We are moving towards a section of the top 40 where the critics scores are vastly lower than mine, but we are not quite there yet as this movie is loved by the critics but was reportedly not by the box office audience. Which is not strictly true, but you can never be sure about the financial reports of movies. Which movie am I talking about here and its one that would be the favourite of many people and it is called ‘The Shawshank Redemption’. Loved by the critics with 9.3 out of 10 from IMDb and 91% from Rotten Tomatoes. Means it gets a 4-points difference entry onto the Tri-Critic Sync Challenge, so where I thought there would not be one in this section and now, I think there could be as many as four. This is one. Released in 1994 and costing $25m to make the box office gave it a return of $16m which is a failure in anyone’s eyes. It is another case of a great movie flopping until its off the big screen and entering the rental or sales market and traction is suddenly there and it flies. If you add these sales to the box office, then it takes the sales number up to a much better-looking figure of $58.3m. There are arguments that it was in cinemas competing with some heavyweights in Pulp Fiction and Forrest Gump so didn’t stand a chance until it hit the video market where it became a loved and cherished movie which you can include me in that as well. The other usual details are that it was produced by Niki Marvin with the screenplay credit goes to Frank Darabont who also had the director credits as well and what a job did, he does with that task. Based on a novella written by Stephen King called Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. The film stars Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown, Gil Bellows, and James Whitmore. Added to that it is cast perfectly my only question would be over the lead actor Tim but it’s an easy quiz to drum down and forget so I won’t dwell on it, but each character is played perfectly even if not strictly sticking to the book.
Onto the plot is based in 1947 and for a Stephen King story it must be set in Maine. In Portland, a banker by the name of Andy Dufresne is convicted of the murder of his wife and her lover and subsequently sentenced to two consecutive life sentences at Shawshank State Penitentiary. After coming into the prison Andy makes friends with a group of prisoners including his main contact named Ellis ‘Red’ Redding. Red is a fixer by being a contraband smuggler whilst he serves his own life sentence. Andy asks Red for a rock hammer and a poster of Rita Hayworth. Andy is an intelligent man and knows the business law system so when he frequently sexually assaulted by another group of prisons called the sisters, he uses his skills to his advantage. When he overhears a guard complaining about being taxed on inheritance, he offers advice to hide the money legally, so they keep it all. After the next time is assaulted the guards beat the main attacker to the point where they will never walk again and transferred to another prison and Andy is never attacked again. He works his advice up the chain of command of the prison to the point where he becomes the financial advisor to the governor who then uses the advice to become very rich and then ensures that Andy will never get out by putting things in his way even if it means murder. This ensures Andy will continue to give free support for him, which means that Andy has some influence elsewhere which he uses to gain some advantages for his fellow inmates. The story takes up many years of imprisonment for Andy and he continues to defy the odds and make little gains here and there and I really haven’t sold this movie to you, but I have painted the background of the story which set in a grim and horrible place creates such an uplifting and euphoric conclusion you must give it a try to see it for yourself.
There were so many subliminal messages on screen that you may have missed so you have the opportunity now to go back and see if you can spot any others. One example is the grass. Go back and look at the grass it is very green and healthy for any shots outside of the prison walls, the best angle for this is if you look at a long shot of the prison that takes in the outside walls the grass is greener on the other side. Another example is when Brooks leaves the prison, he is shot from the front with the prison bar’s making up the background and that shot frames him in the centre of the bars whilst when Red leaves it’s shot from behind. Meaning you watch Red walking towards that green grass I mentioned before. There are also references to other Stephen Kings products throughout which I won’t list here but I will give you one as Red’s cell number is the same as the room number in the shining (237). There are other things to enjoy if you read the novella before seeing the movie for example Red is actually a red headed Irishman and, in the movie, when asked why his nickname is Red, he jokes that maybe its because I am an Irishman. If you have seen this movie before then I simply do not need to explain why I love this movie as there is a lot to love. So, done. If you haven’t seen this movie then let me tell you why you should… I mentioned how uplifting and euphoric this movie is and it is. It is also the main reason why so many people love this movie and it’s the favourite of so many people I know. The main story is grim and set in one of the worst possible places and you get sucked into this story and like the prisoners themselves they accept the life they have. As the years roll by, they enjoy the small blessings that come their way which may be another reason it is so loved. It makes you appreciate what you have and to give you the drive to get on with life, so go and watch it and watch it all the way to its conclusion. It is over two hours long so make time for it of an evening as it is worth it.
Complete contrast next up with a Horror movie from 1999 which was a remake of a 1959 movie of the same name…
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