that this version of the film might not have been made. Frank Darabont, the director of the film and the owner of the film rights, almost gave Rob Reiner the film rights for 2.5 million dollars. He wanted to be the writer and director of the film. Andy would have been played by Tom Cruise, and Red would have been played by Harrison Ford. Think about that for a second.

This film is easily a 5 star out of 5 star film. The story is rich and the characters make the film feel real. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, go watch it. It is an extremely well-done film that will keep you interested throughout the entire movie. This film is about life, love, and friendship; all things that we care about today.