The Shawshank Redemption

Rating:
Summary: 100% Drama? Definitely. 100% Original? Not so much...
Review: Don't get me wrong - The Shawshank Redemption is easily one of the greatest movies ever made. The acting is excellent, the cinematography superb, and whoever said "stories that need narration are weak" obviously never saw Morgan Freeman's work in this film.

However, there is another famous prison movie made 23 years prior to this called Escape From Alcatraz. I'm not sure if Stephen King based his original novella from this storyline, but the similarities between the two are thicker than molasses.

All that aside, Shawshank is a truly terrific film and, in my opinion, defines what a drama should be. It's an emotional roller coaster that, despite the doom and gloom of life behind bars, contains what might be the happiest ending of any movie.

So if you want to see some odd resemblances, go to Blockbuster, pay off your late charge and rent Escape from Alcatraz. But if you want everything you could ever ask for in a movie and lots more, GO BUY SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION!

Rating:
Summary: Sign of The Apocalypse or just the Toll of Public Education?
Review: People, splash some cold water on your face and then please take note:

*written by Steven King
*starring Tim Robbins
*an "innocent man" prison movie (Brubaker, is that you?)
*syrupy, heavy handed Hollywood-Morality (is that an oxymoron?)

Add these up and please realize: these are not the elements required to conjure up a cinematic philosopher's stone! These are not the prerequisites to create an Intolerance, Citizen Kane, Singin' in the Rain, On the Waterfront, Lawrence of Arabia, or The Godfather Part II.

Now, please, slap yourself in the face. I fear you may have already ushered in the Breaking of the Seventh Seal...

Rating:
Summary: Highly recommend except for one thing
Review: You can read a lot of reviews here about how great the movie is. I agree that this is a SUPER movie and a wonderful story and a GREAT ending.

My ONLY problem with the movie was the portrayal of the warden as a christian. This was terribly insulting considering he was such an evil and corrupt SOB.

Get past that and this is a classic.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Movie ever...
Review: Yes, as my title says, it IS the best movie ever made to me. Not one of the best... but its THE best. I got trully engaged into this movie. If u haven't seen this one movie yet, go buy one. Don't just rent it or download it... but BUY it. becuz I promise that you will not regret owning it.

Rating:
Summary: One of Stephen King's Best, Brilliantly Adapted
Review: At his worst, Stephen King is a horror hack who turns ordinary objects into supernatural killers that terrorize New England towns crammed with people with dirty little secrets. At his best, King writes stories like Shawshank and Green Mile, stories that create memorable characters whose humanity is more of the focus than the supernatural. Not that I haven't read plenty of both types from Mr. King, but this happens to be one of my favorites.

Derived from a short story in King's "Different Seasons" collection (which also contains "Apt Pupil" and "The Body" which were adapted into the movies "Apt Pupil" and "Stand By Me"), Shawshank is one of the few cases where I can say that the movie was actually slightly better than its print predecessor. Although I enjoyed the short story thoroughly, it is only a novella, and the movie adds significant breadth and depth that are lacking in King's narrative, as well as making the story more linear and chronological. By making it less anecdotal, the story is much more cohesive, and Robbins' character arc is much more complete.

Sadly, TNT has seized the rights to the film as a "new classic" and plays it ad nauseum, but it is well worth owning the unedited version on DVD. Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins' acting is understated and subtle, and the supporting cast is impressive. Shawshank is one of those rare films where everything just clicks perfectly, and all of the seemingly disparate pieces fit perfectly together to leave the viewer feeling as redeemed as the main character.

Rating:
Summary: An Epitome for Hope.
Review: There are movies made for money and movies made for the sake of propagating the Art of Cinema,these appear like Comet once in a Cinema life-time,instead of gloom and doom they lift our sullen mood-Shawashank Redemption is one such movie with the premise thatif you loose hope you stop living."Rita hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" a Novella, written by the most prolific fiction writer-Stephen King, fell into the mail box of an avid reader called Frank Darabont who had relunctantly subscribed to the Book of the month Club. He read this book in passing and after the second reading bought the rights from King and after nine long incubation period came "Shawshank Redemption" the movie. I would be doing a disservice if divulge the story suffice to say this is a story of a convict who has more convictions in his soul than the allegged convictions and you want to hear this story from the greatest narrator of all times, Morgan Freeman,you have to see for yourself the livid performances and take my word this is like the greatest Buffet, you will keep going for more and you will never have satiety since this is the greatest drama ever told and told brilliantly by Frank Darabont. Great movies have one thing in common,a Screen writer who also wields the megaphone-like Coppola in Godfather and Scorcese in Good Fellas-God bless these kindred since they have made some great movies and Shawshank Redemption is one of them.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent film with great performances
Review: This film is a story of survival and friendship, of one man's determination to balance the scales of justice that the legal system failed to do when it condemned banker Andy Dufresne to two life sentences in prison. Tim Robbins plays the Dufresne character with just the right touch of understatement and resignation as an inmate who does what he must to survive in prison from day to day. The resourceful Andy eventually earns the trust and confidence of a corrupt warden and secures a position as his personal accountant and tax consultant. Bob Gunton is excellent as the steely-eyed warden who cannot practice what he preaches about the sanctity of the Bible's teachings because of his own flawed character and compromised ethics. Morgan Freeman's Red is a steady companion and mentor to Dufresne and is wise to the ways of prison life and Freeman's subtle shading of his complex character matches the quality of Robbins' work. The film is rewarding on many levels and is a movie that has achieved a classic status and is much more appreciated many years later compared to its lukewarm reception when it was released in 1994.

Rating:
Summary: A towering achievement of moviemaking
Review: As many others have indicated, this is truly one of the outstanding movies of all time. It will ultimately join the pantheon of phenomenal movies that were not great successes at the time of their release. No matter; there are many people that I know (myself and my wife included) who rate this as their all-time favorite movie. We have watched it at least 25 times; it is constantly on television and whenever it is on, we inevitably watch it to its astounding conclusion. As others have said, the ending can be watched repeatedly, ad infinitum, and not lose any lustre. The cinematography, dialogue, acting, tempo, narration by Morgan Freeman, etc are peerless. This movie incorporates may of life's lessons; indeed, it is a metaphor for life. Hope is a good thing; maybe the best of things. If Andy can survive his ordeal, we can conquer our own personal challenges as well.

Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest movie's on DVD
Review: One of the greatest movies of all time, it's one of those movie's that can infulence a change in your life. This movie has some great lessons like: Don't do anything half-assed/ If your gonna do something give it a 110%, Don't do anything you might regret, hope is something you can hold onto and there is much much more. If I were you I would definately buy this movie because it is so good.

When Andy (Tim Robbins) is sent to prison for falsely accused of killing his wife that was cheating on him he gains a strong relationship between him and a prison buddy named Red (Morgan Freeman). None of Andy's friends in Shawshank believe that Andy actually killed his wife, through thick and thin Andy and Red experiance events in a prison run by a crooked warden.

PARENTAL WARNING: Extremely Strong and Graphic Language and Mild Graphic Violence, and a scene of sexuality (I think)
SUGGESTED AGE: Definately 13-14

Rating:
Summary: A great film with great moments that doesn't age
Review: As of this writing, it's been ten years since the release of this now-classic, "The Shawshank Redemption" with Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, and it doesn't show any signs of aging, much like the soul of the main character, played by Robbins, who remained intact through his tenure in the Shawshank prison in spite of having been locked away for life (for two life terms, actually, something I've always had a hard time understanding...)

The movie, much like "O Brother Where Art Thou" a few years later, takes place in a time and in a setting that would not initially raise too many "suspicions" about its high caliber. The performances thrown by both actors are supreme, with a friendship like few I can recall on the screen building up throughout the story. The script is simply brilliant (can't give much away without spoiling it for those readers who still haven't had the privilege of watching it)... and there was a moment that I will always take with me (and this was waaay before a similar moment also became a classic in "Life is Beautiful"): when Andy plays a sublime aria on the speakers of the prison, and everyone shut up, dropped what they were doing and turned around quietly to almost contemplate the sound of the two Italian singers singing away their souls, making those prisoners forget about everything else if just for a few moments, feeling free in their hearts.

This movie will be close to my heart always and it is one that I can recommend with my eyes closed once and again. Five stars!