What Makes "The Shawshank Redemption" Great.

The Shawshank Redemption is one of the most moving films of all time. It's tale of hope and the triumph of the human spirit has made it a well deserved favorite of many.

One of my favorite things about the film is the lack of emphasis on time. The film takes place over about 2 decades but there are no significant cuts to suggest the passage of time. It's a great way of putting you in the perspective of the routine life of this prisoners. As Red said "Prison life consisted of routine, and then more routine".

The various challenges that Andy faces and the different projects that he does during his time in shawshank are so fascinating to watch. He goes from being the target of the more brutal inmates to building the best prison library you can think if. I love how the film is told through the perspective of not Andy but Red. It's more powerful to see the way that Andy impacts Red and the other prisoners rather then the other way around. It's the perfect way of signifying the most important part of the story and that is Andy teaching Red the value of hope. While the easy answer to the redemption part of the title may be Andy's eventual escape, the redemption really falls on Red who learns the value of hope and what it truly means to be free which leads to one of the most satisfying endings in film history. The performances of Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman are great, though Freeman obviously steals the show in what is his best performance. Bob Gunton is also great as the corrupt warden of Shawshank. He's arguably one of the best villains in cinema history.

Another key aspect to the film is the dangers of being what is called "Institutionalized". The time when a person becomes so used to his prison life that the idea of living on the outside becomes a fear rather then a desire. This is shown in the most powerful scene in the film where long time prisoner Brooks Hatlen is released after 50 years in Shawshank and can't cope with life outside a place he has become so familiar with that he eventually hangs himself.

No matter how many times I watch The Shawshank Redemption, It always leaves me with the same level of satisfaction. If this movie doesn't make you cry, then you are watching it wrong.