The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

	Directed by: Frank Darabont	COUNTRY USA Genre Drama NORWEGIAN TITLE Frihetens regn RUNNING TIME 142 minutes
	Produced by: Niki Marvin
	Written by: Frank Darabont
	Based on a short story by: Stephen King

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR	RATING
Andy Dufresne	Tim Robbins	½
Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding	Morgan Freeman
Warden Norton	Bob Gunton	½
Heywood	William Sadler
Captain Hadley	Clancy Brown	½
Tommy	Gil Bellows	½
Bogs Diamond	Mark Rolston	-
Brooks Halten	James Whitmore	½

Review

Not your archetypical Stephen King story, The Shawshank Redemption is one of only a handful of works in which the "king of horror" leaves the supernatural behind. This allows more space for his clever narrative sense, his feel for setting, and – above all – his engaging characters.

Because few authors write characters better than King. And in Shawshank this comes to prominence better than ever. There's a simplicity to our protagonists, Red and Andy Dufresne, but it is not a banal simplicity. King's characters combined with the warm, committed performances from Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins make these figures identifiable and familiar. Director Frank Darabont examines what goes on behind the walls of a prison with a universal, almost timeless tone. Without being heavily allegorical, Shawshank manages to parallel a wide range of emotions, situations and relationships through the backdrop of captivity.

The Shawshank Redemption is sentimental and uncomplicated, but also clever, nuanced, and extremely well-paced. Narratively, stories can hardly be better told than this. The film was a sleeper success and elevated both Darabont, King, and the two leads into the major league of the business. It received seven Academy Award nominations – but no statuettes – in what I like to call the golden year of modern cinema.