A prison drama starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman.

Rating: 10/10 (6 August 1998)

My favorite movie ever. These are words that basically describe how I feel about this movie. A prison drama does not sound like an entertaining movie, but this is very entertaining. Tim Robbins (The Player, I.Q.) stars as Andy Dufresne a smart man convicted of killing his wife and her lover. He arrives at Shawshank prison completely out of place, but adapts and becomes best friends with one of the prison's head convicts, wonderfully played by Morgan Freeman (Driving Miss Daisy, Seven). Soon the warden, played by Bob Gunton (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Broken Arrow), enlists his help as a banker, to help with getting some extra (illegal) money and other things. It doesn't sound like a great movie, but trust me this is the best movie I've ever seen, and everyone I know liked it. Tim Robbins is great in the lead. Bob Gunton is good as the twisted warden. William Sadler (Solo, Die Hard 2) is solid as a fellow convict. Clancy Brown (Starship Troopers, Highlander) is excellent as the sadistic head of the guards. Finally, James Whitmore (The Relic) and Gil Bellows (Snow White: A tale of terror) give the best supporting performances as fellow convicts. A must see.