The most satisfying ending in Cinema

Rating: Null/10 (10 July 1999)

I just watched Shawshank for the nth time tonight (it was on TNT), and realized why I enjoyed the movie so much: it had one of the most cinematic, enthralling, and satisfying conclusion in movie history. Not that I am dismissing the great story, honest and absorbing characters, and memorable scenes (the scene where an entire field full of inmates seemingly hypnotized by Mozart's opera music comes to mind). The ending where all of the warden's sins were conveniently exposed may sound contrived in other movies, but brilliant writing filled with dry wit carried the scene through marvelously (Red: "I'd like to think the last thing that went through the warden's head - other than the bullet - was how in hell Andy Dufresne got the best of him"). And the way the last scene was put together, where Red's narration of 'hopes' melts into a scene where his hopes comes true (when he actually crossed the border and reunited with his old friend), was just magical. It makes me glad that my girlfriend pushed me into watching it ("But it's just a stupid prison movie!" I lamented). How I was wrong!