A banker convicted of uxoricide forms a friendship over a quarter century with a hardened convict, while maintaining his innocence and trying to remain hopeful through simple compassion.A banker convicted of uxoricide forms a friendship over a quarter century with a hardened convict, while maintaining his innocence and trying to remain hopeful through simple compassion.A banker convicted of uxoricide forms a friendship over a quarter century with a hardened convict, while maintaining his innocence and trying to remain hopeful through simple compassion.
- Nominated for 7 Oscars
- 21 wins & 42 nominations total
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
'The Shawshank Redemption' Without Morgan Freeman?
'The Shawshank Redemption' Without Morgan Freeman?
The Shawshank Redemption has become a classic film - it's even IMDb's top-rated movie of all time - but did you know it almost had an entirely different cast behind those legendary bars?
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAndy and Red's opening chat in the prison yard, in which Red is throwing a baseball, took nine hours to shoot. Morgan Freeman threw the baseball for the entire nine hours without a word of complaint. He showed up for work the next day with his left arm in a sling.
- GoofsCirca 1963, Heywood is shown listening to the record "24 of Hank Williams' Greatest Hits", released in 1970.
- Quotes
Andy Dufresne: [to Red] I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
- Crazy creditsThe man who cried and was beaten when Andy first arrived is listed and credited as "Fat Ass" -- the other inmates' nickname for him.
- Alternate versionsThis film was produced independently by Castle Rock Entertainment, but distributed by Columbia Pictures, which placed their logo at the beginning of the film. After the first video release, Castle Rock began to use Warner Bros. as their distributor. This film was then later re-issued on video and DVD by Warner Bros., which replaced the Columbia Pictures logo with their own. (The 1999 WB DVD uses no studio logo before Castle Rock [A Turner Company], and has no Columbia line-art logo at the end, just 10 seconds of blank screen as the music finishes. The post-2004 prints start with the 2003 WB logo and an updated Castle Rock logo [A TimeWarner Company], and have the Columbia line-art logo in the crawl at the end followed by a quick, still, 2003 WB logo. See also The American President.)
- ConnectionsFeatured in Siskel & Ebert: Why Gump? Why Now? (1994)
Featured review
Misery and Stand By Me were the best adaptations up until this one, now you can add Shawshank to that list.
This is simply one of the best films ever made and I know I am not the first to say that and I certainly won't be the last. The standing on the IMDb is a true barometer of that. #3 as of this date and I'm sure it could be number 1. So I'll just skip all the normal praise of the film because we all know how great it is. But let me perhaps add that what I find so fascinating about Shawshank is that Stephen King wrote it.
King is one of the best writers in the world. Books like IT and the Castle Rock series are some of the greatest stories ever told. But his best adaptations are always done by the best directors. The Shining was brilliantly interpreted by Kubrick and of course the aforementioned Misery and Stand By Me are both by Rob Reiner. Now Frank Darabont comes onto the scene and makes arguably the best King film ever. He seems to understand what King wants to say and he conveys that beautifully.
What makes this film one of the best ever made is the message it conveys. It is one of eternal hope. Andy Dufresne, played by Tim Robbins, has been sent to prison for a crime he did not commit. But he never loses hope. He never gives up his quest to become a free man again. His years of tenacity, patience and wits keep him not only sane, but it gives his mind and a spirit a will to live. This film has a different feel to it. There has never been anything like it before and I don't know if there will again.
I'm not going to say any more about this film, it has already been said, but just suffice to say that I am glad that Forrest Gump won best picture in 94. I would have been equally glad if Pulp Fiction or Shawshank would have won. It is that good of a movie and one that will be appreciated for years to come.
This is simply one of the best films ever made and I know I am not the first to say that and I certainly won't be the last. The standing on the IMDb is a true barometer of that. #3 as of this date and I'm sure it could be number 1. So I'll just skip all the normal praise of the film because we all know how great it is. But let me perhaps add that what I find so fascinating about Shawshank is that Stephen King wrote it.
King is one of the best writers in the world. Books like IT and the Castle Rock series are some of the greatest stories ever told. But his best adaptations are always done by the best directors. The Shining was brilliantly interpreted by Kubrick and of course the aforementioned Misery and Stand By Me are both by Rob Reiner. Now Frank Darabont comes onto the scene and makes arguably the best King film ever. He seems to understand what King wants to say and he conveys that beautifully.
What makes this film one of the best ever made is the message it conveys. It is one of eternal hope. Andy Dufresne, played by Tim Robbins, has been sent to prison for a crime he did not commit. But he never loses hope. He never gives up his quest to become a free man again. His years of tenacity, patience and wits keep him not only sane, but it gives his mind and a spirit a will to live. This film has a different feel to it. There has never been anything like it before and I don't know if there will again.
I'm not going to say any more about this film, it has already been said, but just suffice to say that I am glad that Forrest Gump won best picture in 94. I would have been equally glad if Pulp Fiction or Shawshank would have won. It is that good of a movie and one that will be appreciated for years to come.
- How long is The Shawshank Redemption?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Sueño de fuga
- Filming locations
- Mansfield Reformatory - 100 Reformatory Road, Mansfield, Ohio, USA(The prison that is used in the large panning scene, and used for the wardens office.)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $25,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $28,767,189
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $727,327
- Sep 25, 1994
- Gross worldwide
- $29,331,700
- Runtime2 hours 22 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content