Typical of King's work, the story is set in Maine in the indeterminate middle part of the previous century. Shawshank succeeds by virtue of his ability to subordinate his ego and focus his skills on executing the source material, which arrives on the screen almost completely untouched.
In 1999, he made a less memorable attempt to recapture his success with another prison movie ( The Green Mile). It was scripted and directed by Frank Darabont - a man who, though he has been getting work consistently since the late 80's, has been involved with no other memorable movies, with the possible exception of his first writing job, Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors - an oddly interesting Freddie flick, and, for those unlucky enough to test the theory, the last one with any real pretensions to the inside of a movie theater. It won 10 different kinds of awards, including a number of Oscar nominations (Best Actor - Freeman, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Original Score, Best Picture, Best Sound, and Best Screenplay). This movie transformed the careers of both Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, who gave remarkable performances. It was a charismatically written, functionally clever yarn which serves as a reminder that a specialist in disturbing imagery could be humbled enough by the everyday realities of an American prison, and all that it represents, to abandon fantasy. Released in 1994, it was adapted from a short story by horror novelist Stephen King, written in what ultimately represents the peak of his career - the short stories collected from the 1970's to 1980's. I feel somewhat daunted attempting to write about this movie, but it is apparently up to me.
If you've seen Shawshank, you already know if you haven't, you should walk into it knowing nothing like I did.įor more of the same, try on Cool Hand Luke and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest for size. I'm not going to bother writing a plot synopsis. You can pick up the DVD pretty cheaply (around $15 CAN) and I suggest you do if you like it. The good voters at IMDb rate it as the second best movie ever, so I feel a little vindicated. How the hell that happened I dinna ken, but there you go. In the theatres Shawshank was pretty much a bust. Anyways, definitetly see it before you read it.
The story is also different enough to warrant the name change. I read it last fall, and while it's good, I'd say the novella is only about half as cool as the film.
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption is one of four novellas in Stephen King's Different Seasons, which also includes The Body ( Stand By Me), Apt Pupil (better than the movie), and The Breathing Method ( strange). This is the only movie I've ever seen which is better than the book it is based on. I won't flood you with names, but you'll recognize a bunch of them. The supporting cast is great as well, with many memorable characters. It's undoubtedly Tim Robbins' best performance, and the role of Red Redding fits Morgan Freeman to a tee (except for the fact that he was originally written as a redheaded irishman). The story, the script, the sound track, and the actors. But if you were being paid money specifically to criticize this particular film, the best you'd be able to do is find any little continuity errors you could, or stuff like that. It's one of my favourites, so I wouldn't even want to try. It is very difficult to criticize this movie.