Fantastic, brilliant and memorable.

Rating: 10/10 (11 July 2013)

This is with out doubt one of the best film ever made, it shows how the best of human nature can triumph in the darkest hour. The script is flawless and the acting is sublime. I've seen it more times than i can count and it never gets tired. Brilliant! The opening aerial shots of the prison are a total eye-opener. This is an amazing piece of architecture, strong and Gothic in design. Immediately, the prison becomes a character. It casts its shadow over most of the film, its tall stone walls stretching above every shot. It towers over the men it contains, blotting out all memories of the outside world. Only Andy (Robbins) holds onto hope. It's in music, it's in the sandy beaches of Zihuatanejo; "In here's where you need it most," he says. "You need it so you don't forget. Forget that there are places in the world that aren't made out of stone. That there's a - there's a - there's something inside that's yours, that they can't touch." Red (Morgan Freeman) doesn't think much of Andy at first, picking "that tall glass o' milk with the silver spoon up his ass" as the first new fish to crack. Andy says not a word, and losing his bet, Red resents him for it. But over time, as the two get to know each other, they quickly become the best of friends. This again, is one of the film's major strengths. Many movies are about love, many flicks have a side-kick to the hero, but Shawshank is the only one I can think of that looks honestly at the love between two best friends. It seems odd that Hollywood would skip this relationship time and again, when it's a feeling that weighs so much into everyone's day to day lives. Perhaps it's too sentimental to seem conventional, but Shawshank's core friendship hits all the right notes, and the film is much better for it. It's the kind of friendship that is honest, truthful and brings you back to the time in your life when the world was new and you and your friend owned it and in that sense it makes you think of another classic "Stand by me" by Stephen King. And it is this friendship and how the author, scriptwriters, director and cast manage to paint in colors that ring true to our heart that truly makes this film stand out.