astonished

Rating: 7/10 (9 August 2008)

This is what I'd call a "very good" film. But to think that people consider this better than... just for a few examples... all the wonderful Hitchcock, Kurosawa, Fellini, Bergman, Leone and Welles films is shocking. The fact that "The Dark Knight" is higher on this list than "The Shawshank Redemption" is equally shocking. "The Shawshank Redemption" is ranked higher than "The Godfather," for Christ's sake!!! Of course, this is a list based on popular taste... not "high culture." I have plenty of problems with high culture, myself. But I have even more problems calling this one of the greatest films ever made. Frank Darabont isn't even a GOOD director. He's turned out three solid films... and then a bunch of crap. His "solid films" are pretty hamfisted and corny. But then people continue to like crap like "Gone with the Wind" to this very day.
It's amazing to think people like this film better than... say... "Taxi Driver." It tells you something. Anyway, I could go on and on like this. If you enjoyed "The Shawshank Redemption," it would be hypocritical for me to fault you that. After all, I liked it, too.
I don't mean this comment to be helpful to those considering watching the film. I mean it to be thought-provoking for those who appreciate the history of great cinema.