Plot Summary :
Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison for the murders of his wife and her lover in the late 1940s. However, only Andy knows that he didn't commit the crimes. Sent to Shawshank Prison to do hard time, Andy--a taciturn banker in the outside world--has to learn to get by in the brutal, cutthroat confines of prison life. His quiet strength slowly earns the respect of his fellow inmates--most notably, Red (Morgan Freeman)--and even much of the prison staff. But Andy's seemingly stoic acceptance of his unjust imprisonment hides a fierce determination for freedom. This beautifully crafted movie features touching and sincere performances from the entire cast, with an uplifting message about humanity's indomitable spirit and the redemptive value of hope. Based on the novella RITA HAYWORTH AND SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION by Stephen King, Darabont's intriguing adaptation is easily one of the finest films of the 1990s. - rottentomatoes.com
Review :
Easily one of the best movie of all time, also to be the best prison drama ever made. Ranked #1 to date at IMDb's Top 250 movies, The Shawshank Redemption is a standout drama, powerful, poignant, thought-provoking and no doubt my all-time favorite movie about hopes, friendship, hardships, dreams and redemption with quite some memorable lines. A movie so elegant and emotional that is perfect in its way of storytelling. A movie that is about how hope can never die. It captures my attention every single moment and touches my emotion especially towards the end of the movie. It is a simple film, yet it has an everlasting message. I've watched it 3 times yet it is still as stunning and powerful each time I watched it, definitely a fine masterpiece that should not be missed and I recommend it to all especially the working class (watch the The Sharktank Redemption in the Special Features Disc and you'll know what I mean).
Rating : 10/10 * Rating given based on movie genre because different type of movies cannot be compared.
The Shawshank Redemption (Two-Disc Special Edition)
I owned this original 10th Anniversary 2-Disc Special Edition DVD and I have to say this is a must have for all movie fans. This special edition DVD comes with Dolby Digital 5.1 English audio and widescreen format. The special features include:
- Two Making-of documentaries, "Hope Springs Eternal" and "The Redeeming Feature"
- The Charlie Rose Show segement with filmmaker Frank Darabont, and actors Tim Robbins & Morgan Freeman
- Comic spoof "The Sharktank Redemption"
- Stills Gallery: Photos from director Frank Darabont's collection
- Storyboards
- Trailers
Movie Trailer
Director : Frank Darabont
Writers : Stephen King (Short story "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption"), Frank Darabont (Screenplay)
Genre : Crime, Drama
Tagline : Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free. * Great tagline :)
Runtime : 142 min
Main Cast :
Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne, Morgan Freeman as Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding, Bob Gunton as Warden Norton, William Sadler as Heywood, Clancy Brown as Captain Hadley, Gil Bellows as Tommy
There are so many excellent and meaningful dialogs in this movie, and so I have compiled some memorable quotes to share with each and everyone of you who love this movie.
Memorable quotes :
Red : Get busy living, or get busy dying.
Andy Dufresne : Bad luck, I guess. It floats around. It's got to land on somebody. It was my turn, that's all. I was in the path of the tornado. I just didn't expect the storm would last as long as it has.
Andy Dufresne : I was in the path of the tornado... I just didn't expect the storm would last as long as it has.
Red : [narrating] There's a harsh truth to face. No way I'm gonna make it on the outside. All I do anymore is think of ways to break my parole, so maybe they'd send me back. Terrible thing, to live in fear. Brooks Hatlen knew it. Knew it all too well. All I want is to be back where things make sense. Where I won't have to be afraid all the time. Only one thing stops me. A promise I made to Andy.
Red : I could see why some of the boys took him for snobby. He had a quiet way about him, a walk and a talk that just wasn't normal around here. He strolled, like a man in a park without a care or a worry in the world, like he had on an invisible coat that would shield him from this place. Yeah, I think it would be fair to say... I liked Andy from the start.
Andy Dufresne : Maybe it's time for you to switch careers.
Tommy Williams : Huh?
Andy Dufresne : What I mean is, you don't seem to be a very good thief, maybe you should try something else.
Tommy Williams : Yeah, well, what the hell do you know about it Capone? What are you in for?
Andy Dufresne : Me? My lawyer fucked me. Everybody's innocent in here. Didn't you know that?
Andy Dufresne : She was beautiful. God I loved her. I just didn't know how to show it, that's all. I killed her, Red. I didn't pull the trigger, but I drove her away. And that's why she died, because of me.
Andy Dufresne : [in letter to Red] Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.
Red : [narrating] Andy Dufresne - who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side.
Red : Ever bother you?
Andy Dufresne : I don't run the scams Red, I just process the profits. Fine line, maybe, but I also built that library and used it to help a dozen guys get their high school diploma. Why do you think the warden lets me do all that?
Red : To keep you happy and doing the laundry. Money instead of sheets.
Andy Dufresne : If they ever try to trace any of those accounts, they're gonna end up chasing a figment of my imagination.
Red : Well, I'll be damned. Did I say you were good? Shit, you're a Rembrandt!
Andy Dufresne : Yeah. The funny thing is - on the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook.
Andy Dufresne : That's the beauty of music. They can't get that from you... Haven't you ever felt that way about music?
Red : I played a mean harmonica as a younger man. Lost interest in it though. Didn't make much sense in here.
Andy Dufresne : Here's where it makes the most sense. You need it so you don't forget.
Red : Forget?
Andy Dufresne : Forget that... there are places in this world that aren't made out of stone. That there's something inside... that they can't get to, that they can't touch. That's yours.
Red : What're you talking about?
Andy Dufresne : Hope.
1967 Parole Hearings Man : Ellis Boyd Redding, your files say you've served 40 years of a life sentence. Do you feel you've been rehabilitated?
Red : Rehabilitated? Well, now let me see. You know, I don't have any idea what that means.
1967 Parole Hearings Man : Well, it means that you're ready to rejoin society...
Red : I know what *you* think it means, sonny. To me it's just a made up word. A politician's word, so young fellas like yourself can wear a suit and a tie, and have a job. What do you really want to know? Am I sorry for what I did?
1967 Parole Hearings Man : Well, are you?
Red : There's not a day goes by I don't feel regret. Not because I'm in here, or because you think I should. I look back on the way I was then: a young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try and talk some sense to him, tell him the way things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone and this old man is all that's left. I got to live with that. Rehabilitated? It's just a bullshit word. So you go on and stamp your form, sonny, and stop wasting my time. Because to tell you the truth, I don't give a shit.
Red : [narrating] In 1966, Andy Dufresne escaped from Shawshank prison. All they found of him was a muddy set of prison clothes, a bar of soap, and an old rock hammer, damn near worn down to the nub. I remember thinking it would take a man six hundred years to tunnel through the wall with it. Old Andy did it in less than twenty. Oh, Andy loved geology. I imagine it appealed to his meticulous nature. An ice age here, million years of mountain building there. Geology is the study of pressure and time. That's all it takes really, pressure, and time. That, and a big goddamn poster. Like I said, in prison a man will do most anything to keep his mind occupied. Turns out Andy's favorite hobby was totin' his wall out into the exercise yard, a handful at a time. I guess after Tommy was killed, Andy decided he'd been here just about long enough. Andy did like he was told, buffed those shoes to a high mirror shine. The guards simply didn't notice. Neither did I... I mean, seriously, how often do you really look at a mans shoes? Andy crawled to freedom through five hundred yards of shit smelling foulness I can't even imagine, or maybe I just don't want to. Five hundred yards... that's the length of five football fields, just shy of half a mile.
