Very good, but hardly the best movie ever made.

Rating: Null/10 (13 May 1999)

This was a great movie -- no question about it, but it shouldn't be listed as #1 on the "Top 250." I whole-heartedly agree with many of the others who commented along these lines. How could anyone possibly put this film above "Citizen Kane," "Casablanca," "2001," or even "Shindler's List," or "The Godfather"? It had all the right qualities: a great story, terrific acting, good musical score, etc., but it just doesn't stack up against many other truly great films. I guess it just got the most 10's in the voting... Popularity has its advantages.
That aside, I felt as if the story could have been structured a little better. That was the movie's only real flaw. Because we only find out about how Andy pulled off his "redemption" after the fact -- and it's all told later, through Red's narration, we never get any of the excitement of rooting for Andy, fearing for him, etc., wondering if he can pull it off. We are left as oblivious to it as the warden was. Had the audience been in on it, it would have been a much more satisfying film to watch, and the ending would have been all that more sweeter. Compare this film to "The Great Escape" and you'll know what I mean (another film deserving a higher ranking!)