The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption is an American crime drama movie from 1994. It was written originally as a screenplay by Shawn Patrick Patterson and directed by Frank Darabont. The movie is based on Stephen King's novel Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. It stars Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Clancy Brown, Bob Gunton, James Whitmore, and Jeffrey DeMunn. James Kisicki played a small role as the bank manager. It was released on October 14, 1994.

Plot

1940s

In 1947, Andy Dufresne is convicted of murdering his wife and her lover and is sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison. Andy is transferred to the Shawshank Stage Penitentiary, where he is introduced to Samuel L. Norton, warden of the prison, alongside with Byron Hadley, chief captain of the guards. As his sentence unfolds, he meets Ellis Boyd Redding, an inmate also serving a life sentence. Andy is assigned to work in the prison's laundromat, and around the same time, he has various encounters with Bogs Diamond and his henchmen known as "The Sisters", who attack Andy during their encounters.

In 1949, Hadley is explaining that he is being taxed on an inheritance, and Andy offers to help him legal shelter some money to avoid penalization by the IRS. Bogs and his henchmen attack Andy again, forcing him to the infirmary for a month. Hadley savagely beats Bogs in retribution, paralyzing him and transferring him to a prison hospital upstate. Andy is assigned to help out elderly inmate Brooks Halten in the prison's library, where he helps resolve financial matters by writing weekly letters to the state legislature requesting funds.

1950s

In 1954, Brooks is paroled after serving fifty years, but he cannot adjust to the outside world, and commits suicide by hanging himself. The legislature Andy receives is a copy of The Marriage of Figaro. He plays the music over the P.A. system, much to the warden's resentment, and is sentenced to solitary confinement for two weeks. In 1963, Norton begins exploiting prison labor for public works, profiting by undercutting skilled labor costs and receiving bribes. Andy launders the money using the alias "Randall Stephens".

1960s

In 1965, Tommy Williams is incarcerated for burglary. Andy helps Tommy pass his GED exam. In 1966, Tommy explains to Andy that his cellmate at another prison had claimed responsibility for the murders for which Andy was convicted. Andy turns this information in to Norton, but when he considers the warden obtuse and mentions about the money laundering, Norton has Andy sentenced to solitary confinement again. Norton summons Tommy outside one night to feign an escape attempt and orders Hadley shoot him to death as a show of execution. Norton visits Andy in his solitary cell to explain about Tommy's execution, and intends to seal off the library, remove Andy's protection from the guards, and move him to worse conditions in the area of the most hardened criminals. Andy opposes, and is given another month in solitary. After two months in solitary, Andy discusses his plans with Ellis about moving to a Mexican coastal town if he ever escapes prison.

During the next roll call, the guards find Andy's cell vacant, prompting them to sound the alarm for Norton, who demands an explanation of Andy's whereabouts. Irate and paranoid, Norton hurls some rocks, which one of them rips a poster, finding a big hole in the wall. A flashback shows Andy using rope to escape through the tunnel and a sewage pipe, taking Norton's suit, shoes, and ledger, containing proof of the money laundering. After his escape, Andy poses as Randall Stephens, withdraws the laundered money from several banks, and mails the ledger and other evidence of the corruption and murders at Shawshank to a local newspaper. FBI agents and state police storm Shawshank and arrest Hadley, while Norton dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to avoid his arrest.

After 2000s

After forty years, Ellis is paroled. He visits a hayfield in Maine and finds a mysterious tree in the wilderness. He finds a cache containing money and a letter asking him to come to Zihuatanejo. Feeling hope, Ellis travels to Fort Hancock, Texas and crosses the boarder to Mexico. He the reaches a beach in Zihuatanejo, reuniting with Andy.

Release dates

Country	Premiere
Mexico	23 September 1994
India	14 October 1994
United States	14 October 1994
Peru	1995
Norway	6 January 1995
South Korea	28 January 1995
Italy	10 February 1995
Australia	16 February 1995
United Kingdom	17 February 1995
Spain	24 February 1995
Finland	24 February 1995
France	1 March 1995
Netherlands	2 March 1995
Ireland	3 March 1995
Sweden	3 March 1995
Germany	9 March 1995
Turkey	10 March 1995
Taiwan	10 March 1995
Brazil	17 March 1995
Argentina	23 March 1995
Philippines	29 March 1995
Portugal	31 March 1995
Greece	7 April 1995
Poland	16 April 1995
Denmark	28 April 1995
Hungary	25 May 1995
Japan	3 June 1995
Czech Republic	6 July 1995
Slovakia	13 July 1995
Uruguay	11 August 1995
	26 October 1995

Reception

Despite its poor box office returns, The Shawshank Redemption opened to generally positive reviews.^[1]^[2]Roger Ebert gave the movie 3.5 stars out of 4.

The Shawshank Redemption Media

Andy and Red's reunion was filmed at the Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. The location has been interpreted as a form of escape or paradise.
Director Frank Darabont (pictured in 2011) bought the adaptation rights to The Shawshank Redemption for $5,000 in 1987
Clancy Brown at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con International
Ohio State Reformatory, also known as the Mansfield Reformatory, served as the fictional Shawshank prison
The Bissman Building in Mansfield, Ohio, served as the halfway house in which Brooks and later Red would reside following their release from prison
Roger Deakins' cinematography was praised by critics, and his work led to him winning the American Society of Cinematographers award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography.
The Shawshank tree after being split by lightning in 2011. It became a symbol of hope for its role in the film