The Shawshank Redemption
7 Oscar Nominations·AFI #72·National Film Registry
Rent/Purchase
Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.
What critics thought
Critics in 1994 were broadly admiring but noticeably divided on whether the film earns its warmth or simply manufactures it — Freeman's performance drew near-universal praise, while Robbins split reviewers, and several critics objected to the film's idealized portrait of prison life as a kind of sentimental falsification. The gap between that mixed contemporary reception and the film's subsequent status as one of the most beloved movies ever made is itself the defining critical story.
“riveting, unfussy ... precise, honest, and seamless”
Leonard Klady·Variety
“the moss-dark, saturated images have a redolent sensuality; you feel as if you could reach out and touch the prison walls”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
“the everyday agonies of prison life are meticulously laid out ... you can almost feel the frustration and rage seeping into the skin of the inmates”
Peter Travers·Rolling Stone
“effortless screen presence lends Shawshank the closest thing to credibility it can manage”
Kenneth Turan·Los Angeles Times
“bunch of swell and softhearted guys”
Los Angeles Times
Genres
Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorFrank Darabont
StarringTim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown
ComposerThomas Newman
The Shawshank Redemption
7 Oscar Nominations·AFI #72·National Film Registry
Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.
What critics thought
Critics in 1994 were broadly admiring but noticeably divided on whether the film earns its warmth or simply manufactures it — Freeman's performance drew near-universal praise, while Robbins split reviewers, and several critics objected to the film's idealized portrait of prison life as a kind of sentimental falsification. The gap between that mixed contemporary reception and the film's subsequent status as one of the most beloved movies ever made is itself the defining critical story.
“riveting, unfussy ... precise, honest, and seamless”
Leonard Klady·Variety
“the moss-dark, saturated images have a redolent sensuality; you feel as if you could reach out and touch the prison walls”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
“the everyday agonies of prison life are meticulously laid out ... you can almost feel the frustration and rage seeping into the skin of the inmates”
Peter Travers·Rolling Stone
“effortless screen presence lends Shawshank the closest thing to credibility it can manage”
Kenneth Turan·Los Angeles Times
“bunch of swell and softhearted guys”
Los Angeles Times
Genres
Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorFrank Darabont
StarringTim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown
ComposerThomas Newman
Rent/Purchase