Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
3/4
The best with some of the worst
Jose - wrote on 11/23/2014
It´s really easy to understand why this movie is so loved by people, it´s got a terribly beautiful story with some of the most pretty quotes and a lot of astonishing scenes, but in my case, I don´t find as great as the whole rest. It´s true, the story is really beautiful, about two guys and a prison and how do they pass the time inside of it, but, where´s the great actuation? I mean, Tim Robbins doesn´t acts really good, for being true, nothing, and Freeman only smiles ans helps him in more nothing. This movie is just saved bu the story, I cried, 2 times, but that doesn´t means I loved it, for me, story matters, but a great actuation and an excellent cinematography completes what a movie really is, and this movie needs better cinematography and a lot of better actuation.
But, …
Rating of
3.5/4
Overrated
Gabe - wrote on 11/19/2014
Perhaps a slightly overrated film, it's certainly not the best film ever made, as this site and others on the internet claim, but it is great. It was released in 1994, the year of Gump, a film that over time has lost its luster and Pulp Fiction. Pulp Fiction is my personal favorite film, but it was also the one that pushed boundaries. Gump, technologically was superior, although you watch it now and it looks quaint. And Shawshank, as far as I'm concerned is just another movie. Yes, it has a great script and even better acting. But, we've seen films with good acting, directing...etc. Fiction pushed the envelope, it moved the needle. Every film that came after wanted to be the next Pulp Fiction. So, why does Shawshank continue to be number one on sites like this one? I have two …
Rating of
4/4
There's a reason it's #1 on FilmCrave.
memento_mori - wrote on 07/04/2013
The Shawshank Redemption is a movie with extreme depth.
I watched this movie with my father when I was twelve (and in the prime of my discovery of the art of film), way before it was number one on IMDB and such. It was just an incredible movie.
Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne is remarkable. He doesn't say much, it's all in the facial expressions. You get the torture this man has endured, and that when he didn't even deserve it. If you can't sympathise with Andy in this movie, check your pulse.
The characters are written so well with such hopeful and clever dialogue, managing to move an audience simply by having a conversation in a prison yard about the beauties of the life outside.
Morgan Freeman is once again Morgan Freeman, although this was one of the first few roles that got him …
Rating of
3.5/4
Prepare to be moved!
MovieAddict - wrote on 03/22/2012
The Shawshank Redemption follows the story of Andy Dufrense, a young banker from Portland, Maine, who is wrongly convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, and sentenced to life imprisonment at the Shawshank Prison. Whilst there, he meets veteran "Red" (played by the brilliant Morgan Freeman) an aged convict who, unlike the majority of the populace, accepts that he is a guilty man. The two develop a friendship over the lasting years which evolve into what could be akin to brotherhood.
Despite being incarcerated for life without parole, Andy maintains hope and puts his financial expertise, to good use, becoming a tax and financial adviser to the prison guards and even the Warden himself. As a reward for these services, Andy is given a privileged job in the prison library and …
Rating of
3/4
"The Shawshank Redemption" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 03/19/2012
Convicted of double homicide and sent to Shawshank prison, Tim Robbins wins the respect of his fellow inmates with guile and quiet dignity. A firm favourite with many since it was released and often featured in Best Film Ever Made lists, The Shawshank Redemption is certainly a very accomplished piece of mainstream film making. Frank Darabont has an excellent eye for imagery and pacing, and the film is very atmospherically lit. The quality cast are all very good, particularly Morgan Freeman as Robbins' best friend. I do have a few small issues with it however. I felt that the villains of the piece were nowhere near as well realized as the inmates, it's a little longer than it really needs to be and the whole thing has the sheen of Hollywood feelgood gloss that prevents it from being as …
Rating of
4/4
The Shawshank Redemption review
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 08/17/2011
In the 1940’s Andrew "Andy" Dufresne (Tim Robbins) was convicted of murdering his wife. He is sentenced at Shawshank State Penitentiary in Maine and has made a new friend in Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman). The 2 discuss things such as prison life, the crimes and management of the prison. Andy learns the ropes inside the prison by being abused by inmates. He then began working for Warden Samuel Norton (Bob Gunton) who heads the prison, because of his knowledge as a banker. The pair of friends meets at Zihuatanejo (beach in Mexico) after Andy has methodically escaped and Red’s ignorance of his parole. Memorable quotes from the picture: Andy – “I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy livin' or get busy dyin.“ “Hope is a good thing, maybe the …
Rating of
4/4
The movie of hope
patrickthemovie - wrote on 11/22/2010
I was lucky enough to see this yesterday when I scrolling through the channels and it was just beggning I heard stuff like this is overrated or stupid or boring but it was number 1 in impd ahead of my favorite film the godfather so I decided to give it a try and I loved it because it showed a story of hope and freindship and showed what I love in movies whitch is showing it in multible years morgen freeman this is his best acting he has ever done as you can see the change in the years of what he was in the beggning and in the end and andy played by tim robbins was great can really describe how great he was in this movie and this movie made me sad happy excited thrilled all these kind of stuff and towards the end it really shows how beatiful this film is 10/10
Rating of
4/4
patjohnson76 - wrote on 09/19/2008
For years this has been a film favorite of many, and though it came out nearly 15 years ago, it still holds a special place in many people's hearts when naming their favorite film.
On the outside it's a prison drama as it follows the lives of two inmates, Andy and Red, who build up a friendship set against the horrors of prison. But digging deeper, you find themes of redemption, as Andy and Red fight what society deems prisoners such as themeselves.
What people really latch onto emotionally is probably Andy's never-wavering belief in hope. He's innocent, beaten, raped, and used as a money launderer to benefit the prison, yet he never loses hope that one day his life will be better, even though those around him tell him it's impossible. I think that's what has made this film …
Rating of
4/4
We All Must Hold on to Hope
The Flick Guru - wrote on 09/19/2007
Every so often a movie strikes a cord in you which you will never forget. There are a few in my lifetime that I can truly feel this way about. The Shawshank Redemption is a movie that I will never forget, or at least never forget again. I am not really sure why I did not put this movie in my Top Ten list. I don't know what I was thinking. I totally missed it and it wasn't until much after the fact that I realized what I had done. The Shawshank Redemption is one of the best movies out there. It is a movie that I have watched many times and I still get chills while I watch it.
The Shawshank Redemption, about a man, Andy Dufrensne, who is wrongly accused of his adulterous wife's murder and his redemption while in prison. It is also about his relationship with another inmate, Ellis Boyd …
Rating of
4/4
Get Busy Living, or Get Busy Dying.
TheWolf - wrote on 07/26/2007
I have watched this movie at least once a year if not more since its release in 94. The story is untouchably one of the best I have ever seen for a screenplay. As straightforward prison drama it is head and shoulders above others of its type - an epic story told with sensitivity and emotion, superbly acted and brilliantly shot. What makes what would have been a good film into a great one is the subtexts and themes which run through it that allow the viewer to actually think.
Everyone that watches this film becomes a part of it. You are there, in that prison, suffering when Andy does, smiling when Andy does. Tim Robbins plays this part so well it could be classed in one of the best lead parts in a film ever. The cast of Morgan Freeman, Wiliam Saddler and the rest couldn't have been …
