#1 - The Shawshank Redemption

"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies..."

The Shawshank Redemption (1994) -- Rated R -- Running time 142 minutes.
IMDB rank: 1
IMDB score: 9.2/10
First Viewing? No.

The Shawshank Redemption, based on a Stephen King short story titled "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption", is a prison drama directed by Frank Darabont. The film stars Tim Robbins as Andy and Morgan Freeman as Red.

Now let me start off by saying that The Shawshank Redemption is one of my favorite movies of all time, so this review might be a tad skewed. I've loved this movie ever since the first time I saw it on TNT one weekend. Luckily for me, TNT also loves Shawshank so they play it every other weekend (or at least they did back in the late 90s/early 00s).

Everything about this movie seems perfect. Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman give the performances of a lifetime, the supporting cast compliments them beautifully, and a relatively green Frank Darabont is able to tie it all together with a wonderful craftsmanship that would make Bob Vila blush. Also, Morgan Freeman's narration helps put the movie over the top. You can hear the pain and solemness of a man who has spent 20... 30... 40 years in prison. Add to that, an amazingly moving scene from Hollywood mainstay James Whitmore and you've got all the makings for a classic.

The Shawshank Redemption is also one of the only movies I have ever seen where I loved the music so much that I had to find out who scored it. Interestingly enough another film with the same quality was American Beauty, both of which are scored by Thomas Newman (cousin of singer Randy Newman). Thomas Newman has scored at least 1 Oscar nominated film every year from 1994's Shawshank to 2006's The Good German with everything from Cinderella Man (2005) to Finding Nemo (2003) in between. The man has to be doing something right. The music from Shawshank is so moving that it was actually played in the background of inspirational montages from the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Personal biases aside, I do have a few qualms with this movie that I feel I should point out. First of all, the movie takes place over the course of about 20 years, and yet the characters never seem to age all that much? The prison warden remains the same over the 2 decades, as do the guards and for the most part, the prisoner population. This doesn't affect the film all that much because you grow accustomed to the characters, but it is something to point out.

The only other issue I have with the film is a very small one. Towards the end of the movie, Morgan Freeman's character claims that 500 yards is "just shy of half a mile". This always bugged me, because simple math tells you that 500 yards is actually just over a quarter of a mile... well short of the supposed half a mile. Now, Morgan Freeman's character IS a convict who has spent 40 years in prison and very well may be uneducated, but being a math nerd I can't help but squirm every time I hear that line.

Is Shawshank a good movie? Yes. Is it a great movie? Yes. Is it the greatest movie of all time? Well, I guess that's what I'm about to find out...

IMDB score: 9.2
My score: 9.7

Recommendations: The Green Mile, Mystic River