Rating: 
Summary: one of the best
Review: This movie is, not to sound like a cliche, one of the best I've ever seen. It has a messege(unlike a lot of movies), and it is delivered beautifully. Don't hesitate to see this movie if you haven't--you'll only be hurting yourself.:)
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Summary: Shawshank in Top 5 greatest movies of all time!
Review: The Shawshank Redemption is just awesome. The story is of a convicted murderer, Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbings) that is accused his wife and the man she was cheating with. Dufresne is thrown into a correctional facility called Shawshank prison. He is befriended by Red (Morgan Freeman) who also is serving a life-term for murder. A rough first two years of getting harshly beaten by fellow inmates, Andy gets used to prison life. His friend Red is known to be able to get things for the inmates from the outside world, cigarretes, whiskey, playing cards, or whatever. When Andy asks Red to get him a small rock hammer, Red thinks he is crazy. But on the outside world, along with being a banker, Dufresne was very interested in geology and rocks, and is convinced he can escape with his knowledge.
Many years pass, and Andy gains lots of respect from all of the prison. His financial knowledge helps alot of the guards to figure out trust funds and other things that they can do with their money. He ends up basically managing the whole prison's budget. He sends away hundreds of letters asking for fundings for a better library from the government. After eight years or so, he gets around 700 dollars and buys books and builds a nice library. A prisoner that Andy befriends comes to Shawshank, and Andy helps him get his high school diploma. One day, Red is telling Billy (the prisoner that Dufresne helps) about why Andy is in Shawshank. Billy is shocked, and claims that one of his cellmates at another prison said that he had commited that exact crime. Andy hears this, and goes to the Warden (the head of the prison) and tells him this. The Warden doesn't believe him. Andy calls him some bad names, and pays for it with 2 months in solitary confinement. When Andy gets out, he decides he's had enough. He decides it is time to escape from Shawshank.
The rest I cannot tell you, you need to see for yourself. The Shawshank Redemption is an excellent movie. It really portrays another world. I definetly reccomend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Steven King at his best...
Review: I am certainly not a Stephen King Fan. In fact, if I had known that he was the author of this incredible story I probably would have missed out on one of the best movies I have EVER seen. And yes, that is saying something. There's a plot... and like all good movies, the movie compels your mind to participate, without stressing those sometimes delicate neurons. This is a completely believable story done with a spectacular cast. I have watched it so many times I may need to purchase a second DVD in case the first one becomes too used. A definite for any buff's collection... and a YES for any fan of cinema and/or plot.
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Summary: Hope
Review: Oh, my...where do I start? When this movie first came out, I just did not want to go see it. I am just not a fan of prison-type movies. So when my friend and I really didn't have anything to do one night, we ordered pizza and rented this movie. I was absolutely mesmerized from start to finish. It wasn't a prison movie at all! It was all about how the human spirit can survive and thrive anything that it is given. True, not all of us pull upon our inner resources, but this movie demonstrates the unalterable truth that there is something deep within us that can get us through anything.It is hope. Hope gets us to look just a little bit beyond the self-inflicted prisons we have all put ourselves in at one time or another. If we can just let a glimpse of something better take root in our mind, we will find a way out of any kind of situation we find ourselves in. Many of you are probably saying, "Hey, dude...it's only a movie..." And if you watch it as just another movie, you get what you deserve...but if you are willing to see it as symbolic and metaphorical of everyday life, I invite you to experience a very wonderful kind of film. It is absolutely lovely and magnificently crafted. Soul is indelibly printed on each frame of celluloid. I loved it...I love it...and you will, too!
Rating:
Summary: Intense Prison Film
Review: Tim Robbins plays Andy, an innocent man sent to prison for life. At the Shawshank Prison, he is subjected to physical and mental torture on a daily basis. The warden and the guards treat him and his fellow cons like animals. Andy's only relief comes from his friendship with Red, played by Morgan Freeman. Unbeknownst to even Red, Andy has been working for years on a wild escape plan, which involves a poster on his cell wall. The ending, which reunites Red and Andy, is heatwarming, after such unremitting misery in prison. This is a very harsh movie to watch, but Robbins and Freeman are such talented actors that I will see it again and again.
Rating:
Summary: BEST MOVIE EVER. PERIOD.
Review: Never before have I seen a movie that is so profoundly human. The Shawshank Redemption is not just about people in prison but about people in general. It is a celebration of the human spirit and that great thing that we have called hope. Do yourselves a favour and watch this movie. Let it inspire you; let it make you laugh; let it make you cry; and most importantly let it help you fathom the power of hope. If this movie does not make you feel something special inside then I don't know what will.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic Prison Movie
Review: The Shawshank Redemption easily ranks among the best prison films I have ever seen. And is a running contender for one of the best dramas I have ever seen. For those of you who don't know, the film is about Tim Robbins character getting sent to Shawshank prison for murder and the events that happen to him there. Including the people he meets, friendships he forges and tribulations he endures. Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman absolutely shine and is easily one of the best movies in both of their long line of film credits. The movie really brings a message of hope and friendship and a good understanding of life behind bars. (at least in that time period of 1940's - 1960's) An excellent movie with an excellent message. One of those "take what you can from it" films that really stands out. 4 1/2 stars. The dvd is ok but I think they could have done a little better with it. The picture is exceptable but the audio is a little subdued I think. The extras are few and the menus are simple and basic. Oh well, maybe a SE on the horizon? Pick this one up and see two very talented actors at their very best.
Rating:
Summary: Which Would You Choose
Review: "The Shawshank Redemption" is one movie that will generally appear on the lists of great movies compiled from time to time. If narrowed to films that deal with life in prison, it easily ranks among the best. Like, "The Green Mile", the story for this film came from Stephen King, unlike the former there are no supernatural events at work. And again there is a different aspect of prison life explored. In each case an innocent man is sentenced, one is to be executed and one is to spend his life within Shawshank's walls. If you enter this film with an open mind regarding execution versus 50 or 60 years spent largely in a cell, you may give thought once again to which sentence is worse. Before you brand me a liberal, please note the following. The families of some victims want the criminal executed, and if this brings them peace then they should be granted that option. There are other families that do not want executions either due to religious, personal beliefs, or they realize as many on death row do that execution is preferable to spending decade after decade locked in a cell. There are also very valid questionable issues regarding those who are given the death penalty. All one has to understand is very basic math to see that the color of your skin and your bank account will play as large a role in your sentence as your guilt. The families and friends of a victim must suffer their loss for the remainder of their lives. It would be interesting to know how they feel after decades have past and they have lived with their memories knowing the perpetrator has long stopped breathing. If their faith is unconditional in the form of eternal damnation and suffering the criminal will suffer, perhaps they are fine. But no matter how strong, they are relying on faith, it makes for interesting discussion. Tim Robbins gives one of the finest performances of his career, and Morgan Freeman adds another Oscar level performance to his resume. I feel Mr. Freeman is one of the least appreciated actors in terms of having his work recognized by his peers. Even when he appears in a film that is weak, rarely is his performance the cause of that weakness. He is a remarkably talented and consistent actor. Like all great films there are a host of other players that add to the experience. The movie is directed well, and the cinematography is well above average. The R rating is appropriate for this portrayal of prison life that begins in the first half of the 20th Century.
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Summary: The beauty of hope and friendship
Review: Hope is a wonderful thing... as is friendship... This film is a story which centres primarily around these two themes and is one of the most moving and uplifting films I have been fortunate enough to see... You don't want to know anything about the events in this film, just that it will change you.
Rating: 
Summary: Never rises above the hollywood platitudes
Review: Gees, I'm going to get caned for saying this, aren't I. The Shawshank Redemption has always been pegged as a great movie - clearly the Amazon.com readership thinks so - and I finally got round to seeing it last night. It's definitely a engaging film; beautifully shot, well enough acted and it resolves itself quite nicely (if not a little obviously - the "twist" was so predictable it may as well have been Chubby Checker). But to my mind, the Shawshank Redemption never rises above simply "satisfactory". With Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman at the helm, it was always going to be a worthy sort of picture. Alas, it scores worthiness points in that numb-skulled Hollywood way, by painting the moral world in black and white. The characters are either completely virtuous, or they're thoroughly nasty. That makes the moral lesson easy to preach, but also completely undermines it, because we know the real world just isn't like that. Well, mine isn't, anyway. To wit: the prison gang into which wrongly convicted (of course - but how much better would the picture have been had he actually done it?) Andy Du Fresne falls - lifers, all - comprises only genuinely nice, decent, hard working, obedient folk. Freeman's character, Red, is an avuncular figure not a million miles from B. B. King, but who is continually, inexplicably, rejected for parole by the nasty white folk. He accepts his lot without complaint (but when he finally does speak his mind, he gets released!) Old timer Brooks (equally avuncular, but this time not a million miles from namesake Mel) is eventually paroled, but he doesn't want to leave his home of 50 years, and when pushed out in to the cruel modern world ... well, I don't want to give anything away. But it isn't hard to guess. The remainder of the moral lessons are the standard Hollywood fare; it's a film that attempts the epic sweep of The Dead Poets' Society, without the lyricism (but, to its credit, also without Robin Williams) and attempts to portray the brutal life of prison, without the brutality of say Sleepers. The hook line "you get busy livin', or you get busy dyin'!" is pure schmaltz, and I'm surprised Robbins didn't refuse point blank to deliver it. And if that wasn't bad enough, then Freeman reprises the line (only tacking on "that's goddamn right!") as the credits roll. Ugh. And just for those who hadn't picked it up from watching the film (or reading its title), the director helpfully gushes "it's all about redemption!" in a fairly unenlightening accompanying documentary. The resolution of the film may be predictable, but the manner of its arrival is nicely engineered: well plotted, Stephen King. And as for ending up in Zihuatanejo - great call; it's a truly beautiful place - I once went there. It's just a pity the film crew didn't. Zihuatanejo is snuggled amongst some hills in a pretty little inlet, about a hundred miles west of Acapulco. Lord only knows, then, why they filmed the final shot on an outwardly curving ocean beach, which could be anywhere on the planet BUT Zihuatanejo...
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