An Iconic Landmark Film

Rating: 8/10 (17 November 2017)

The Shawshank Redemption 'Get busy living, or get busy dying.' (Darabont, 1994). These insightful words changed the cinema experience forever. In 1994, Frank Darabont released his ninth film, The Shawshank Redemption, just one of his cinematic triumphs. This film tells a story of an unlikely friendship between an innocent man Andy Dufrense, sentenced for two murders and a convicted murder, Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding. Together they hope to one day become free men and experience life outside the prison walls. This is a film that touches every viewer's heart, a movie that has changed many lives. The Shawshank Redemption is renowned as being a landmark movie by association of the characters, crimes and confessions that played major roles in the film's success.
The actors chosen for this film are one of the main reasons as to why this movie was so successful. Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman play the two leading roles throughout The Shawshank Redemption. As well as a main character throughout the film, Morgan Freeman also narrates a vast quantity of the film. Morgan Freeman won several awards for best actor and best supporting actor for his part in The Shawshank Redemption. Tim Robbins plays Andy Dufrense, the innocent man wrongly jailed. The two characters become instantly believable from the first time they meet. Red bets 10 cigarettes that Andy will be the first to break, Andy however defies Reds statement. This bond becomes inseparable. The opening scene is of Andy being sentenced in a courtroom, the camera changes between Red in prison and Andy travelling to the prison until the two separate stories collide. The viewers meet Red and his mates and soon become emotionally attached. Together they grow to accept their fate and they battle the daily challenges that prison has to offer. Andy hides the secret that will change everyone's lives, until one night during a storm. Andy escapes from the Shawshank Prison through a hole, he takes the books containing the bank details from the warden. The cinematography excellence that is displayed constantly throughout this film is strongly displayed once Andy has finally escaped. The camera goes from being a low angle that follows Andy through the sludge to a high Angle allowing us to see Andy with his outstretched arms. This is quite possibly the most powerful scene in the entire film. Andy makes a new life for himself as Randall Stevenson. The Shawshank Redemption taught us all that there's more than meets the eye in everything we do.
The Shawshank Redemption is one of the first movies to have an entire story line based off a successful prison escape. This film exposed what prison is actually like and how prisoners are treated. The Shawshank Redemption also debunked how you were guilty until proved innocent. Frank Darabont rids your imagination of what ifs and replaces it with when. The Shawshank Redemption uses the posters, given to Andy as presents from Red, to cover the hole that would ignite Andy Dufrense big escape. It is once that Andy has wriggled out of his prison cell one night that he finally has the chance to escape. With each clap of thunder, Andy strikes the sewage pipe with a rock until he finally breaks through, he then crawls for 500 yards through sewage. Andy Dufrense escapes the Shawshank prison to live a new life as Randall Stevenson.
Although an iconic landmark movie, The Shawshank Redemption did not receive a single Oscar or Golden Globe. The film received 36 award nominations and went on to win 19 of these nominations. This stop motion picture was a box office success, making a profit of over $28 million. Having spent just $25 million of the making of this movie, the overall profit wasn't bad. The responses from this film were overwhelming positive. Many views stated the fact that this was a movie that will never be forgotten. And how although written by Stephen King, it is unlike any of his other cinematic triumphs. Frank Darabont did extraordinary job of replicating Stephen Kings Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. The similarities between the book and the movie are defiantly a stand out, however there was one difference that stunned us all. Why did the movie and the book have different titles? Frank Darabont intentionally changed the name of the movie as he believed with the same name as the book, it would turn some people away. This was as a because of Rita Hayworth's name in the title, however Frank Darabont did completely rid the film of Rita. Instead he incorporated it into the film by it being the very poster that hides the hole that Andy escapes from. The Shawshank Redemption is a cinematic successful that has changed the film industry.
The Shawshank Redemption is an iconic landmark film that has changed cinema forever. The characters, crimes and confessions from this film have changed the way we see daily objects. The actors chosen to partake in their roles did exceptionally well, making the film so successful. The Shawshank Redemption is a film that is never going to go out of style. It will forever remain in the forefront of viewers minds.