Stephen Kinghas inspired more Hollywood version of his body of work than almost any other writer . His novel and short stories served as the source textile for some of the most acclaimed and iconic revulsion movies of the seventies , ’ 80s , and ’ 90s , including Brian De Palma’sCarrie , Stanley Kubrick‘sThe Shining , and Rob Reiner’sMisery . Even now , 50 yr after the sack of his debut novel , King ’s work continues to inspire new , high - profile adaptations ( see : Mike Flanagan’sDoctor Sleepand Andy Muschietti’sIt ) .
King is inarguably best do it as a horror author . However , one of the most beloved version of his work also happen to be base on one of his more noteworthy non - horror stories . The film in question , The Shawshank Redemption , has regain its place among the most popular and well - known movies in Hollywood history . Despite that , it was an notorious box office turkey when it was released in 1994 — grossing only $ 16 million in its initial theatrical discharge . More pop release , likeQuentin Tarantino‘sPulp Fiction , initially overshadowed it that year . Since then , however , The Shawshank Redemption‘s reputation has improved and grown .
All it take is one viewing of the film to understand why .
Not your typical prison movie
base on a 1982 novella by King , The Shawshank Redemptiontakes space almost entirely within the confines of its eponymous Maine prison house . It follows Andy Dufresne ( Tim Robbins ) , a banker who is sentenced to prison house for the execution of his wife and her lover . When he arrives at Shawshank , he quickly makes friends with one of his fellow inmate , Red ( Morgan Freeman ) , and learns to overwhelm the abuse he ab initio lose there by using his education and cognition of the U.S. financial system to ingratiate himself with not only Shawshank ’s other prisoner , but also some of its guards and its warden , Samuel Norton ( Bob Gunton ) .
Clocking in at 142 minutes long , The Shawshank Redemptiondoesn’t ever rush through Andy ’s journey . author and manager Frank Darabont withdraw his fourth dimension immersing the viewer in the societal moral force of Shawshank , its geography , and its power structure . The film ’s first 90 transactions are comprised largely of short tale involving Andy and Red that are introduced and then neatly — and sometimes tragically — dissolve . It ’s not an indulgently long moving-picture show , but Darabont crafts it with an reason that its power is immediately qualified on how deep the viewer feel immerse in Andy ’s world . If you do n’t , then the setbacks he suffers wo n’t hurt as deep as they should , and his victory likewise wo n’t be nearly as cathartic as they call for to be .
Life in Shawshank
To achieve this , Darabont retrace Andy ’s life in Shawshank contingent by particular — giving items like Andy ’s rock hammer , the prison library he helps make , and even the cold beer he wins for his fellow yardbird on one particularly hot work day the attention and weight that they deserve . Cinematographer Roger Deakins , meanwhile , helps reinforce how both oppressive and sequester Andy ’s sentence at Shawshank feels . Notice , for instance , how the above dig simultaneously communicates the closing off of Andy ’s prison cell and the stale , steel outrageousness of the organisation he ’s been dropped into . Along the way of life , as Andy ’s various steps forrad and back are marked by the beginning and closing of multiple ego - contain chapter , sealed overarching through line come out . These include Andy ’s on the face of it good , but actually toxic friendly relationship with his warden and the battle between Leslie Townes Hope and despair that the prisoner of Shawshank must wage every day .
For much ofThe Shawshank Redemption‘s runtime , it ’s unclear what story it ’s really differentiate . At first , it seems like it ’s doing nothing more than depicting how one man chooses to spend the second half of his liveliness in prison house . That ’s where the brilliance of its immensely fulfill third act lies , though . take the right cues from its King - penned rootage material , Darabont ’s film pluck off one of the most rewarding left ferment in cinema history in its last 30 minute . It does n’t cheat to do this , either . Instead , the film merely reveals that all of the item it spends so much of its first two - thirds highlight actually service an even greater determination than viewers ab initio think . see how those item get together to organise an all unexampled , unexpected movie is a pleasure the like of which is truly rare in cinema story .
Characters you care about
None of what it does in its climax would matter , however , ifThe Shawshank Redemptiondidn’t do the work to make you really care about Andy , Red , and the quietus of its doomed convict . But it does . The moving picture gets you so skinny to Robbins and Freeman ’s outsmart - down prisoners that you may not help but become emotionally invested in their troth . It ’s no wonder then why the plastic film has managed over the preceding 30 years to overcome its initial box power failure and become one of the most revered moving picture of the 1990s .
In Andy Dufresne , the film fill a person caught in an extremely specific situation and turns him into a symbolisation of the American everyman . The Shawshank Redemption , in other countersign , invite viewers to see themselves in Andy and their lives in his . That makes the many injustices he suffers throughout its first two hours strike even harder and closer to dwelling house . ButShawshankdoesn’t take its TV audience ’ time or attention for granted , and it pay back those who go into it with open minds and middle . It does that not only by give them a cathartic release that is as powerful as it is surprising , but also by offering both Andy and them a welcome ray of Leslie Townes Hope in an otherwise tragic experience — a hope that snowy beaches and gamy sea can be find at the end of even the grayest of story .
The Shawshank Redemptioncan be rent or purchased onAmazon Prime Video .
