Respond to these rapid questions in our The Shawshank Redemption quiz and we will tell you which The Shawshank Redemption character you are. Play it now.
Although it seems odd to say this about a movie set in a prison, “The Shawshank Redemption” has a warm grip on our emotions because it makes us feel like a part of a family. Movies frequently provide us with fictitious experiences and brief, fleeting feelings. “Shawshank” stops and turns to observe. It includes us in the tale of men who have developed a community behind bars by using the narrator’s collected, perceptive voice. It is more profound than most movies; it is built on friendship and hope and is about continuity over a lifetime.
It’s interesting that, despite the fact that Tim Robbins’ Andy Dufresne, a convicted former financier, is the movie’s protagonist, the action is never seen from his perspective. The opening scene of the movie depicts him receiving two life sentences for the murder of his wife and her lover, and from there, the perspective of the prison population, especially that of lifer Ellis “Red” Redding, is forever adopted. (Morgan Freeman). It is his voice recalling his initial impression of Andy (“looked like a stiff breeze would blow him over”) and making the incorrect prediction that he wouldn’t survive jail.
From Andy’s arrival on the prison bus to the film’s conclusion, we see only how others see him – Red, who becomes his best friend, Brooks the old librarian, the corrupt Warden Norton, guards and inmates. Red is our substitute. Red will be the one to receive redemption because he is the one we associate with. Andy’s example has demonstrated to us the importance of remaining loyal to oneself, maintaining optimism, waiting patiently, setting a good example, and looking for opportunities. He tells Red, “I suppose it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get occupied surviving, or get busy dying.
The secret to the movie’s structure, in my opinion, is that it’s not about the hero but rather how we relate to him—our interest, sympathy, and admiration. The movie would have been more predictable and unnerving if Andy had been the hero, persevering heroically. But we are curious about this man. Did he really murder those two individuals? He keeps so much to himself, why? When everyone else plods or sidles, why can he stroll through the jail yard like he’s a free man?
titles that offer it do well because audiences enjoy action in the movies. Films about “redemption” are handled with great caution because many people find the idea of a great movie to be laborious. However, there is a need for hopeful themes, so when a movie delivers one, it is likely to be memorable even if it doesn’t immediately appeal to viewers.
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In September 1994, “The Shawshank Redemption” had its world debut at the Toronto Film Festival. A few weeks later, it was released. Although it received favorable reviews, its financial performance was poor (its $18 million initial gross failed to cover expenses; it only brought in another $10 million after receiving seven Oscar nominations, including best picture).
It had few positive qualities, including a terrible title, the fact that it was a “prison drama”—and women don’t like those—almost no action, respectable but not particularly well-known performers, and a length of 142 minutes. It was obvious that word-of-mouth marketing was necessary for this film to find an audience, and when it was removed from theaters, business was actually slowly but gradually increasing. It might have continued to develop and function for months if left to find its own way, but that’s not what occurred.
It instead found its true mass audience on tapes and discs and through TV screenings, in one of the most amazing tales in the annals of home video. Within five years, “Shawshank” had become a phenomenon, a top-selling and frequently-rented video that its fans believed they had independently found. It was in first place among the 250 best movies globally when the Wall Street Journal published a story about the “Shawshank” groundswell in April 1999; it typically ranks in the top five.
The Shawshank Redemption Quiz
Polls and movie rentals show appeal, but they don’t tell us why people hold “Shawshank” in such high regard. Perhaps it has the feel of a spiritual encounter rather than a movie. It does contain enjoyable payoff scenes. (as when the guards from another prison, wearing their baseball uniforms, line up to have Andy do their taxes). But the majority of the film is silent, alone, and filled with philosophical conversations about existence. Violence is only present when it is necessary, not when it is exploited, as when Andy is sexually attacked.
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Andy is tactfully portrayed in medium and long shots after being beaten in the film to avoid lingering on his pain. Like his fellow inmates, the camera does not focus on Andy’s wounds or bruises but instead grants him his privacy.
The moral arc of the movie is carried by the Morgan Freeman character. After 20, 30, and 40 years, we see him again at three parole trials. Storytelling devices are used in the first hearing; after Andy is sentenced in the opening scene, we see a parole board and assume it is about to hear Andy’s appeal. No, that’s when Red first appears to us. He makes an effort to persuade the board that he has changed in his first plea. He merely goes through the motions in the second. In the third, he completely rejects the idea of rehabilitation; in doing so, he somehow frees his soul, and the board releases him.
There is a fundamental issue. Red is ruling in prison. He can get you a carton of cigarettes, a small rock pick, or a poster of Rita Hayworth. He is the prison fixer. He doesn’t appear to have a position or a name. The elderly library (James Whitmore), who was alone and at sea in freedom, has already been shown what happened to him. The final act, in which Andy helps Red accept his freedom, is extraordinarily moving—all the more so because Andy once more communicates with Red through letters and postcards and works at a distance.
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The movie, written and produced by Frank Darabont, is based on a Stephen King story. His movie allows itself a luxury that most movies are hesitant to take. The movie is just as methodical, careful, and considerate as Freeman’s commentary. Hollywood has a perception that viewers have limited attention spans and require constant stimulation from new innovations. These movies, in my opinion, take longer to watch than movies like “Shawshank,” which engrosses us and makes us forget that we are viewing a movie.
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The conversation is also deliberate. Andy is transformed by Tim Robbins into a quiet, few-words-speaking guy. He doesn’t become overly agitated. He is a self-reliant individual who can go for years without speaking up before making a showy move, as when he performs an aria from Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro.” One of the movie’s epiphanies is the overhead view of the inmates enraptured by the music in the yard. He becomes more interesting because he doesn’t offer himself, make an effort to connect with us, or exaggerate his emotions: It’s frequently more interesting to speculate about a character’s thoughts than to know them.
The photography of Roger Deakins is subtle, not flashy. The jail is established in the first two shots, one from a helicopter and one featuring towering prison walls. Instead of anticipating the conversation, shots are taken after it. When a young prisoner remembers another man’s description of the crime, deep bass rumblings from the early murder are repeated, adding a subtle touch to Thomas Newman’s music that enhances rather than informs.
Darabont doesn’t try to upstage or undermine the narrative; rather, he builds the movie to observe it. In reality, there is no upstaging in this movie; instead, the actors are content to remain in their assigned roles, the plot unfolds in a logical manner, and the movie itself reflects the gradual passing of the decades. The moment they lock you up in that cage and the bars slam shut, Red claims, “that’s when you know it’s for real. In the blink of an eye, the old existence was gone. There is nothing left but to ponder about it forever. I was even more impressed with the movie after seeing it a second time. Affection for excellent films often grows with familiarity, as it does with music. Life is a jail, we are Red, and Andy is our savior, according to some. All great work has a deeper message than it lets on.
