Plot
Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency.
Release Year: 1994
Rating: 9.2/10 (720,894 voted)
Critic's Score: 80/100
Director:
Frank Darabont
Stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton
Storyline Andy Dufresne is a young and successful banker whose life changes drastically when he is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife and her lover. Set in the 1940's, the film shows how Andy, with the help of his friend Red, the prison entrepreneur, turns out to be a most unconventional prisoner.
Writers: Stephen King, Frank Darabont
Cast: Tim Robbins
-
Andy Dufresne
Morgan Freeman
-
Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding
Bob Gunton
-
Warden Norton
William Sadler
-
Heywood
Clancy Brown
-
Captain Hadley
Gil Bellows
-
Tommy
Mark Rolston
-
Bogs Diamond
James Whitmore
-
Brooks Hatlen
Jeffrey DeMunn
-
1946 D.A.
Larry Brandenburg
-
Skeet
Neil Giuntoli
-
Jigger
Brian Libby
-
Floyd
David Proval
-
Snooze
Joseph Ragno
-
Ernie
Jude Ciccolella
-
Guard Mert
Taglines:
Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
Release Date: 14 October 1994
Filming Locations: Ashland, Ohio, USA
Box Office Details
Budget: $25,000,000
(estimated)
Opening Weekend: $727,327
(USA)
(25 September 1994)
(33 Screens)
Gross: $58,500,000
(Worldwide)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia: James Whitmore was cast in the part of Brooks because he was one of Frank Darabont's favorite character actors.
Goofs:
Continuity:
At one point, one can clearly see Andy aging - his hair becomes more gray - but a few minutes later, there is less gray and he looks younger again.
Quotes:
[first lines]
District Attorney:
Mr. Dufresne, describe the confrontation you had with your wife the night that she was murdered. Andy Dufresne:
It was very bitter. She said she was glad I knew, that she hated all the sneaking around. And she said that she wanted a divorce in Reno.
User Review
Tied for the best movie I have ever seen
Rating: 10/10
Why do I want to write the 234th comment on The Shawshank Redemption? I
am not sure - almost everything that could be possibly said about it
has been said. But like so many other people who wrote comments, I was
and am profoundly moved by this simple and eloquent depiction of hope
and friendship and redemption.
The only other movie I have ever seen that effects me as strongly is To
Kill a Mockingbird. Both movies leave me feeling cleaner for having
watched them.
I didn't intend to see this movie at all: I do not like prison movies
and I don't normally watch them. I work at a branch library and one day
as I was checking The Shawshank Redemption out to one of our older
patrons, she said to me, "Whenever I feel down or depressed, I check
out this movie and watch it and it always makes me feel better." At the
time, I thought that was very strange. One day there was nothing on TV
except things I absolutely would not watch under any circumstance or
things that I had seen too many times already. I remembered what she
said, so I watched it. I have watched it many many times since then and
it gets better with every showing.
No action, no special effects - just men in prison uniforms talking to
each other.
The Shawshank Redemption and To Kill a Mockingbird are the best movies
I have ever seen. I do not judge it by it's technical merits - I don't
really care about that. I have read that Citizen Kane or The Godfather
or this or that movie is the best movie ever made. They may have the
best technique or be the most influential motion pictures ever made,
but not the best. The best movies are ones that touch the soul. It
takes a movie like The Shawshank Redemption to touch the soul.
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