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“The Shawshank Redemption” is widely regarded as a contemporary classic. This prison drama has become a staple in home video and television, viewed repeatedly by audiences worldwide. Based on a novella by Stephen King, it ranks among the best film adaptations of King’s work, a sentiment that King himself concurs with. He once stated, “When I first saw it, I realized [the director] made not just one of the best movies ever done from my work, but a potential movie classic.” Frank Darabont, the director who also directed other King adaptations like “The Green Mile” and “The Mist,” narrates the story of Andy Dufresne, portrayed by Tim Robbins. In 1947, Andy is falsely convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, despite contradictory evidence. Consequently, Andy is sentenced to life imprisonment at Shawshank State Prison in Maine.
Life in prison is as brutal as one can imagine. Andy frequently becomes the target of attacks by other inmates. However, he finds a way to adapt. He strikes up a friendship with Red, played by Morgan Freeman. As the narrator of the story (Freeman’s narration skills became widely recognized through this film), Red is a convict adept at smuggling contraband. Over the years, Andy and Red’s friendship deepens. Andy, a banker before his prison sentence, begins to improve life in the prison, not just for himself, but for others as well, including the guards whom he assists with their taxes. Over time, Red procures a few items from the outside world for Andy. Andy requests a rock hammer to carve chess pieces from rocks and a poster of actress Rita Hayworth to adorn his cell wall.
Despite some positive changes, the harsh reality of prison life remains, and Andy dreams of freedom. His hopes are kindled when a new inmate named Tommy arrives, claiming to have proof of Andy’s innocence. Tommy had once shared a cell with the actual killer of Andy’s wife and her lover. However, the corrupt prison warden, who had been exploiting Andy’s financial expertise to launder prison funds, fears Andy might expose him and has Tommy killed. Things look bleak for Andy. Then, one morning, the guards find Andy’s cell empty. A hole in the wall behind his poster reveals that Andy had spent years tunneling through the wall with his rock hammer. A year later, Red is released on parole and eventually makes his way to Zihuatanejo, Mexico, where he reunites with Andy.
The Shawshank Redemption was a box office flop … at first
Columbia Pictures
“The Shawshank Redemption” is a compelling, emotionally charged saga and a remarkable story of male friendship. It’s a fantastic film. Darabont’s screenplay adaptation of King’s story is unhurried, and viewers truly sense the passage of years as Andy remains incarcerated for a crime he did not commit. Both Robbins and Freeman deliver outstanding performances, Roger Deakins’ cinematography beautifully captures the stark interior of the prison, and Thomas Newman’s lush score is unforgettable. Given these factors, it’s easy to understand why “The Shawshank Redemption” won the hearts of viewers.
However, the film didn’t start off on a high note. After its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, “The Shawshank Redemption” was released in theaters on September 23, 1994, and it immediately flopped. The film failed to draw audiences and its initial box office run only grossed $16 million against a $25 million budget. However, the tide eventually turned. “Shawshank” received seven Academy Award nominations, which led to a re-release of the film. This re-release was significantly more successful. When the film was released on VHS, it became the top video rental of 1995.
So, why did the film initially fail? Perhaps audiences were not intrigued by a prison-set movie. Maybe it was overshadowed by other films like “Pulp Fiction” and “Forrest Gump,” which were released the same year and attracted larger audiences. According to Stephen King, the film’s failure can be attributed to its title.
The Shawshank Redemption eventually found its audience
Columbia Pictures
In the book “Stephen King Goes to the Movies,” a collection of Stephen King stories that have been adapted into films, King provides a brief introduction to each story. In the introduction to “Shawshank,” originally titled “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption,” King confesses that he never really liked the title of his short story and felt the film’s title wasn’t much better. He believes this is probably why the movie didn’t fare well at the box office initially. “It was not — at first — much of a success at the box office,” King writes. “Part of the reason may have been the title, which conveyed no information and called up no image in the potential moviegoer’s mind. Unfortunately, nobody could think of a better one, and that included me. I never liked the title of my own story, and don’t to this day.”
King has a point: while “The Shawshank Redemption” title makes sense to us now that the film has been part of our pop culture consciousness for 30 years, it was kind of meaningless to audiences in 1994. Shawshank isn’t a real place, so if you weren’t familiar with King’s story, you likely had no idea what the heck it meant. Thankfully, “The Shawshank Redemption” eventually found its audience, and while I think there was a bit of backlash to the film after it re-ran on TV so many times, I firmly believe it’s an excellent movie that still holds up to this day. As King says in “Stephen King Goes to the Movies,” “This is as good as films get on the subject of how men love each other, and how they survive.”
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