2. The Shawshank Redemption
Release Date: October 14, 1994
Director: Frank Darabont
Core Criminals: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman
The Other Inmates: Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown, Gil Bellows, Mark Rolston, James Whitmore.
First Time I Saw It: Trying to remember the first time I saw The Shawshank Redemption would be like trying to remember the first time I saw stars or swam in the ocean. I’ve loved it for so long that I couldn’t possibly pinpoint when I first fell for it. I didn’t see it in a theater, I know that much. Instead, I caught it on television sometime during my childhood and then innumerable times after that as it aired over and over again on basic cable. I’m so familiar with the censored, chopped up TV version that even when I watch it on DVD, I can still remember where the commercials go.
Why I Ranked It So High: Because it’s a perfect film. 1994 featured a lot of movies that played with the definition of what a film could do and be, but Shawshank exemplifies how effective that Hollywood narrative formula can be. It’s got a great script (adapted from a Stephen King novella), strong performances from everyone in the cast and a visual style that keeps the prison environment dynamic and interesting while also being unobtrusive. Its best quality, however, is how well-constructed it is. While running nearly two and a half hours and spanning about 20 years of story, the film never feels tedious. Not a single moment is wasted. Every scene, every line moves the plot forward or develops the characters—sometimes in ways so subtle that their purpose only becomes clear much later.
Why I Love It: Shawshank isn’t really about plot. Oh sure, it’s there, chugging along beneath the surface, but the film is really a character study. Each performance–from Robbins’s Andy Dufresne on down to James Whitmore’s unforgettable turn as Brooks–feels real and lived-in. It’s what makes the film endlessly rewatchable. The men on screen aren’t defined by the crimes they committed, but their humanity and their struggle to keep it even in soul-crushing conditions. Whether it’s the camaraderie of the prisoners sipping beers on the roof during a break from hard labor or the fact that Andy ends up doing all the guards’ taxes or the way the men listen in spellbound ecstasy as “Duettino Sull’aria” from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro plays over the prison speakers, the film finds beauty and joy in simplicity. Yet more than anything, Shawshank is about friendship and the comfort it provides. It’s why watching it feels like hanging out with old friends, intimate and easy. –Marisa Carpico
