The Greatest Movie

Rating: 8/10 (19 July 2013)

It has long been my contention that it is the movie-maker's task to hold the viewer's attention, not to burden him with his self-indulgent, difficult-to-follow symbolisms. That having been said, I find it difficult to find another movie I would recommend more highly than The Shawshank Redemption. Without any high- adrenaline action sequences or steamy sex scenes (two sure-fire ways to get the viewer's attention), this film somehow has the power to make you sit through all 142 minutes without for a moment getting bored. And I challenge anyone who has seen it to delete any scene, even any minute, from the final edit. The fact is, you can't. Because every single scene is an essential element that contributes to the final result: a masterpiece that captures the drama of enduring friendship and resiliency of the human spirit more powerfully than any other film ever made. Even those who normally do not watch movies with a critical eye will find themselves so drawn into this experience. I really can't say enough about this film. Suffice it to say that this is certainly the Greatest Movie Not to Win an Oscar. (Since Citizen Kane, at least. )
Actually, I can forgive the Film Academy for not honoring this film with the Oscars I firmly believe it deserved. But when the American Film Institute in 1998 put together their list of The 100 Greatest Movies of all time (covering the period from 1896-1996), and so myopically overlooked Shawshank in favor of such titles as Rocky, Dr. Strangelove, Network, and Jaws, well, I thought that was absolutely ridiculous.
I wouldn't hesitate to put it in the top five of all time.