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The Shawshank Redemption


The Shawshank Redemption



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95. The Shawshank Redemption

I find that this film has had a strange reception among movie fans. When it was first released it did not break even; however, since it’s video release it has achieved cult like status. I remember when it was rated number one on the IMDB site. Although I enjoyed the movie very much (It is on my top 100 after all), I did not think it was worthy of a number 1 ranking, although it did win seven Oscar nominations including best picture.
What I did like was the fact that a movie that took it’s time to develop characters, and allowed the story to unfold from Reds (Morgan Freeman’s character) perspective instead of Andy’s own. This allowed Andy’s character to sort of remain, if not hidden, guarded. We don’t know a lot about Andy’s character. We do not even know for sure if he committed the murders that he was accused of. It is not Andy’s redemption that we are witnessing throughout the movie, it is Red’s and perhaps others who have been close to Andy. It is Andy who tells Red to get busy livin’ or get busy dyin’. That is the message the movie sends to its audience.