Rating: 
Summary: Probably the only negative review
Review: This is indeed a negative review of this movie.Most people will gasp at the fact that I didn't like this movie. I wasn't even aware that this film has been considered "the greatest film of all time" when I saw it. I was shocked to find this out. Shawshank Redemption is, by all accounts, a crowd-pleaser. It features appealing characters, a sentimental view of its subject (in this case, prison life), a sweeping score, and a tidy ending. This kind of film has "Best Picture" written all over it. But is it a good movie? The truth be told, it's not. Directed by Frank Darabont, the man who would later direct The Green Mile and the Majestic, this story about a man falsely sentenced to life in prison for murdering his wife is utterly devoid of ambiguity and emotional truth, or realism about prison. It is as idyllic and fitting-to-the-audience's-expectations as Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. American History X this is not. The story of Andy Dufreshne, the convited man, is a story worth telling. Steven King got it right in his short story-- "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption." In fact, I can't think of a more fitting example of how an adaptation fails to live up to the book's punch. Tim Robbins is excellent as Dufresne. And Morgan Freeman is astonishing as Red, Dufresne's prison buddy. But good acting cannot save a movie from a sentimental director. The movie is schmaltzy, makes black and white portrayals of good and evil, and it is frequently boring in its slow stretches. I "liked" this movie, but I can't swallow any of it. It didn't challenge me or my thinking. Minus the sentiment, the misteps in direction, or the vacancy of ambiguity, its lack of provoking thought is its fatal flaw.
Rating: 
Summary: This is a very touching, spiritual movie!
Review: When I first saw this film, I thought " Whoa". How could anyone survive such awful treatment, and worse than that, having no one believe you. The actors ( Tim Robins, Morgan Freeman) do a superb job. They bring to life this neo-classic story. I was deeply moved by this motion picture, and the DVD brings the story to your own home. The bonus materials could be better, but the main part of the DVD is the actual movie. Great, great, great film... OK DVD...wonderful cast of actors... Good Buy!
Rating: 
Summary: simply one of the best films ever made
Review: As other reviewers have already pointed out, "The Shawshank Redemption" is powerfully moving film, beautifully filmed with powerful performances in both the dual lead roles as well as the supporting roles. Flawless. Watch more carefully than some, and you'll see that the redemption is Red's, not Andy's.
Rating:
Summary: Forrest McSweeney and Shawshank Redemption
Review: Leave it to Stephen King to write a freakin awesome book that turns possibly into the best movie ever made. The Shawshank Redemption is truly the best movie I've ever seen, and not to mention my own personal favorite. Morgan Freeman was so good that I venture to say that he came close to perfection. Tim Robbins was every bit as amazing too. I won't tell you all of the plot except that it is set in a prison called Shawshank, and Andy Duphresne (Timmy) is a friggen genius who, despite his less than perfect situation, knows how to make the very best of every situation in ways you wouldn't imagine. The man known as Red Redding (Morgan man) is a tired inmate who knows the ropes at Shawshank. They form a truly unique friendship and deal with problems and people as they come in the 19 years they are together in prison. The best part of this movie are the individual lines that each character, major or minor, says. And the monolauge that Morgan has is acadamy deserving. Actually, it almost won him the oscar had it not been for Tom Hanks and Forrest Gump, which I am not dissing because it too is one of my favorites. Character development for every..EVERY!!!..character is splithair perfect. The direction of the movie is equally flawless. Five Stars is only what this movie should begin to recieve.
Rating:
Summary: Magificent
Review: The shawshank Redemption changed my life. It made me see that no matter how bad life can be there is still beauty in the world and to never give up on your hopes and dreams.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Film
Review: Without a doubt, probably the best prison film of all time. Andy Dufrane (Tim Robbins) is accused of murdering his wife and the guy she was cheating on Andy with. He is found guilty and sentenced to life in Shawshank prison. While in prison he meets Morgan Freeman, a fellow inmate. They become best friends and go through a whole series of events together in prison. The ending is the most moving part of the whole movie, what Morgan says at the end just makes you stop and think about life. This is a truly moving movie. Unfortunatley, though nominated for some Oscars like, Best Actor(Morgan Freeman), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture. However no winners at all. Because of only one movie, Forrest Gump. It took just about every Oscar that Shawshank was up for. If you have not seen this movie, rent it, you will never forget this movie, it is a moving experince.
Rating:
Summary: Shawshank Excellence
Review: This is one of favorite movies, and for good reason. It is one of those movies that you're not so sure about until you see the very end, then everything falls into place in your mind, and it is a great movie. Outstanding performances by Robbins and Freeman help mold the movie into what it is. It isn't a typical prison movie, as someone said. It isn't a prison that has a story to tell, it's a story being told about a prison and what it holds and is capable of, yet, the story revolves around two men, best friends, Robbins and Freeman. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who is willing to sit and watch the lengthy, well-told story of two men, the prison that holds them, and the spectacular ending.
Rating:
Summary: Hope Realized
Review: Frank Darabont wrote the screenplay and directed "The Shawshank Redemption" based on Stephen King's novella "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption," which was published in "Different Seasons". Darabont had worked once before with adapting King's fiction in his film school, award-winning, three year long production of "The Woman in the Room" -- a movie Stephen King says is one of the ten best fiction-to-movie adaptations ever made. Darabont was best known for directing modern remakes of "B" movies when he first optioned Shawshank (The Fly and The Blob and the USA television movie Buried Alive). His Shawshank Redemption is the story of a man wrongfully charged with the murder of his wife and her lover, a man sentenced to two life sentences at Shawshank State Prison, and this man's undying spirit of hope in a place where hopes seems all but lost. Tim Robbins plays this character: Andrew Dufresne. Dufresne's kindness and intelligence help him to make friends with both the prisonkeeps and the prisoners. Morgan Freeman plays Ellis Boyd Redding, "Red" to his friends, a "man who can get you things" and Freeman's voice-over narration gives the film both a world-weary and noble sensibility. In one respect, Red is just as intelligent as Dufresne (albeit a kind of "street smart" intelligence) -- each know how to work within the system. However, Red keeps quiet around authority, whereas Dufresne draws into a more involved (and dangerous) working relationship with the guards and the warden. It is an emotional drama -- one where friendship and kindness rises above cruelty and injustice. Hence, it is kind of "romantic" in the classical sense; that is, you ain't gonna find any prison in the US where guys are this buddy-buddy. However, this is balanced (in my opinion) by Roger Deakin's masterful cinematography, and the story's ultimate message of hope. I believe Deakins won an Oscar for his work and though the venerable cinematographer's collaboration with the Coen brothers may give you a better understanding of his range -- it is clear in Shawshank that his range is damn well, wide open. If ever you wanted to learn cinematography, Roger Deakins is the man to study. His camera work gives life to scenes that are ostensibly void of life, and his masterful work with black and white, with light and color, is one of the major components that gives Shawshank its powerful psychological tension and brilliance. Bob Gunton plays the sanctimoneous and corrupt Warden Norton, and Clancey Brown turns in a fine performance as the brutal Captain of the Guards, Byron Hadley. I also enjoyed the performance of Brian Libby as the jocular "Floyd". And several of the scenes with James Whitmore's "Brooks Hatlen" are heartrenderingly emotional. Noteable also is the Hank-Williams loving "Heywood" played by William Sadler, and Gil Bellows's first film role as "Tommy". My two favorite scenes are: 1) the scene with the prisoners drinking beer atop the license plate factory and 2) the final scene, filmed in the US Virgin Islands. These are the images that stay with me the most after viewing this film. They are the scenes where prisoners are made free, and the story rises above existential bleakness. They are colorful and alive, intended to show redemption realized. Altogether "The Shawshank Redemption" may well be my favorite "stuck on an island" movie because it is the story of hope realized no matter the circumstances. It offers us the possibility of redemption from injustice, futility, and despair. It offers us a story wherein kindness and belief triumph. And in that, it may well be one of the finest movies of the human spirit at its best.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Film
Review: You know, this film is really popular. You see this DVD in every video store on the main shelf by the dozens because it is such a good seller. And surprisingly enough, this movie which is extremely popular amongst the general public is a very good film. It involves some prison inmates and their struggles against evil, and ultimately, their struggle for freedom. The acting is top-notch, and the screenplay is excellent and very engaging. The soundtrack is pretty goodd too. The movie has a nice messages about how nice it would be to transcend all of the corruption in teh world and just leave somplace more simple where you can sand down boats on the beach and stuff.
Rating:
Summary: All time great movie let down by featureless DVD
Review: Atmosphere, sadness, joy, exhiliration, drama, tension, this movie has it all in huge dollops. Absolutely first class acting from Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman in this emotional roller coaster ride through prison life filmed on location at Shawshank prison. The narration by Morgan Freeman is a spot of brilliance by Director Frank Darabont and sets this apart from other similar movies such as the Green Mile. This is a movie about the resilience of the human spirit in the face of cruel odds. Its difficult to watch at times and the viewer is bombarded with the whole range of human emotions. The basic nature of the DVD doesn't do the movie justice, but that aside, this is one of the all time great movies.
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