"Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free."
Directed by Frank Darabont
Produced by Niki Marvin
Screenplay by Frank Darabont
Based on "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" by Stephen King
Starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown, Gil Bellows, James Whitmore
Music by Thomas Newman
Cinematography: Roger Deakins
Edited by Richard Francis-Bruce
Production company: Castle Rock Entertainment
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date: 14 October 1994 (United States)
Running time: 142 minutes
Country: United States
Budget: $25 million
Box office: $28.3 million (North America)
"The Shawshank Redemption" is a crime drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont and which was adapted from the Stephen King novella "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption". It tells the story of Andy Dufresne, a banker who is sentenced to life in Shawshank State Prison for the murder of his wife and her lover despite his claims of innocence. During his time at the prison, he befriends a fellow inmate, Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding, and finds himself protected by the guards after the warden begins using him in his money laundering operation.
Cast
- Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne
- Morgan Freeman as Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding
- Bob Gunton as Warden Samuel Norton
- William Sadler as Heywood
- Gil Bellows as Tommy Williams
- Mark Rolston as Bogs Diamond
- James Whitmore as Brooks Hatlen
- Jeffrey DeMunn as the prosecuting attorney in Andy Dufresne's trial.
Frank Darabont, the director of the film, is also known to me for his works like "The Green Mile" (1999), "The Majestic" (2001) and "The Mist" (2007). However, exactly his picture "The Shawshank Redemption" made him generally recognized and not by chance. As the film had been on the top of IMDb 250 for many years, I was a little agitated to watch it. Frankly speaking, not a little, I was greatly excited and afraid. Yes, afraid. But the film alsmost met my expectations. I was impressed with verisimilitude of developments: much violence, injustice and cruelty.
The main character, Andy Dufresne, was performed by Tim Robbins, and was performed excellently. A clever man with a strong will-power and a character. He did the impossible and you know, why? Because he hoped. He hoped and did his best to achieve the purpose. Morgan Freeman, one of my big list with favourite actors, acted not a halfpenny the worse and, this way, obtained several reward and nominations for the role of Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding.
"Strangenesses"
Advantages
- The story
- Visual effects
- The idea
Disadvantages
- Prison will always stay prison
"Strangenesses"
- Not every prisoner wants to be free
Clue Moments
- Beer
- The libraryu
- Posters
- Death after prison
Patience. Time. Pressure.
Can a man be free serving a term of imprisonment? And be unfree being at large? The film showed me that the answer on both of these questions is positive. I suppose it depends only on outlook on life of each person: if you know what to do with your freedom - no problems, but if you don't, probably it will be better to stay a gaol-bird?
Strength of will and mind are the most powerful and invaluable things in life. More often they appear in difficult times helping a person to withstand. To believe, to hope and to press towards an aim during twenty years - isn't it a feat? For me - undoubtedly. I'm admiring to see such characters on the screen, they excite me.
In fact, the Shawshank Prison have never existed. According to Wikipedia, in film was used the Ohio State Reformatory, also known as the Mansfield Reformatory, a historic prison located in Mansfield, Ohio in the United States. It was between 1886 and 1910 and remained in operation until a 1990 federal court ruling (the 'Boyd Consent Decree') ordered the facility to be closed. While this facility was used in a number of films (including several while the facility was still in operation), TV shows and music videos, it was made famous by the film "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994) when it was used in a long panning scene and scenes in the Warden's office.
The history of the Ohio State Reformatory began in 1861, the field where the reformatory would be built on was used as a training camp for Civil War soldiers. The camp's name had significant meaning to Ohio as it was named Camp Mordecai Bartley to honor the Mansfield man who served as Ohio governor in the 1840s. In 1867, Mansfield was promoted as a candidate for the placement of the new Intermediate Penitentiary (the original name before it was changed to Ohio State Reformatory). The city raised $10,000 to purchase 30 acres of land for the prison, and the state acquired 150 acres of adjoining land for $20,000; the cost of the facility was $1,326,769. The Intermediate (Ohio State Reformatory) was intended as just that, a halfway point between the Boys Industrial School in Lancaster and the State Penitentiary in Columbus which was intended to house young first-time offenders. Construction began in 1886 and remand under construction until 1910 due to funding problems which caused construction delays. The original architect for the design was Levi T. Scofield from Cleveland, he used three architectural styles; Victorian Gothic, Richardsonian Romanesque and Queen Anne. Levi T. Scofield designed the reformatory with these unique styles to help encourage inmates to be reborn back into their spiritual lives. The creation and construction of the entire building was entrusted to well-known architect F.F. Schnitzer, whose name also appears on the cornerstone, and is recorded as Superintendent in documents found in the cornerstone. During 1891 the name was changed from Intermediate Penitentiary to Ohio State Reformatory. On September 15, 1896 the reformatory opened its doors to its first 150 offenders. These prisoners were brought by train from Columbus and put immediately to work on the prison sewer system and the 25-foot stone wall that surrounded the complex. Schnitzer was presented with a silver double inkwell by the governor of the state in a lavish ceremony to thank him for his services. The exterior of the building, which is built from brick and concrete, is designed in the Romanesque style giving the frontage a castle-like appearance.
The Reformatory remained in full operation until December 1990 when it was closed via federal court order. As the result of a prisoners' class action suit citing overcrowding and inhumane conditions (Boyd v. Denton, C.A. 78-1054A (N.D.Oh.)), District Judge Frank J. Battisti of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio ordered the prison closed by the end of December 1986. This order was known as the Boyd Consent Decree. The closing date was moved to 1990 due to delays in constructing the replacement facility, which stands to the west of the old prison, the Mansfield Correctional Institution.
Most of the grounds and support buildings, including the outer wall, have been demolished since the closing. In 1995, the Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society was formed. They have turned the prison into a museum and conduct tours to help fund grounds rehabilitation projects and currently work to stabilize the buildings against further deterioration.
The East Cell Block remains the largest free standing steel cell block in the world at six tiers high. From 1935 until 1959 Arthur Lewis Glattke was the Superintendent. Initially a political appointment following Glattke's work on the Martin Davey campaign, by all accounts Glattke was respected by professionals and inmates alike. He implemented many reforms such as piped in radio music in the cell blocks. Glattke's wife, Helen Bauer Glattke, died of pneumonia three days following an accident in November 1950 where a handgun discharged when she was reaching into a jewelry box in the family's quarters. Glattke died following a heart attack suffered in his office on February 10, 1959. Over 200 people died at the OSR, including two guards who were killed during escape attempts.
Soundtracks
- Deutsch Oper Berlin, Karl Böhm - The Marriage Of Figaro | "Duettino - Sull 'Aria"
- Hank Williams - Lovesick Blues
- The Inkspots - If I Didn't Care
- Thomas Newman - An Inch Of His Life
- Thomas Newman - And That Right Soon
- Thomas Newman - Brooks Was Here
- Thomas Newman - Compass And Guns
- Thomas Newman - Elmo Blatch
- Thomas Newman - End Title
- Thomas Newman - His Judgement Cometh
- Thomas Newman - Lovely Raquel
- Thomas Newman - May
- Thomas Newman - New Fish
- Thomas Newman - Rock Hammer
- Thomas Newman - Shawshank Prision (Stoic Theme)
- Thomas Newman - Shawshank Redemption
- Thomas Newman - Sisters
- Thomas Newman - So Was Red
- Thomas Newman - Suds On The Roof
- Thomas Newman - Workfield
- Thomas Newman - Zihuatanejo
Quotations
* * *
Andy Dufresne: Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.
* * *
Red: Andy Dufresne - who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side.
* * *
Red: Sometimes it makes me sad, though... Andy being gone. I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up DOES rejoice. But still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend.
* * *
Andy Dufresne: What about you? What are you in here for?Red: Murder, same as you.
Andy Dufresne: Innocent?
Red: Only guilty man in Shawshank.
* * *
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: Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.
* * *
Red: I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.
* * *
Andy Dufresne: Red. If you ever get out of here, do me a favor.Red: Sure, Andy. Anything.
Andy Dufresne: There's a big hayfield up near Buxton. You know where Buxton is?
Red: Well, there's... there's a lot of hayfields up there.
Andy Dufresne: One in particular. It's got a long rock wall with a big oak tree at the north end. It's like something out of a Robert Frost poem. It's where I asked my wife to marry me. We went there for a picnic and made love under that oak and I asked and she said yes. Promise me, Red. If you ever get out... find that spot. At the base of that wall, you'll find a rock that has no earthly business in a Maine hayfield. Piece of black, volcanic glass. There's something buried under it I want you to have.
Red: What, Andy? What's buried under there?
Andy Dufresne: You'll have to pry it up... to see.
* * *
Red: I don't know; every man has his breaking point.
* * *
Red: I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.
* * *
Red: We sat and drank with the sun on our shoulders and felt like free men. Hell, we could have been tarring the roof of one of our own houses. We were the lords of all creation. As for Andy - he spent that break hunkered in the shade, a strange little smile on his face, watching us drink his beer.
* * *
Warden Samuel Norton: I believe in two things: discipline and the Bible. Here you'll receive both. Put your trust in the Lord; your ass belongs to me. Welcome to Shawshank.
* * *
Red: I'd like to think that the last thing that went through his head, other than that bullet, was to wonder how the hell Andy Dufresne ever got the best of him.
* * *
Red: The first night's the toughest, no doubt about it. They march you in naked as the day you were born, skin burning and half blind from that delousing shit they throw on you, and when they put you in that cell... and those bars slam home... that's when you know it's for real. A whole life blown away in the blink of an eye. Nothing left but all the time in the world to think about it.
* * *
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: I have no enemies here.Red: Yeah? Wait a while. Word gets around. The Sisters have taken quite a likin' to you. Especially Boggs.
Andy Dufresne: I don't suppose it would help if I told them that I'm not homosexual.
Red: Neither are they. You have to be human first. They don't qualify.
* * *
Red: King me.Andy Dufresne: Chess. Now there's a game of kings.
Red: What?
Andy Dufresne: Civilized. Strategic...
Red: ...and a total mystery. I hate it.
* * *
Red: One day, when I have a long gray beard and two or three marbles rollin' around upstairs, they'll let me out.
* * *
Andy Dufresne: What was his name?Heywood: What did you say?
Andy Dufresne: I was just wondering if anybody knew his name.
Heywood: Do you care, new fish? Doesn't matter what his name was. He's dead.
* * *
Heywood: It's a fine morning, ain't it? You know why it's a fine morning, don't ya? Come on, set 'em down. I want 'em all lined up, just like a pretty little chorus line.
* * *
Heywood: Red? You saying Andy's innocent? I mean *for real* innocent?Red: Yeah, it looks that way.
Heywood: Sweet Jesus. How long's he been in here?
Red: Since '47, what is that... 19 years.
* * *
Red: You gonna open it, or stand there with your thumb up your butt?Tommy Williams: Thumb up my butt sounds better.
* * *
Andy Dufresne: They can't ignore me forever.Warden Samuel Norton: Sure can.
* * *
You may see the trailer here.
Plot: 9/10
Entertainment: 8/10
Acting: 9/10
Originality: 9/10
Music and Sound: 8/10
9/10
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