Rating: 
Summary: indescribable
Review: this movie is one of my favorites of all time. tim robbins and morgan freeman blend fabulously well together with the support of several very good fellow prisoners who's actual names i do not know. tim robbins plays a man who is falsly accused of murder and sent to a prison called shawshank. he is unlike any other man there. i dont want to give away the ending and by saying anymore, i will. so thats it. one thing i must insist on to anyone who watches this is watch it the whole way through without getting up to piss or anything because it will ruin the movie. so go out and rent this as soon as possible and prepare to be amazed. if i could, this movie actually deserves six stars. this is so good.
Rating:
Summary: A CINEMATIC CELEBRATION OF INGENUITY & HARD WORK
Review: Until two weeks ago, "The Shawshank Redemption" was just one of those "must-see" movies I had never bothered to rent. After viewing it however, this film spoke to me on a level that I didn't expect at all. I just thought it was going to be a touching story about friendship. Yes, this *is* included, but there is more.Tim Robbins' character epitomizes the type of individual who usually succeeds in life. Not only is he gifted with above average intelligence, but he has an amazing work ethic. Yes, bad things happen to him in the film, but he doesn't let these things slow him down. He keeps going. He realizes that life isn't fair, bad things happen, and that we can either "get busy living, or get busy dying." It was tremendously sad for me to see what happened to Brooks, the librarian. I for one, do not consider people who choose to do what he did to be "losers," - a term I hear thrown around by insensitive types whenever the aforementioned subject comes up. But at the same time, I realize that he did make the wrong choice in that it was a total and complete waste. Our lives are a gift that comes with good and bad, but in the end we *do* have the power to make our own destiny. Even if it takes decades of suffering to make it happen. I'm choosing an angle when I recommend this film. My angle is this: there is something to be said for hard work and ingenuity. And if you aren't gifted with ingenuity, then align yourself with someone who is, and put yourself to work for that individual. Sooner or later, your work WILL pay off. Even if it's for an evil warden, as the film so brilliantly depicted. This is a film about choosing life over death. Life is too short to wait around for it to happen. We either "get busy living" or "get busy dying". I get it now. Thanks.
Rating:
Summary: A rarity among Hollywood movies--it celebrates the intellect
Review: In an era when Hollywood applauds idiocy, where movie heros shoot first and make funny quips later, where, as one social critic recently put it, "Stupid people are cool," this movie stands as a shining beacon. The Shawshank Redemption got made because a famous author wrote the story. If it had been written by John Q. Screenwriter, it would still be sitting in a drawer somewhere, and if he were lucky enough to get to pitch it to a studio exec, he'd get the patronizing lecture about how things like this just aren't commercial. As it is, it's a small miracle that a story with no love interest, no women, no sex, little violence (and none of it glorified) and no special effects made it to the screen. But it's a more audacious film than that. The movie dares to tell us that the mind is a beautiful thing. Andy Dufresne doesn't survive by using his fists. He survives by using his intellect. Name me another prison movie where that happens. Heck, name me another movie where this happens, period. There are few movies in existence where the "egghead" raises the bar of those around him, rather than lowering himself to fit in and be accepted. Yet the film tells us, without being preachy or pretentious, that the chessboard is mightier than the sword, that Mozart and Moliere can do more to rehabilitate the soul than solitary confinement and license-plate making. Ask yourself this: when was the last time did a movie play classical music and did not either denegrate it, or then show how pop music is really more "fun." Yet few reviews of the movie really delve into this fact: the Shawshank Redemption unapologetically glorifies the intellect. All the more ironic that it was triumphed that year at both the box office and the Academy by an ode to anti-intellectualism, Forrest Gump. While Shawshank advocated thinking through consequences and taking action based on planning, Gump said "Don't Worry, Be Happy"-is it any wonder it took home the gold? Forrest Gump fell into the comfortable Hollywood niche of "just ask for little and you will receive plenty"-funny how Hollywood's own never seem to live by that philosophy. But, as Forrest Gump also observes, "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know how it's going to turn out." The Shawshank Redemption has been redeemed on home video, where it has become one of the most popular titles of all time. (Bad marketing of the film during its theatrical release is one reason it bombed in the cinaplexes.) Forrest Gump has done okay too, but I suspect in 50 years' time, when listmakes are compiling the greatest films of the decade or century, Forrest will be long forgotten, while this film will stand alongside masterpieces such as Casablanca, The Third Man and The Wizard of Oz. For as Red might say, some things just take time, a lot of time. It's a lession Hollywood will never learn as it starts filming its next dumbed-down idiocy coming to a theater near you and going to Christmas video just as fast.
Rating:
Summary: If there were more stars...
Review: I figure most people reading these reviews have seen this movie, but they just want to know if their opinion is in synch with others. This has to be among the five best movies ever made. I honestly cannot think of one negative thing to say about this film.
Rating:
Summary: A Timeless Classic.
Review: This is my personal favorite. The movie touched me like no other movie has. A story of courage and hope amidst hopelessness. It is a timeless classic. A must watch.
Rating:
Summary: Flawless
Review: I can't believe this film lost the best picture award to Forrest Gump, one of the most stupid movies made. This film should top all the lists for the best of 1994. Great acting, great photography, great script, great direction: the script particularly is a work of art; not a single word is wasted in telling the story of two men who become friends in prison. I can't really say any more about the plot without spoiling it, so trust me, it's full of twists, and turns and surprises, and is ultimately, extraordinarily fulfilling. Andy (Tim Robbins) is possibly the only wrongly convicted killer in Shawshank Prison. None of the other prisoners believe that he's innocent, of course, and for a long time the viewer doesn't know what to believe either. Andy was a banker, and very smart. He's also very patient, and his patience serves him well in his finest hour. He becomes friends with Red (Morgan Freeman), a lifer who's already served two decades when Andy arrives at Shawshank. Red can arrange to smuggle anything into the prison-- anything at all. We learn this at the beginning, but don't realize its importance until much later. There's some wonderful foreshadowing that is so subtle, most viewers won't pick it up until it plays out. Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins are understated and perfect. Their characters are so solid, it's easy to forget that these are actors we've seen many times before, in other roles. The supporting cast is great as well. The camera work is superb. In the greatest movies, the camera is not just a machine for recording the action, but is an active participant in telling the story. That is quite true here. I seem to be draining the pool of adjectives dry of all compliments, but this film earns them. It's two and a half hours that will be some of the finest in your life.
Rating:
Summary: HOPE IS A GOOD THING...MAYBE THE BEST OF THINGS"
Review: When I first saw this movie in the theatre back in '94, I knew nothing about it. I only heard buzz that it was excellent! This movie was probably one of the best movie moments I've had.
(See THE USUAL SUSPECTS) for another movie that buzzes as masterpiece before it's release. A modern classic. "No good thing ever dies."
Rating:
Summary: REDEMPTION indeed!!!
Review: Just an unbelievable work of film magic. This story just never gets tired. It's realistic. It's engaging; it's heart tugging, it's inspiring. Morgan is fantastic. Robbins is at the height of his game. This is just a CAN'T miss film! AWESOME.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic...
Review: When it was released, The Shawshank Redemption quickly faded out of the theater's and although it was considered for several Academy Awards, it was generally regarded as a bomb, a well-made bomb, but a bomb none-the-less. But, when it was released on video, word-of-mouth and endless showings on cable began to spread the movie like wildfire, and like the Phoenix rising from the ashes, The Shawshank Redemption has become one of the most beloved films in recent memory. The film starts out as a conventional prison drama: Andy Dufresne, a respected banker on the outside, is convicted of a crime he didn't commit and is sentenced to life in prison at a maximum security penitentiary. From there, we see how Andy interacts in the harsh environment of prison, climbs his way up the ladder of pison politics and how an unlikely friendship develops between him, "Red" (Morgan Freeman) and an assorted gang of convicted criminals. Andy's indomitable spirit brings him through his trials while in prison and leads the film to an incredible conclusion that will have you jumping up and down and running around the room. What was initially billed as the film's greatest detriment, its length, actually turns out to be its greatest asset. In an era of quick MTV-style editing and jump cuts, The Shawshank Redemption's deliberate pacing helps the audience truly bond with the characters and ultimately when the film's many strands come together for its conclusion, the emotional payoff is vastly more satisfying for the viewer. The only significant problem with the film itself is the DVD that it has been packaged in. If any film is screaming for a special edition DVD, it is certainly this one. The "extras" are the trailer, production notes and some stills from the director. Although the present packaging for the DVD is unacceptable for a film of its quality, I have hope that with the 10-year anniversary of the film's release just a year away, Castle Rock is hard at work rectifying the wrong that happened when this sub-par DVD was released. With that small slight aside, I must conclude by saying that if you haven't seen this film yet, just get the DVD anyway! The film is too good to keep yourself from viewing any longer! Watch it today!
Rating:
Summary: Simply superb.
Review: Compelling and intelligent, this film deserves to be a permanent member of your dvd/video library. Very highly recommended.
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