IMDb > The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Shawshank Redemption
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The Shawshank Redemption (1994) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 10% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Frank Darabont
Writers (WGA):
Stephen King (short story "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption")
Frank Darabont (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Shawshank Redemption on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
23 September 1994 (USA) more
Genre:
Crime | Drama more
Tagline:
Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
Plot:
Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 13 nominations more
User Comments:
This is How Movies Should Be Made more (2199 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption (USA) (working title)
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MPAA:
Rated R for language and prison violence.
Runtime:
142 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Filming Locations:
Ashland, Ohio, USA more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The role of Andy Dufresne was originally offered to Tom Hanks, who couldn't accept due to scheduling conflicts with Forrest Gump (1994). Hanks did, however, work on Frank Darabont's next film, The Green Mile (1999). more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: The full-size photo poster of Rita Hayworth that Red procures for Andy in 1949 comes from a series of celebrity posters that went on sale in the early 1960s. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
District Attorney: Mr. Dufresne, describe the confrontation you had with your wife the night that she was murdered.
Andy Dufresne: It was very bitter. She said she was glad I knew, that she hated all the sneaking around. And she said that she wanted a divorce in Reno.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Dead & Deader (2006) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Lovesick Blues more

FAQ

What is the name of the Rita Hayworth movie the prisoners watch?
What is the scam that the Shawshank Warden is running?
A NOTE REGARDING SPOILERS
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73 out of 89 people found the following comment useful.
This is How Movies Should Be Made, 18 February 2008
10/10
Author: alexkolokotronis from Queens, New York

This movie is not your ordinary Hollywood flick. It has a great and deep message. This movie has a foundation and just kept on being built on from their and that foundation is hope.

Other than just the message of this movie the acting was phenomenal. Tim Robbins gave one of the greatest performances ever. He was inspiring, intelligent and most of all positive. His performance just made me smile. Robbins plays Andy Dufresne who was wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and her lover. He is gets to life sentences but yet never gives up hope. In he becomes friends with Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding played by Morgan Freeman. Freeman who gives the finest performance of his career has unlike Robbins lost hope. He is in deep regret of the crime that he committed. His way of deflecting the pain away is by trying to not feel anything at all. With his friendship with Andy he learns that without our hopes and dreams we have nothing. Andy also becomes friends with the rest of Red's group. James Whitmore also gave a great performance as Brooks Halten who gets out of prison parole but in the words of Red he has been "institutionalized".

The directing by Frank Darabont was just magnificent. He kept this movie at a great steady pace along with the writing and great cinematography. He portrayed prison life in such a horrifying way, but not in terms of the physical pain but the stress and pain that wares mentally on the inmates, some of which deserve a second chance.

Whatever you do, don't listen to the people who say this movie is overrated because this is one of the most inspiring and greatest movies ever. It has everything you could possibly want.

Was the above comment useful to you?
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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Things characters from TSR would never say eight_days
Disgraceful that this film is '#1'. IMDB needs to intervene montag813
Film was very similar to The Count of Monte Cristo (novel) criticandactivist
What film do you think should be #1? Jay-Dezo
Movie masterpieces... LoneWolf16
Plot hole? MrPink08
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