Film of the Week #34 - The Shawshank Redemption

Karl Hungus · 31-08-2007 5:09am #1

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

I'd actually say that The Shawshank Redemption is a little over-rated at the best of times, but when you disreguard the hype, it's just an extremely enjoyable film, as I've watched it numerous times myself, and could watch it again and again.

As far as Stephen King goes, it's undenyably one of the best adaptations of his work, along with The Shining.

Dont be at yourself · 31-08-2007 6:11am

The Best Film Ever Made.

It`s a testament to the impression that the film leaves on its viewer that in little over 10 years, The Shawshank Redemption went from being a commercially over-looked, quietly received film to being on everyone`s favourite film list. Indeed, it is so ubiquitous that it has almost become a joke to mention it on such lists.

Why has it left such an impression on so many people? For me, there was no single reason. Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins, two of the finest actors of their generation, give the best performances of their careers. The support cast is universally excellent.

The story isn`t your typical intro-climax-resolution movie plot, instead it is an actual story. We`re not looking through a window into a world, we`re living it alongisde Andy, growing old with him.

Shawshank is often accused of being overly-sentimental, sickeningly saccharine. Not so, for me. At times, Shawshank is a deeply dark film - from the inmates betting on which new fish would crack first, to the trashings handed out be the guards, the gang-rape and so on. What the film undoubtedly does have, and what perhaps gets up some people`s noses, is a very human, very warm side to it. Brooks` character arc is moving without being clicheed or hammy. Andy`s scene of redemption is unquestionably one of the most uplifting scenes ever commited to film. The film`s greatest strength is being able to convey such scenes without over-egging it - and that`s a much harder balance to strike than trying to strike a darker, more depressing tone, a la Apocalypse Now! and so on.

Finally, a question: The best book adaptation ever?

The Bollox · 31-08-2007 10:19am

Shawshank is a very enjoyable film, but I don't really think it deserved a Film Of The Week place. I watched Shawshank many times and could watch it again, but there's something lacking. I personally feel that there are better prison films, case in point would be The Green Mile. This was far superior in almost every way.

I still think Shwashank is fantastic and the character development is brilliant. like NekkidBibleMan said, you don't just watch the film, you live it. you feel Andy's pain. great film, but like I said, not the best

kevmy · 31-08-2007 10:46am

Yep one of my favourite films.

It definitely deserves a place in the FOTW list.

johnny_ultimate · 31-08-2007 12:11pm

Again, I'm in the overrated, but very enjoyable none the less crowd. There is many flaws with the film - the main being that it is in fact rather manipulative, overblown and sentimental. This isn't much of a concern, but I do think it stops it from being a truly great film.

It is an extremely rewatchable film, and it has a excellent feel good factor, but it is just one film I feel is held in too high regard by some people.

Id say Stand By Me just about pips it in my book though

Basq · 31-08-2007 12:25pm

About time this got FoTW.

It is - without a shadow of a doubt - my favourite film of all time!

I could talk endlessly about it so i'll keep this short.

What makes this film consistently watchable is the performances by all involved - but especially Freeman and Robbins. The relationship between Andy and Red is so enjoyable to watch.. it feels real. You can't help but sympathise with Andy thrown into this situation, and his gradual integration into the clique is both enjoyable to watch from someone who both sympathises with Andy and somewhat relates to his character.

Also, the ending of the film -

Andy and Red meeting on the beach with the pan-off of the camera so you can just see them hug in the distance is so satisfyingly done (not at all schmaltzy) as you really believe their friendship and bond as the film progresses.

The support is also wonderful -

with the sad deaths of so many wonderful and memorable characters (the depressing suicide of Brooks, the murder of Tommy).

The film has been called over-rated and some of the goofs have been discussed at length (

most notably, how exactly did Andy secure the poster back on the wall of the cell after he escaped?

) but the film is consistently watchable, and never have i really enjoyed all elements of a film (score, direction, performances etc.) as much as i did when i first saw 'Shawshank'.

Like i said, i'm gonna keep this short as i'll no doubt be back in to respond to other people's opinions.

The Bollox wrote:

I personally feel that there are better prison films, case in point would be The Green Mile. This was far superior in almost every way.

Eurghh.. really? :eek: I thought 'The Green Mile' started well, but crossed the line of a supernatural movie half way through and i really lost interest. I still enjoyed it.. and own it on DVD. But the second half lets the movie down.

bluto63 · 31-08-2007 12:29pm

Karl Hungus wrote:

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

As far as Stephen King goes, it's undenyably one of the best adaptations of his work, along with The Shining.

Despite how much I love the Shining, I would place this a good bit ahead of it. I love this film and watched it when I was young first, not hearing any hype about it which could've helped. Probably my favorite prison movie too

joe_chicken · 31-08-2007 2:29pm

I love this movie.

It's a shameless feel good movie. It beats you down with one hand (the rape scene, main characters dying...) and then lifts you up with the other (the beer on the roof, playing "Marriage of Figaro"...) until it comes to a final non-smaltchy completely uplifting final 10 minutes.

Morgan Freeman narrating is nothing short of genius.
"Andy Dufresne - who crawled through a river of **** and came out clean on the other side."

Basq · 31-08-2007 2:38pm

joe_chicken wrote:

Morgan Freeman narrating is nothing short of genius.
"Andy Dufresne - who crawled through a river of **** and came out clean on the other side."

Oh yes... Morgan Freeman is the definitive narrator.

So much so that he's been doing just that for films like 'War Of The Worlds' and 'March of The Penguins'

Sad Professor · 31-08-2007 6:17pm

A truly great film but I feel sorry for all the people who sat down to watch it with silly expectations floating in their head. While the acclaim it receives is well deserved imo it's also destructive to the experience. The best way to watch it is with very limited knowledge of the story.

I'll never forget my first viewing, I caught it on television one night while flicking through the channels about 10 years ago. I missed the first few minutes but was immediately sucked in. I'm very grateful I got to see it this way as opposed to being coerced into watching it because of all the hype.

galactus · 31-08-2007 6:40pm

The Bollox wrote:

I personally feel that there are better prison films, case in point would be The Green Mile.

Shawshank is a popular choice for many people's favourite of all time but I feel the same as The Bollox, I have always preferred Green Mile to Shawshank

A well deserved FotW in any case and would also would add Escape to Victory to the list of essential prison movies!

Karl Hungus · 01-09-2007 12:37am

Honestly, I'm suprised anyone would say that The Green Mile is the better film... Not saying it's a bad film, because it's not, I just found that Shawshank was vastly superior.

basquille wrote:

Oh yes... Morgan Freeman is the definitive narrator.

He's certainly an excellent narrator, but as an actor, I just think he plays the same character in every single film; himself. He's got a fantastic voice, but no matter how many times I've seen him, he's always the same in any given role. He doesn't put me off a film at all, but he's got zero versatility, and I think there's many actors out there who are a lot better.

Snake Plisken · 01-09-2007 1:26am

As with many people I missed this in the cinema, but caught it on DVD, I had read the novella as part of different seasons a few years before and it hadn't really stuck in my memory, but damn when I did see it I was blown away, Frank Darabont's take on the King material was excellent with an great cast! Outside of Freeman and Robbins, I was happy to see a lot of actors who had appeared in cult movies from the 80's like Mark Rolston (Aliens), Clancy Brown (Highlander) William Sadler (Die Hard 2) and Paul McCrane (Robocop).
This is one film that if I come across it on TV I have to watch it, I'm eagerly awaiting the HD version so I can watch Red and Andy again. It really should have won a couple of Oscars in 95 but the US were going Gump mad! And any other year this would have got best picture, best actor for Morgan and Best adapted screenplay award for Frank Darabont.

Snake

Also Starring LeVar Burton · 01-09-2007 2:28am

I love Shawshank, but prefer the novella to the film. I was lucky enough to have read it, before seeing the film, which is something not many people get the chance to do. As for Shawshank being the best film based on a King story, I'll have to disagree.
Stand By Me, Misery, Cujo and The Shining are top class.

Basq · 01-09-2007 10:12am

CaptainNegative wrote:

Stand By Me, Misery, Cujo and The Shining are top class.

OK, 'Stand By Me', 'Misery' and 'The Shining' are all top class films...

.. but where'd you pull 'Cujo' outta? Hope you were joking!

Also Starring LeVar Burton · 01-09-2007 6:08pm

basquille wrote:

OK, 'Stand By Me', 'Misery' and 'The Shining' are all top class films...

.. but where'd you pull 'Cujo' outta? Hope you were joking!

Cujo is the only film that truly had me cowering behind the couch. Ok so I haven't seen it since I was twelve, but I remember it being brilliant.

01-09-2007 7:10pm

Cujo wasn't a very good film. The book wasn't great either.

Galvasean · 02-09-2007 12:20pm

Karl Hungus wrote:

As far as Stephen King goes, it's undenyably one of the best adaptations of his work, along with The Shining.

Which Shining? The good one that King disowned or the crap one he helped make?

Have to say i love the Shawshank Redemption. Ive seen it dozens of times but it never gets old or boring to me. I guess that should be the main reason for a film getting FotW. Well deserved IMO

Shryke · 02-09-2007 2:40pm

basquille wrote:

The film has been called over-rated and some of the goofs have been discussed at length (
most notably, how exactly did Andy secure the poster back on the wall of the cell after he escaped?
)

Just have it tacked/stuck on the top two corners maybe?

I'll watch a film specifically for Morgan Freeman playing himself. Freeman, Eastwood, DeNiro, Pacino, they all play themselves IMO, and they are all fantastic although DeNiro's lost his edge (and I'm not the biggest fan of his besides).

The Green Mile was good but nowhere near as good as Shawshank. It relied a little bit too much on manipulation. I'm touchy about using 'simple' people to cause emotional responces, it's cheap, though whats-his-face was only uneducated. On the other hand I will never watch I am Sam. **** you Sean Penn.

quickbeam · 02-09-2007 4:46pm

I'd go along with those who think Shawshank is good but overrated. It is definitely worth seeing once, but it's not a film I'd bother to buy on DVD and I'd only watch it again on TV if there was nothing better on.

The Green Mile, on the other hand was utter tripe

I'd much prefer Stand By Me to either of them.

Basq · 02-09-2007 6:00pm

Sandor wrote:

Just have it tacked/stuck on the top two corners maybe?

Not a chance!

Remember how Warden Norton discovered Andy's escape route:

when Warden discovers Andy is not in his cell, he becomes angered and grabs Andy's chess pieces etched from stone and starts throwing them. One of them pierces through the poster - the poster has a sharp hole in it but stays intact and rooted in place.

If it was tacked on only at the top, the poster would have somewhat collapsed when the stone was thrown, but the poster remains firmly in place even with the stone thrown pretty ferociously at it.

EDIT: And i just found out Frank Darabont apparently acknowledges this himself as a plot hole on the special edition. Still only have a vanilla copy of it. I've been itching to buy the special edition.. and i saw it this weekend in Xtra-Vision so that's reminded me to buy it, it was 25 euros in Xtra-Vision though.

Shryke · 02-09-2007 6:44pm

Faie enough! Doesn't bother me at all though, fantastic film!

Basq · 02-09-2007 6:52pm

Sandor wrote:

Faie enough! Doesn't bother me at all though, fantastic film!

Oh.. don't get me wrong.. it doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the film.

But it's one of those discussions that's been raging on films messages boards and forums about the film for years.

Shryke · 02-09-2007 7:17pm

Didn't mean it that way at all. I had no idea it was such a hot topic, it's the first time I've heard it.

Declan A Walsh · 06-09-2007 10:58pm

Just noticed this thread now. "The Shawshank Redemption" definitely features in my Top 10 Films of all time. What makes it so good: the story and its character development, especially Andy and Red, the way the story kind of concludes on an optimistic note after much bleakness and the narration of Morgan Freeman. Most of all - it's a damn good story which keeps your attention, as directed by Frank Durabont. I enjoyed Misery and The Shining very much (other Stephen King adaptations), but I think they lack the credibility factor which is so much part of The Shawshank Redemption. I would say The Shining and Misery are both very good and genuinely scary, but The Shawshank Redemption manages to be excellent without having to be a scary Stephen King adaptation. I cannot really comment on "The Green Mile" as I have yet to look at it. Definitely never get tired of Shawshank.

menoscemo · 07-09-2007 11:52pm

First time I watched shawshank i said 'That's one of the best films I have ever seen'.
second time I saw it i said 'I never want to see that again' That is the difference between good and classic.
Shawshank is good but too sentimental.

Anakin.S · 15-02-2010 6:13pm

I know this is an old thread but I was reading through and had to comment

Karl Hungus wrote: »

As far as Stephen King goes, it's undenyably one of the best adaptations of his work, along with The Shining.

You've obviously never read the book. The movie is a great movie but IMO it is one of the worst adaptions ever. There is just so much of the book missing or changed;

like the amount of wardens,Jake's fate, who red killed, the parol board hearings both Andy's and red's, the amount of rock hammers, the real fate of the kid who could help free andy, the 500 dollars, how Andy actually got the money to run away after his escape and what he was going to do once he escaped

Otis Driftwood · 15-02-2010 6:35pm

In general Im not a fan of book to movie adaptations but in my humble opinion TSR movie is one of the very few instances that the movie surpasses its source material.The instances youve mentioned above are nitpicking.Nearly every adaptation makes changes to help with the flow and pacing of the movie and TSR does it to perfection.

I really cannot agree with anything you've posted above.

Anakin.S · 15-02-2010 8:33pm

Fair enough if you think its nitpicking. I really enjoyed the film, and thought the casting was inspired Morgan Freeman as Red was a bold but a perfect choice.

I'm not knocking the movie, it deserves the praise. But as an adaptation I can't agree that its well done.

Leaving out IMO vital aspects of a book makes a bad adaptation.

I only finished listening to the unabridged audio book a week or so ago so I'm going to rewatch the movie again tomorrow just incase I'm wrong.

OK so I'm just finished watching the DVD..... I'm not nikpicking, maybe with the rock hammer. But I didn't mention Andy's cell mate, the license plate factory, the location of the roof top Andy and the crew tar or the real story of the volcanic rock in the field all of which would be nitpicking.

I think you should read the book again

Hank_Jones · 15-02-2010 8:37pm

Was watching it the other night and I am starting to see it in a new light.
I was previously somewhat anti-Shawshank as I felt that it was over-rated.
While I still feel that way now, it's certainly to a much lesser extent and I have come to appreciate the amazing story, great acting, beautiful cinematography, the list goes on.
It really is an amazing film.

marwelie · 16-02-2010 6:47pm

It's my favourite film ever. Theres nothing I don't like about it. The performances are brilliant, it looks beautiful and the "good guys" win, whats not to like!

I saw it in the cinema twice and raved about it to people who refused to watch it because it was a Prison Drama. I've had to buy it twice on DVD because I've lent it to some of those same people and never got it back.

I'll find any excuse to watch it. In fact I might even watch it tonight after the football.
I still can't believe it didn't win any Oscars! Bloody Tom Hanks and his box of chocolates!!!!!

Brilliant, brilliant movie

Film of the Week #34 - The Shawshank Redemption

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