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The Shawshank Redemption truly is one of the biggest modern day classics. This is a film that I think everybody loves for what it is. This film is about friendship, fear, freedom and most of all hope. This film teaches that life is never easy and we have to fight to achieve what we want or need. It is a film such a big heart and is a film with such inspiration; it fills people's hearts really high with joy as well as affectionate drama. I love this film to bits but it is one of the most overrated films of all time because I feel too many people love it. The Shawshank Redemption is adapted from a novel of the same name by Stephen King who is in my opinion the best novelist of all time. I loved the way Shawshank Redemption sends its message not only through watching the film but also the taglines of the film. This is probably the feel-good film of the 1990s along with Forrest Gump and amongst others.
I do like Tim Robbins as an actor but he is a better director. His performance as Andy Dufresne was good but not amazing because I couldn't really see Andy's really desperate measures to earn his freedom like I could Red's. Andy went through a lot before and in prison. Andy was a banker who was wrongly charged with the murder of his wife and lover. When Andy goes inside Shawshank and starts to become very close friends with red, Andy became a victim of sexual and physical abuse at the hands of a gang called the Sisters especially by Boggs who is their leader. Andy overcomes that and makes a big name for himself inside Shawshank. Tim was a good choice but not the best for Andy. I loved Morgan Freeman's performance as Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding because I could feel the love, kind-hearted nature and the desperation to be free within Red. Morgan is an actor who always LOOKS like Morgan Freeman and acts like Morgan Freeman because he acts all sorts of different characters but always looks the same. His performance would have been more of a supporting role is Robbins performance was worthy of an Oscar nomination or win.
Frank Darabont's directing big hit debut of The Shawshank Redemption wasn't a big hit in those days but nowadays it really is a remarkable direction with such force, light, power and even beauty that you could almost cry at literally. Darabont made The Shawshank Redemption a one-of-a-kind phenomenon that truly is worthwhile just like The Green Mile. The Shawshank Redemption is an unforgettable masterpiece that is dramatic, beautiful and even quite tense on occasions.
1994 was an unbelievable year for cinema and this is one of the best but I did prefer Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction and Léon: The Professional. Tim Robbins' best performance is still his Oscar winning one in Mystic River. Morgan Freeman's performance in The Shawshank Redemption is the best performance of his career and will always be hopefully. This isn't my favourite Stephen King novel. I love The Green Mile and The Shining more, it is one of the top prison films and a close inspiration to me. Frank Darabont's work is still better in The Green Mile but in The Shawshank Redemption, it is a great debut. It doesn't match Orson Welles or Sam Mendes as far as best debuts are concerned but it isn't far from that position. The Shawshank Redemption is a film that is just too irresistible to not love.
9/10
