Excellent Movie, But Not "Greatest of All Time."

Rating: 8/10 (17 February 2008)

I finally watched The Shawshank Redemption and I agree that it is an excellent film. The pacing, directing, and storyline, holds interest throughout, along with a superb supporting cast, and a very moving ending.
The main character is Andy played by Tim Robbins who is imprisoned for the murder of his wife. Later on in the movie, the evidence comes out that he is truly innocent. However The Shawshank Redemption sends a powerful message that it doesn't matter whether you are innocent or not inside Shawshank penitentiary. This is because the prison is run by a sadistic and corrupt staff. In this facility, you must use all of the intellect you can, both book smarts, and street smarts to not only stay alive, but prevent yourself from going insane within the system.
Andy befriends "Red," a fellow inmate, played by Morgan Freeman in another great performance. He teaches Andy street smarts of survival within Shawshank's hell-hole. Andy, an experienced banker with a master ability for finance and book learning, manipulates the prison officials to get funds to set up a "basic skills" learning facility within the prison's library. Red helps him organize this, and HOW Andy sets up the funding is really an amazing part of the movie. Another inmate is the head librarian, known as "Brooks," who delivers many amazing scenes in the movie.
What is special about The Shawshank redemption is how the characters, especially Andy and Red, are able to use their inner abilities to rise above the conditions of the prison and the people who run it. There are some disturbing and violent images that show the harsh realities of prison life, such as fighting, and often getting beaten by the staff or punished for very small offenses and a lot of times for no reason at all. The Shawshank Redemption shows the abuse of power by prison authorities and how the inmates have to have the courage to rise above this abuse, because they need to do this, in order to keep living. They learn that failure to get this courage and survival skills from other inmates will destroy them. A great quote in this film is. "you can get busy living, or you can get busy dying." Another interesting experience is how Red often wonders how at his advancing age he will be able to survive outside the prison if and when the parole board lets him go. An underlining message is that whether you "get busy living or dying" you become so accustomed to life in a controlling environment that the outside world, and the struggles, to reach it, to become physically and mentally "free" are an enormous challenge requiring great perseverance and the ultimate in determination.
As good as this movie is, I was looking for that spark of magic that would put it at and over the top of all time classic films. However, I think that there are some outstanding prison movies that are just as good if not better than The Shawshank Redemption. Watch the Sean Penn Movie, "Bad Boys" for an outstanding portrayal inside and outside a juvenile prison. (Interestingly, Clancy Brown, who plays the bad officer in "Shawshank," is just as good as a prison bully in "Bad Boys.") Another great movie is "Midnight Express" which is (although loosely) based on the real story of Billy Hayes who was arrested in Turkey for trying to smuggle hashish back to the USA in 1970. This is another amazing survival prison picture with an unforgettable musical score and some chilling moments.
I see The Shawshank Redemption equal to, but no better than "Midnight Express" or "Bad Boys." This is NOT a criticism of a fine movie! I am only putting The Shawshank Redemption in strikingly similar prison survival pictures that don't get the same credit that this movie does. Call this movie the greatest ever, and you have to do the same for "Midnight Express" or "Bad Boys." All three films have the same emotional impact. Another under rated movie that you should see is "An Innocent Man," which is also similar to The Shawshank Redemption but is considered only above average.
The Shawshank Redemption is a great film for its time. But because of similarities to other similar prison pictures, I can't classify it as great for all time