The Shawshank Redemption

Rating: 10/10 (13 March 2020)

The Shawshank Redemption, directed & written by Frank Darabont, is a definitive top 25 movie of all time. With the chemistry Darabont has with Niki Marvin & Stephen King, he decided to take a homerun-swing on Rita Hayworth & Stephen King's book. Niki Marvin may only have two below average movies coming into this movie, but she constructed this beautifully crafted picture, being nominated by the Oscars for Best Picture, just coming up short to Forrest Gump. In 1994, The Shawshank Redemption had a budget of 25 million dollars, and took home 58 million. After today's inflation rate, the budget was 34.8 million dollars, and took home a healthy 101.4 million dollars, a profit of approximately 66.6 million dollars!
I have seen hundreds of movies in my time, and I'd arguably say that Frank Darabont had one of the best senses of direction; everything just flowed perfectly together, creating this fantastic crime/drama. The story was a brilliantly told, fresh & original take on a jail bird story, being flawlessly paced out, keeping everyone engaged at all times! The overall message of hope & optimism, spoke to so many different levels, giving this movie great layers of depth. The only nitpicks I had with the story, some set ups, and scenes were a little clichÃ©, but tremendously easy to overlook.
Deborah Aquila did a great job casting this talented bunch of actors. You can tell all of the characters were invested so much into their characters, to the point where it felt like they were actual prisoners. This was my personal favorite performance by Morgan Freeman. His character is intuitive & so full of knowledge, being a positive figure the prisoners look up to. His character development was the best out of all of the characters, connecting us to his character more & more as the acts go on. Out of all these great performances, Morgan Freeman was the only one to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, coming up short to none other than, Tom Hanks, in Forrest Gump. Tim Robbins was a diamond in the rough casting. Sure, he's had a few good performances, but nothing before nor after holds up to his performance here. Morgan Freeman & Tim Robbins' characters are basically cut out of the same cloth. Robbins put on such a star studded performance, being so optimistic & witty. His character development is so pure, it's nothing short of genius, making it so easy to get behind his character, and root for him. In my opinion, Tim Robbins deserved that Oscar nomination just as much as Morgan Freeman. Seeing Bob Gunton in this movie, being more than a plot device like his previous titles, was pretty exciting. He showed off his talent when the lights were the brightest, putting on a great performance. James Whitmore stood out the most, out of the side characters. His character may not have meant the most initially, but his character development becomes a big part in the overall message. The characters as a whole were very enjoyable, although having a few characters with predictable personalities.
The screenplay by Frank Darabont was outstanding! There was so many dialogues that spoke to high levels, being super clever, sliding in a few laughs, here and there. The screenplay was also noticed at the Oscars, coming up short to Jane Campion, who wrote The Piano.
The cinematography by Roger Deakins was ALSO nominated at the Oscars, coming up short to the honorable Janusz Kaminski, who shot for Schindler's List. The cinematography had a great, authentic environment, with some great dramatic shots. The production designer in Terence Marsh had the great idea of shooting at the grimy Ohio State Reformatory, to add real prison-like settings and set pieces.
The score by Thomas Newman (who went on to be one of the most accomplished composers), was an absolute masterpiece on it's own. Newman originalized this style of dramatic & haunting score, adding great tention to each scene. Thomas Newman was also up for an Oscar, but he came up short to my favorite composer of all time, John Williams, who composed Schindler's List.
Overall, this movie did everything almost flawlessly. All of the Oscar nominations speak for themselves, being nominated in almost every single category.