The fact that this movie didn't receive any major Academy Awards (nominated for several!) is UNFORGIVABLE!

Rating: Null/10 (2 January 2000)

If an alien who knows nothing about the Academy Awards were to suddenly land on earth and then introduced to the Academy Awards and asked to watch the nominated movies for 1995 and then shown the results, she would have absolutely no respect for the Academy Awards. Shawshank Redemption is pure genius at every level: acting, script, cinematography, character development, and on and on and on. Movies don't get much better than this!
The moral of the story is that there are great movies and performances out there that have not been properly recognized by the Academy, so make sure an award is not the only criterion you use when searching for a truly great film.