A good movie but definitely not #2 of all time

Rating: 1/10 (28 December 2000)

This is certainly a good movie, with universal themes of freedom and adversity etc etc, but... I've seen plenty of movies which were more artfully made than this one. There is nothing revolutionary in the directing. The novella by Stephen King is practically tailor-made for a movie adaption, and it seems any capable director could have made a good movie from it. I think the only reason this movie is #2 on this list is the sheer amount of people who have seen it and voted. The other truly great movies near the top of the list don't pack the same mass audience appeal that Shawshank Redemption does, nor are they shown on TNT 6-10 times a year. Movies like 2001, The Seven Samurai, or Lawrence of Arabia, for example, would bore many of the people who love Shawshank Redemption, and I personally consider those three I named and many others to be far better creations than the Shawshank Redemption. Perhaps we should take a poll of TNT viewers on the best movie of all time - I'd bet Shawshank Redemption would place first, with The Blues Brothers coming in a close second.