It is the #1 film, seriously

Rating: 10/10 (3 September 2004)

Currently, on the IMDb top 250 Movies of All Time list, the top two movies both hold ratings of 9.0. Of these two, "The Shawshank Redemption" has roughly twenty thousand more votes in its favor. Ergo, I do believe that "The Shawshank Redemption" should finally ascend to its rightful place on this web-page, and hopefully cinema history, as the Greatest Film of All Time.
That having been said, I wish now to give my own thoughts on this film, thoughts which will be hitherto corrupted by myriad spoilers.
The acting is astounding. Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne delivers the perfect combination of hope and despair, so that you can love his character without ever truly knowing what he shall do next. Morgan Freeman brings subtlety and depth to a character who would perhaps otherwise be much simpler. Bob Gunton allows you to genuinely fear Warden Norton, and if James Whitmore's performance does not make you lachrymose, nothing can.
The plot is beautiful, describing the redemption of many an inmate. Red, though he does not escape institutionalization, becomes a good man. Tommy Williams does the same. The best of all endings however, is Andy's, as he goes through so much to come out clean in the end, something expressed both allegorically throughout the story and literally at the end.
The greatest film I have ever seen.