BP’s Top 100 Challenge #40: The Shawshank Redemption, by Sarah Brinks
I decided to undertake a movie challenge in 2017. This seemed like a good way to see some classic movies that I have unfortunately never seen. The Battleship Pretension Top 100 list provided such a challenge.
There are so many good things to talk about when it comes to The Shawshank Redemption. The cast to start with is topnotch. The stars, Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, deliver some career best performances. Freeman adds heart and sincerity, where Robbins maintains a quite intensity throughout the film. Every time Andy Dufresne is on screen you can see there is more happening behind his eyes then you can guess. But the supporting cast members deliver equally fantastic performances. James Whitmore as Brooks the Librarian is charming and sweet and tragic when he can’t make it on the outside. William Sadler as Heywood is annoying but also a good guy and he wins you over in the end. Even the slimy prison staff like Clancy Brown as Hadley the guard and Bob Gunton as the corrupt warden play their parts perfectly so you hate them and root endlessly for Andy and Red.
The film also has a wonderfully structured script. Watching it for the first time you aren’t ever quite sure how it is going to end, but if you have seen it before you can see how the pieces are lining up for Andy’s epic escape from Shawshank Prison. The little hints sprinkled throughout are just enough to keep you interested without giving away the whole secret. Even if you have seen the film before the scene when the warden finally throws the rock through the poster and realizes there is a tunnel behind it is such an effecting scene.
I like that the film shows the dark underbelly of prison life without ever being so explicit that you can’t keep watching but it also shows some of the lighter moments too. The scene when the men are on the roof drinking a beer, or when they get a break for tax season, or when Andy gives Red the harmonica show that prison isn’t terrible every second and that real bonds are formed there over time. My hands down, favorite scene in the film is when Andy finally gets some materials for his library expansion and he locks himself in the warden’s office and plays the record of the aria from ‘The Marriage of Figaro’. The way Red describes that every man in Shawshank felt free and the look on Andy’s face as he listens with music in the background is so lovely.
The Shawshank Redemption reaffirms my healthy fear of prison every time I watch it but it is such an amazing film I am always happy to watch again.
I’ve decided to rate each film using an arbitrary scale based on the board game Battleship (lowest: Destroyer, Submarine, Cruiser, Battleship, highest: Carrier)
The Shawshank Redemption ranking: Carrier
Sarah’s ranking of the Top 100 movies… so far (100-40):
100 FIGHT CLUB |
99 MANHATTAN |
98 BADLANDS |
97 SOLARIS |
96 BLUE VELVET |
95 DUCK SOUP |
94 BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID |
93 TAXI DRIVER |
92 ANNIE HALL |
91 WERCKMEISTER HARMONIES |
90 ANIMAL HOUSE |
89 RAGING BULL |
88 JULES AND JIM |
87 BLADE RUNNER |
86 RAN |
85 BICYCLE THIEVES |
84 NASHVILLE |
83 BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN |
82 WILD STRAWBERRIES |
81 LA DOLCE VITA |
80 THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC |
79 SUNRISE |
78 THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE |
77 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD |
76 BRAZIL |
75 OLDBOY |
74 JFK |
73 CITY OF GOD |
72 GRAND ILLUSION |
71 THE PLAYER |
70 THE DARK KNIGHT |
69 THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI |
68 MEMENTO |
67 RASHOMON |
66 METROPOLIS |
65 FORREST GUMP |
64 BACK TO THE FUTURE |
63 SOME LIKE IT HOT |
62 SUNSET BLVD. |
61 THE APARTMENT |
60 LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD |
59 AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD |
58 MAGNOLIA |
57 CITY LIGHTS |
56 FANTASIA |
55 THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL |
54 THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES |
53 PATHS OF GLORY |
52 NETWORK |
51 REAR WINDOW |
50 GHOSTBUSTERS |
49 THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING |
48 EYES WIDE SHUT |
47 FINDING NEMO |
46 THE WIZARD OF OZ |
45 GROUNDHOG DAY |
44 THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION |
43 PERSONA |
42 THE LIVES OF OTHERS |
41 AMELIE |
40 IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE |