“Shawshank Redemption, five quid, HMV”
– Little In The Way Of Sunshine
So… what do we know about The Shawshank Redemption?
The A to Z of HMHB
The A to Z of HMHB
“Shawshank Redemption, five quid, HMV”
– Little In The Way Of Sunshine
So… what do we know about The Shawshank Redemption?
Bobby svarc
Never seen it.
2 November 2016
paul f
Famous for its very literal plot hole, whereby having escaped through the hole in the wall that he has made, Andy somehow manages to fix a poster back up inside his cell, covering the hole.
2 November 2016
eXXO
At the risk of going over what movie pedants have spent zillions of cyberwords quibbling over, wouldn’t there be plenty of ways of just lifting up a poster which was fixed to the wall at the top, passing beneath it and then having it flap back behind you? You could use glue to fix something to give it weight along the bottom. With 20 years to practise I’m sure he could have done even better than that, and Andy did have access to good quality stationery.
2 November 2016
hendrix-tattoo
The scene where Andy first approaches Red about the rock hammer as Red plays catch in the main yard took nine hours to shoot. Freeman continued to play catch for the whole nine hours without complaining and showed up the next day with his arm in a sling.
2 November 2016
Peter mcornotholgist
Duettino Sull’aria ,Perfection ?
2 November 2016
featureless tv producer steve
Wait, @Paul F, the poster is the problem you have with this movie? That’s WAY down my list of this movie’s problems.
Before I say anything, I want to say Shawshank Redemption is a great movie.
But the first problem, obvious to everyone I assume, is that the character called “Red” is black. Listen, I love Morgan Freeman, you love Morgan Freeman, we all love Morgan Freeman, but come on. No mention in the entire movie that he’s an African-American? I know the film isn’t set in the Deep South, but seriously, the film acts like there was no racism in Maine in the 1950s-60s. I’ve read that the character was originally white, and when they decided to cast Morgan Freeman in the role, they just decided to ignore his race. Like there was no racism in Maine in the 50s and 60s? Like there’s no racism in Maine today? Pretty ridiculous.
Anyway, aside from that, there are a ton of other problems in this film.
For instance, when Andy pounds the hole into the pipe to escape, a fountain of sewage sprays up into his face. Yet, when he crawls through that pipe, it simply empties into a creek. So where is the pressure coming from that produces that fountain?
And after he escapes, you would think they would flood the local town with a picture of the escaped convict, but somehow Andy manages to visit 13 (thirteen!) banks in the local area and withdraw all the warden’s ill-gotten gain without being detected?
And then there’s the warden. The Portland Bugle presumably started an investigation when it received the information that Andy sent them, eventually involving the local police, and it wasn’t until they published the story, and the cops went to the prison to arrest the warden and the corrupt guards, that the warden thought to go look in the safe and realize that Andy had screwed him? Wouldn’t he run to that safe immediately upon realizing Andy had escaped?
And then there’s ALL the problems with Andy leaving the money for Red. First of all, where did he get that piece of volcanic rock that has no earthly business in a Maine hayfield? He didn’t take it with him. There’s no indication in the film that he had an outside contact to get him such a rock. It’s also ridiculous to assume that “a big tree at the end of a rock wall” would even exist 20-plus years later, instead of being bulldozed for subdivisions.
And even if you accept all those inconsistencies, what the hell was up with Red waiting so long to go find that damn tree? If a dear friend had told you “If you ever get out of here, go find a rock under a tree near Buxton”, wouldn’t you do that immediately? Wouldn’t you get out of prison and say to the nearest car, “Take me to Buxton!” Instead, Red farts around bagging groceries and sitting in his flat being depressed for what, weeks? months? Good God. Just go see what Andy left you under the tree, arsehole!
Anyway, all that being said, it’s a great film, especially for five quid. I’ve probably just seen it too many times.
4 November 2016
dr desperate
All that being said, Red’s surname is Redding, and when Andy asks him about his name he says, “Maybe it’s because I’m Irish.”
Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Paul Newman, and Robert Redford were considered for the rôle before Freeman, and Rob Reiner wanted to make it with Tom Cruise as Andy, so I reckon we got off lightly.
(Tim Robbins also starred in ‘The Hudsucker Proxy’, released earlier the same year. In Clive James’ review he said most cinema-goers would understand only the definite article in both titles.)
4 November 2016
EXXO
The warden not realising he’s been screwed thing is so problematic that the second time I watched it I just had to imagine that the he had indeed realise within hours of the escape that he’d been screwed, and the “safe scene” just before the suicide wasn’t the first time he’d been to the safe and looked in the bible, but just was in denial about getting caught until then, and didn’t realise Andy would have sparked the investigation if he got away with the money. Maybe he though till then Andy had just skedaddled with his money but there would be no investigation. A bit far-fetched I know but if I hadn’t thought that I couldn’t carry on watching.
Similarly, on the morning of the escape it’s possible Andy knew he had a couple of hours to do the banks before they realised he was gone. Nor would the warden want to rouse suspicion by immediately asking the cops to flood Portland with mug shots – hopefully they could just get on Andy’s trail and recapture or preferably kill him with the minimum of fuss, before he could tell too many people about the warden’s shenanigans. But once Andy did have the money, it would be better for the warden if he was never recaptured.
As for Red not going to find the ‘buried treasure’ sooner, well that’s not so hard. Red’s genuinely trying to go straight, is really struggling psychologically in a number of ways and he doesn’t know for a fact he will find anything if does go. And if he does it might well lead him off the straight and narrow.
But all in all I agree – it is very lazy scriptwriting, editing and continuity work and as a result it can only be a good entertaining romp rather than a great movie. The pipe and rock thing is just a daft movie error of basic physics like most movies have, the big old tree is just a cliché of buried treasure plotlines and the rock thing is just an unnecessary detail.
4 November 2016
featureless tv producer steve
Indeed Exxo, it was in the “good entertaining romp” sense that I called it a great movie, not in any “Monument to Cinematic Excellence” sense.
It also drags in places. Could have easily been 15-20 minutes shorter.
4 November 2016
dickhead in quicksand
Overpriced at five quid, I could get it for one at a charity shop.
And yes, the plot is full of holes.
5 November 2016
Chris The Siteowner
But it’s still the greatest movie of all time. Apparently.
And while we’re talking charts, I’m gonna nominate the picture above as one of the A–Z’s top 10 bits of photoshopping. Well, somebody had to.
5 November 2016
featureless tv producer steve
That list is……..stunning.
5 November 2016
featureless tv producer steve
D’oh!
CtSO, I didn’t even catch what you were saying at first. Yes, that’s magnificent photoshopping – your humblebrag is greatly appreciated. But apparently DiQ can undersell you.
5 November 2016
Paul f
@FTVPS – I was largely focused on the opportunity to talk about a literal plot hole, but as the susbsequent posts have proved, it wasn’t even the only literal plot hole, never mind the only plot hole.
5 November 2016
Schoon
@CtSO I’m not sure about the validity of that list. Interstellar the 32nd greatest movie ever, better than Apocalypse Now?
5 November 2016
BRUMBSICUIT
A bit OT, but movie tastes are very subjective, aren’t they? The Kieslowski Three Colours trilogy being among my favourite films. Anyway, my enthusiasm was so, well, enthused, that my brother bought the box set. ‘What did you think?’, I enquired; ‘Rubbish! Nothing happened!’. Stick to Die Hard, Bro.
5 November 2016
hendrix-tattoo
Not many comedy films in the list I see apart from maybe Life of Brian.
5 November 2016
Cygnus
@ Hendrix-Tattoo
I always think Braveheart is a pretty good comedy.
5 November 2016
EXXO
And thank goodness we do have different tastes, Andy Brumbiscuit. During my ‘dating profile’ days (off and between 95 and 03), I found there were no more effective words for my purposes than ‘Kieslowski’ and ‘Almodovar’. Oh and ‘anti-materialistic’. Cringe, but like I say effective in sorting the wheat from the chaff.
5 November 2016
Third rate les
That list is fascinating.
These things are always a combination of films which are genuinely good and films which are deemed Important. Shawshank manages to be sufficiently slow and ponderous to make people feel like they have experienced something Worthwhile and Important, even if they have actually experienced a nicely-acted but weakly plotted stretched-out TV drama.
Unsurprisingly, hmhb fans seem to value Worthiness and Importance, and numbing slowness, less highly. I suspect I’m not the only one who would have Groundhog Day and indeed Finding Nemo above pretty much any of the films above them.
5 November 2016
EXXO
‘Non-materialistic’ it was, in fact.
Just so I don’t sound like I either consisted of anti-particles or went round smashing things up.
5 November 2016
Brumbiscuit
No, that’d be Bigas Luna-esque…
I have to admit to exploiting The Double Life of Veronique for nefarious purposes. The Dekalog films were rather too demanding in that respect.
5 November 2016
featureless tv producer steve
I consider any list of all-time great movies that doesn’t include “Life of Brian” and “This is Spinal Tap” in the top 5 as automatically suspect.
5 November 2016
Paul f
For Spinal Tap to be in my “top” films the list would have to go up to 11.
6 November 2016
EXXO
I generally don’t like anything with a ‘like’ button Paul but I would defo have ‘liked’ that comment.
6 November 2016
Schoon
But surely it is an objective fact that inter stellar is not #32 best film ever. I really liked IS by the way. It’s like saying Stiperstones is #32 HMHB song ever.
6 November 2016
TOASTKID
I don’t even think that Interstellar is the #32 best film released that year. Also a “like” from me for PaulF.
7 November 2016
Peggy mountS boyfriend
Mississippi Burning is missing so the list means nothing.
16 October 2017
The Bullet of Escobar
Terribly overrated film. To the point where the original reviews that were pithy about the whole thing were spot on that the proceeding avalanche of people who now say it’s one of the best films ever are sadly misguided.
16 August 2023