The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 American prison drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the 1982 Stephen King book Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. The movie centers on banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), who, in spite of his denials of guilt, is given a life sentence in Shawshank State Penitentiary for killing his wife and her lover. Over the next twenty years, he makes friends with fellow prisoner Ellis "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman), a drug dealer, and helps prison warden Samuel Norton (Bob Gunton) with a money laundering scheme. James Whitmore, Gil Bellows, William Sadler, and Clancy Brown also appeared.

Although Darabont bought the film rights to King's story in 1987, work on the script did not start until five years later, when he spent eight weeks writing it. The Shawshank Redemption began preproduction in January 1993, and two weeks after Darabont submitted his script to Castle Rock Entertainment, the studio gave him a $25 million budget to produce the film. While the film is set in Maine, main photography took place from June to August 1993 nearly entirely in Mansfield, Ohio, with the Ohio State Reformatory acting as the titular penitentiary. Stars such as Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, and Kevin Costner were drawn to the project to play Andy. The film's score was composed by Thomas Newman.

It was first screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 1994 and had its US premiere three days later, on September 13, 1994, in Mansfield. A limited release would follow on September 23, 1994, before the picture was released widely in October of the same year.

The Shawshank Redemption was a box office bust, making just $16 million during its first theatrical run, despite garnering critical acclaim upon release—especially for its story, Robbins and Freeman's performances, Newman's score, Darabont's direction and screenplay, and Roger Deakins' cinematography. At the time, a number of factors were pointed up as to why it didn't work, such as competition from the movies Pulp Fiction and Forrest Gump, the general dislike of prison movies, the absence of any female characters, and even the title, which people thought was confusing. The movie went on to get numerous nominations for awards, including seven Academy Award nominations, and a theatrical re-release that brought its box office total to $73.3 million when paired with international receipts.

More than 320,000 VHS rental copies were distributed across the US, and thanks to positive feedback and nominations for awards, it quickly rose to the top of the 1995 video rental charts. After Turner Broadcasting System purchased Castle Rock, the broadcast rights were obtained. Its popularity was further increased when it began to air on the TNT network on a regular basis in 1997. Years after its premiere, the movie is still screened frequently and is well-liked in many nations. Viewers and celebrities have recognized the movie as one of their favorites or as a source of inspiration, and it has been named one of the most "beloved" movies ever filmed in a number of polls. In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The movie was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the US Library of Congress, which decided to preserve it in the National Film Registry in 2015.

Cast

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International versions

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