My Favorite Movies: #6—The Shawshank Redemption

6. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) 

Genre: Prison Drama 

Director: Frank Darabont 

Writers: Frank Darabont (screenplay); Stephen King (story) 

Stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman 

Awards: 7 Oscar nominations—Picture, Actor (Freeman), Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Sound, Film Editing, Original Musical Score 

Metacritic score: 80 

IMDB Ranking: #1

I think I may have finally reached the one film that we all can agree deserves to be on most people's "Best/Favorite" Movies list, although we can (and almost certainly will) quibble about where it deserves to place in the final tally. I originally had it on my master list all the way down at #14, but every day that I've worked on this, I've compared it to the movies I rated above it and moved it up. This is as high as it can go for me, however, not because The Shawshank Redemption is not an almost perfect film in every way, but because my top five are so good and closer to my own heart and experience.

The movie's own road to success and adoration has been a strange story in itself. Virtually overlooked in its initial theatrical run, it was nevertheless nominated for a Best Picture Oscar in 1994. That bit of notoriety led to a growing popularity on home video (remember that, kids?) and eventually its ubiquitous presence on cable TV, where I will watch it when found, regardless of what point in the movie it's playing. 

It's also probably the best movie ever made based on material previously written by Stephen King. Since it's not a horror or supernatural story, and it comes from a lesser-known collection of novellas called Different Seasons (which also features "The Body," which became Stand By Me), it was never marketed as a "Stephen King movie." The original story is called "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption," and it's the rare case in which the movie is actually better than the original story.

There are few modern movies as beloved as The Shawshank Redemption (it's rated #1 on IMDB), and I give credit to the two main actors for this. As an audience, we are totally invested in the friendship between Red (Morgan Freeman) and Andy (Tim Robbins). Over a span of 20 years, we see through Red's eyes how Andy learns to survive in prison, how he trades his financial skills for special privileges, and how he escapes in the most unlikely of ways.

But this isn't the end of the story, nor is it the part that we take away from it. Red is eventually paroled—ironically, once he reaches the point where he no longer cares what the parole board thinks—and he follows a series of clues that Andy left behind for him to join him on a beach in Mexico. Their final reunion on the shore of the blue waters of the Pacific is one of the most beautiful and emotionally satisfying conclusions to any movie I've ever seen. 

Credit also goes to Frank Darabont, a genuine Stephen King junkie who wrote the screenplay and directed the film. It was his vision and desire that helped get the film made as well as creating the classic that we love. The supporting cast of character actors are also highly memorable, particularly William Sadler (Heywood), Bob Gunton (Warden Norton), Clancy Brown (Captain Hadley), James Whitmore (Brooks), and Gil Bellows (Tommy).

Ultimately, this is a movie about hope. Red considers hope to be dangerous, the one thing an inmate cannot afford, lest it drive him to madness. Andy teaches him that hope is perhaps the best thing that a man can have, and it is this lesson that enables Red to survive both prison and parole long enough to be able to take the chance to look for Andy on that Mexican beach. And in that moment, we as an audience share in that hope as well.