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Summary: This is NOT widescreen, check for yourself!
Review: My third submission on this, if you are doubtful, check for yourself. I own the VHS of Shawshank. I recently purchased a DVD player and Shawshank was one of my first disks. I set both the disk and the tape up to play simultaneously, and flipped back and forth to compare the superb quality improvement of DVD. I was in for a surprise. The picture DOES NOT get wider-AS IT SHOULD-and the top and bottom of the picture of the DVD version are ERASED and replaced by the black bars. The other movie I found with this flaw is Jackie Brown. Check out the point where Bridget Fonda "services" Robert DeNiro. On the VHS widescreen version , her "buns" disappear. They are fully visable on the fullscreen version! The top and bottom have been erased on the widescreen version and the picture does not get any wider. I suspect more movies have this flaw. Now that we know what to look for, let's look!
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Summary: The Black Bars - What They Actually Mean
Review: I would like to clear up some misconceptions about some movies containing black bars at the top and bottom of some movies. A reviewer pointed out that these black bars are superimposed over a full screen movie, thus taking away some parts of the movie at the top and bottom and making it seem like a widescreen film. This is not true. In fact the opposite is true, these black bars actually preserves the entire film. What you saw in the theater is actually what you see on the TV screen. Note, theater screens are rectangular in shape while TV screens are square. If a film was converted to the TV screen without making any adjustments (imagine a rectangle squeezed into a square), you would see vertical toothpick-like figues instead of beautiful curvaceous human beings. In order to fix this little problem, filmmakers decided to transfer their film using two options - widescreen or "pan and scan" (full screen). To best explain these two options, imagine a square (the TV screen) placed on top of a rectangle (the theater screen) where the top and bottom of the square meets the top and bottom of the rectangle. This is actually your "full screen" version of a movie. The square would have to be moved left or right (pan and scan) along the rectangle in order for some scenes to be seen. What many people fail to perceive is that in full screen versions, the left and right sides of a film are actually lost and cannot be seen. In widescreen versions, the rectangle is put inside the square where the left and right sides meet thus preserving the entire film. This is why you have black bars on the top and bottom.
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Summary: All you could wish for in a movie
Review: At the risk of telling you what you already know, The Shawshank Redemption is the finest film of the last decade, and quite possibly one of the finest films ever made. Seeing as we are all in agreement, I'll be brief. Frank Darabont's debut is a masterclass of storytelling. Nary a single moment is wasted in the telling of this beautiful story of friendship (Darabont is good at friendship - see The Green Mile). Every word, gesture and glance is ultimately of the greatest importance to the unfolding story, leading to a totally unforeseen resolution which left the audience I saw it with gasping. The friendship portrayed by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman is believable and deeply touching, yet somehow avoids the sentiment a lesser filmmaker would have been unable to resist. Experience it and spread the word
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Summary: clarification of June 1,2000 submission
Review: I reviewed this DVD on June 1, 2000 and wish to clarify myself. The black bars at the top and bottom have ERASED the top and bottom of the movie. In effect, take a full screen movie, cover up the top and bottom with black bars, and the unwary will perceive it as a widescreen film. However, you get less movie for your money!
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Summary: Undoubtedlty the greatest film evermade made about a friends
Review: ip between two men with such different backrounds, but find common ground behind the walls of Shawshank Prison. If you have not seen this movie you are missing out. See it. Believe it. Be it.
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Summary: Simply Brilliant.
Review: I didn't expect to like The Shawshank Redmeption very much, but I was pleasantly suprised. Frank Darabont is a genius, give him a story and he gives you a real movie. This prison drama shows how much talent movie-makers have as the cast, the director, the screenwriter and even the production designer make an impressive and engrossing performance.The Shawshank Redemption is an immediate classic - and one of my favourite movies. I even think it should of won over 'Braveheart' at The Oscars!
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Summary: One of the best
Review: This is a really good movie. I suppose I could just leave that sentence and not write any more, but I feel that I need to jabber on about how it is a good movie. I'll start (where most things start) at the beginning. I am considered a movie buff at school, yet up until last month, I had not seen 'The Shawshank Redemption.' Everyone had told me about how good it was, but time after time I kept passing it up. It's not that I didn't want to see it, but I wanted to see others more. Finally, one day, I saw it on sale in a video store, and bought it. I plugged it in, watched it, and was impressed. Not many people have a bad thing to say about this movie, and I can understand why. Sure, some of it is predictable, but I didn't forsee the ending. I thought he had given up halfway through the movie, but I, like Andy's cellmates, doubted his mental integrity. I respect a movie that makes the viewer seem like they're living it. Since there's nothing I can say that hasn't already been said about this movie, I'll just say that I, along with so many others, disagree with Maltin's review, but I do know that Maltin never really does review a movie, he just summarizes it.
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Summary: Note! Not really Widescreen! Less than Full Screen!
Review: Something has gone wrong putting this great movie on disk. Careful review will show this is the full screen version with black bars added to the top and bottom of the screen. This means you get less picture than the fullscreen version. This is the second movie I have discovered with this flaw, the other being Jackie Brown on VHS. There are likely more defects out there. I encourage owners of movies with widescreen 1:85 to 1 ratios to compare with full screen versions and report any other similar faults.
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Summary: Engrossing Prison Drama!
Review: This beautiful period prison drama features expert performances by a talented cast, mainly Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins. It is the story of hope and friendship in extreme circumstances, a movie about the undominable human spirit. Slow moving, which accentuates the passing of decades in the prison. Great direction by Frank Darabont and attention to detail. Extremely satisfying ending, both dramatically and story-wise. One of the best films of the decade. Oscar Nominated for Best Picture and Best Actor (Freeman). From a scale of 1-10 I give this movie a 9!
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Summary: Harsh Prison Life Vs. Resilent Human Spirit
Review: Unlikely friends provide the backbone for a touching story about 'lifers' in prison. The characters are believable, the story unforgettable. The cruel reality of prison life provides a stark contrast to the depth of friendship between two men and their mental triumph over institutional life.
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