by Jacob Kinman, Contributing Writer
The works of author Stephen King have been adapted dozens of times to the betterment of cinema. All told, the greatest of them all is the iconic, amazing film The Shawshank Redemption. Based on one of King’s novellas, the film chronicles the epic tale of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), a banker who is wrongfully convicted of the murder of his wife and her lover, and is sent to serve a life sentence at Shawshank Prison.
After a rough first night, Andy slowly opens up and gets to know Ellis “Red” Redding (Morgan Freeman) and his group of friends. Andy becomes the target of sexual assault from a gang called The Sisters. He then overhears the violent, menacing guard Byron Hadley (Clancy Brown) talking about his tax problems. Andy provides him good advice; he is then transferred from laundry duty to the library to advise the other guards with their finances. Shawshank’s warden, Samuel Norton (Bob Gunton), tasks Andy to launder bribes and kickbacks into a fake account under the name Randall Stephens.
Over the years, Andy writes several letters to get more books and funds for the prison library. He eventually succeeds and helps educate the other prisoners. He helps a young new inmate, Tommy Williams (Gil Bellows) pass his GED. Tommy also happens to know who actually killed Andy’s wife and her lover: his former cellmate Elmo Blatch, who confesses the crime to Tommy. When the warden hears about this, he has Tommy killed so he can keep Andy inside as his accountant, but not before he is put in solitary confinement for two months. After he is out of solitary, in a pivotal and iconic scene, Andy tells Red about the hope that gets him through his time in Shawshank, garnering the famous quote, “You either get busy living, or get busy dying.”
One morning, when all the prisoners report outside their cells, Andy is gone. The warden finds a tunnel in his cell in which Andy had been digging over time with a rock hammer he got from Red. Andy makes it out through a sewage pipe and becomes Randall Stephens, taking much of Norton’s money while also incriminating him. Red is released on parole and, after having a hard time adjusting to civilian life, finds a box with some money and a letter from Andy, telling him to join him in Mexico.
Despite its poor box office performance, the film found a huge resurgence in the rental and home video market, as well as much critical acclaim, being nominated for several awards, including seven Oscars. It was included in one of the greatest groups of Best Picture nominees ever, alongside Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and Quiz Show.
The great thing about this script and story is that, even with that description, there are still so many parts I could have mentioned. The story is vast and detailed, and it never crowds the movie with unnecessary plot points. There are so many small pieces that build up the larger story as a whole.
This film has an all-star cast and crew. Robbins and Freeman shine in their leading roles, with a vibrant and interesting supporting cast around them. The great Frank Darabont wrote and directed the film, with an amazing score from Thomas Newman to boot. Last but most definitely not least, living legend and masterful cinematographer Roger Deakins was the director of photography.
There have been a lot of great films to come out of the ‘90s. For one to mark all the boxes of excellent story and script, beautiful music, dazzling cinematography, top-notch performances, and skilled direction, coming together into a masterpiece, is rare. For a financial flop to become a genuine classic is even more rare. The Shawshank Redemption fits the bill.
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