The Shawshank Redemption Film Critique The Shawshank Redemption is a brilliant story set in the brutal life of Shawshank Penitentiary. The movie has a very well structured plot; there is a clear beginning, middle, and end—Act I, Act II, and Act III – which all come together as a whole to make a great film. In the movie, a young banker, Andy, is convicted of murdering his wife and her lover and is sentenced to Shawshank Penitentiary. In prison, Andy meets and forms a strong bond with another convicted killer, Red; the narrator of the story. Red plays an important role in the prison; he can deliver contraband of almost any type into the prison. This makes him a vital man within the prison's social structure and it is also the reason that he …show more content…
The warden of Shawshank, Norton, also realizes that a man of Andy's skills is useful. Norton is doing some sort of scam and asks Andy for his help there as well. One day, Andy hears from another prisoner, Tommy, whose former cellmate had bragged about killing a rich golfer and a lawyer's wife, and framing the lawyer for the crime. Upon hearing Tommy's tale, Andy realizes that if this evidence could be brought before a court, he could be given a new trial and a chance at freedom. Norton mocks at the story, however, and as soon as possible he makes sure Tommy pays for his actions. Andy is too constructive and helpful to the warden to be allowed to go free; furthermore, he knows every element about Norton's corrupt dealings. After losing his temper with the warden over the issue, and spending a couple of months in solitary as a result, Andy convince himself that he will never be set free legally. After many years in prison, Andy shares information with Red about a mystery secret hidden behind a rock wall, describing exactly how to find the place and how one day a false identity—"Peter Stevens"— will own a small seaside resort hotel in Mexico. Andy also tells Red that he could use a man who knows how to get things. Red, confused about why Andy has confided this information in him, reflects on Andy's continued ability to surprise. So much of the details are important in the
In 1994, Frank Darabont’s film ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ received a poor reception when released; it only made a $0.3m profit. More recently the film has become known as one of the greatest movies of all time, it has inspired hope in many people, helping them to lose weight, leave abusive marriages and such like. The film is based mainly upon two convicts, and the idea of hope. Andy Dufresne is a ‘Hot Shot Banker’ imprisoned with two life sentences, for the suspected murder of his wife and her lover and ‘Red’ (Morgan Freeman) whom Andy redeems hope in, along with the other convicts, saving them from institutionalisation.
One of the best things about this movie is its portrayal of prison life. There are many movies that deal with prison and the life of prisoners while incarcerated, but Shawshank I feel does the best job of giving you a real feeling of what prison life
In Frank Darabont’s film Shawshank Redemption, the themes of isolation and hope are used to underscore the effects of imprisonment. However, the main characters Andy and Red perceive prison life and freedom very differently. First off, one of the key reasons Andy survived in prison is due to the hope he held. On the other hand, Red lost all hope of getting out of prison. Furthermore, life for both characters became quite different once they are released from prison.
Directed by Frank Darabont, The Shawshank Redemption tells the Story of Andy Dufrane, a man who has been wrongly convicted of murder and must endure life inside the harsh and corrupt Shawshank prison, but despite this he never loses hope of finding freedom. Hope is an important inspiring idea in this film, as it is what sustains him during the long and difficult years within the prison, and it is the result of this enduring hope that Andy finally finds freedom. There are many visual and oral techniques used throughout the film to portray the idea of hope. This includes the hope that Andy holds, and
The film that I will be analysing is “The Shawshank Redemption”. The Shawshank redemption is a film that was directed by Frank Darabont in 1994 and it was set in 1947. This film is about a young hotshot banker named Andy Dufresne who was wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and her lover. For this crime he was given a double life sentence and he was sent to Shawshank prison to serve this sentence. While in prision Andy makes a couple of friends and his best friend in prison is named Red. Red runs the black market in shawshank prison and he knows how to get things. Over the span of 20 years Andy earns the respect of his fellow prisoners and he also earns the respect of some of the guards by doing their taxes for them in return for just a couple of favours. The extract that I have chosen to analyze is the rooftop scene.
The Shawshank Redemption movie is about a man named Andy Dufresne who was falsely accused of murder and was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of his wife and her lover. Being in jail, Andy faced many problems of being abused, but he also gained a strong friendship with a man named Red. Many of the things that the prisoners had to face showed a sociological perspective on how life was in jail and how it affected the prisoners. In Shawshank prison, the functionalism theory, the conflict perspective, and the control theory shows the life and adjustments a prisoner has to make in order to survive going into a new world.
The movie, Shawshank Redemption, is about a story of two men, Andy Dufrane and Red Abbott, who spent most of their lives in a prison together going through the ups and downs of prison life. Andy, who was once a vice-president at a bank, was in prison for murdering his wife and her lover, when he caught them in bed together; he was giving life in prison. Whereas Red, also a convicted murderer, got life but with a chance of parole. The two grew close to each other because they were both very educated men and had the same interests. After five years of doing the laundry, the warden thought it would in the prisons best interest to use such an educated man as Andy in the library. So they transferred Andy from the laundry to
A man by the name of Andy Dufresne was convicted of murdering his wife and her lover and was sentenced to two consecutive life terms in Shawshank prison. He was an obvious black sheep among the prisoners, but as time went on he grew relationships with the crooks and realized the injustice in the justice system. In the creation of friendship between Red and Andy, hope was spread throughout the prison. While many themes are present in the film The Shawshank Redemption, hope, friendship, and injustice are also relevant in the world today.
reds relationship with the guards and inmates are the only reason red has had a successful stay at shawshank. throughout shawshank red makes many deals with the guards not only improving his time at shawshank but giving him a higher status in the prison " Nine or Ten names drawn out of hat and two of them happend to be Andy's and my own" (Page 40) It can most deffinitely be inferred that red made some sort of deal with the gaurds to get the both of them on the roof top considering it was a desired job and nearly seventy other men also wanted the job. Red's relationship withthe gaurds gets him the things he wants when he wants giving him a more positive outlook on the time he is serving. Red is known as the man who can get you things arounf shawshank. Nearly everyone comes to him for anything from cigarettes to a rock hammer. He not only makes a profit off of the items he gets for people he gains a source of power within the prison. Red being the man who can get things is really what sparked the relationship between Andy and Red. " I heard your the man who knows how to get things" (Pg 27) Short but sweet some of the first words shared by andy to red. This is a major monent in the novella because this
In the novella, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, the reader follows the life of Andy Dufresne, who was wrongly convicted of murdering his wife and a golf pro. Author Stephen King, who is known for his simpler, conversation esque writing, describes Andy’s experiences and attempt to escape from Shawshank Prison where he is being held. Red, Andy’s most valuable friend while in prison, is also in prison for killing his wife, but in contrast to Andy, he actually did it. Andy is constantly denied his freedom for parole or when evidence arises proving his innocence because of his role running the illegal money laundering scheme for Warden Norton. Throughout the novella, both characters display moments of similar, but also at times vastly different, levels of hope. King uses the way characters, such as Red and Andy, view hope as either a means of escape or simply futile in the novella to show how the circumstances surrounding a tragedy or difficult situation change a character’s mindset on hope and in turn dictates the actions they use to cope.
At the beginning of the Shawshank Redemption, Andy gets framed for the murder of his cheating wife. Which makes his life take a darker turn with him going to Shawshank prison. Shawshank prison is one of the worst prisons ever, the prison guards abuse the prisoners, and the warden orders them to do so and will do anything for money. The prison uses fear as a way to keep the prisoners in line. When you first show up to Shawshank they take you in, strip you down, and spray you with water. After that, they throw this powder on you then give you your clothes and walk you to your cell naked. The prisoners have a game to see who breaks down first, so they yell at the new prisoners until one breaks. Their goal is to break the person they bet on this shows fear because when a new prisoners break they cry and become very scared and the one who broke in the film was murdered by a guard.
'Shawshank Redemption' directed by Frank Darabont is a compelling film about the life of one of its prisoners, Andy. many film techniques were used through out the film as a clever way of conveying main themes. This essay is going to examine how Darabont used camera angles and colour effectively in this film to portray the idea of power.
The movie, The Shawshank Redemption (1994), is based on a character Andy Dufresne. Andy is a young and successful banker who is sent to Shawshank Prison for murdering his wife and her secret lover. His life is changed drastically upon being convicted and being sent to prison. He is sent to prison to serve a life term. Over the 20-years in prison, Andy retains optimism and eventually earns the respect of his fellow inmates. He becomes friends with Red, and they both comfort and empathize with each other while in prison. The story has a strong message of hope, spirit, determination, courage, and desire.
Andy Dufresne arrives at Shawshank Prison in 1947. He has been given a life sentence for murdering his wife and her lover in cold blood. After having lived a straight and narrow life as a successful banker before imprisonment, Andy maintains his innocence throughout the movie. Red describes Andy as having a quite way about him. “He strolled, like a man in a park without a care or a worry in the world.” When Andy first approaches Red, it’s to acquire a rock hammer that he can use to carve the stones in the yard to make chess pieces. Andy understands that in Shawshank, Red is the man that can get you things. Red agrees and over the next few years they become close friends.
Since Red includes the viewer when talking, the viewer has a positive outlook on Red’s personality. This view on Red’s personality is vital in transporting the viewer into the Shawshank prison for the remainder of the movie.