The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 American drama film, written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the Stephen King novella, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. The film stars Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne and Morgan Freeman as Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding.

The film portrays Andy spending nearly two decades in Shawshank State Prison, a fictional penitentiary in Maine, and his friendship with Red, a fellow inmate. This movie exemplifies the potential gap between initial box office success and ultimate popularity. Despite a lukewarm box office reception that was barely enough to cover its budget, The Shawshank Redemption received favorable reviews from critics and has since enjoyed a remarkable life on cable television, home video, DVD and Blu-ray. It continues to be hailed by critics and audiences alike, 15 years after its initial release, and is ranked among the greatest films of all time. Shawshank currently heads the Internet Movie Database’s poll of top 250 films, leading such pictures as The Godfather.

Production

Darabont secured the film adaptation rights from author Stephen King after impressing the author with his short film adaptation of “The Woman in the Room” in 1983. Although the two had become friends and maintained a pen-pal relationship, Darabont did not work with him until four years later in 1987, when he optioned to adapt Shawshank. This is one of the more famous Dollar Deals made by King with aspiring filmmakers. Darabont later directed The Green Mile, which was based on another work about a prison by Stephen King, and then followed that up with an adaptation of King’s novella The Mist. Rob Reiner, who had previously adapted another King novella The Body into Stand By Me, offered $2.5 million in an attempt to write and direct the project. He aimed to cast Tom Cruise in the part of Andy and Harrison Ford as Red. Darabont seriously considered and liked Reiner’s vision, but he ultimately decided it was his “chance to do something really great” by directing the film himself.

The Shawshank Redemption was filmed in and around the city of Mansfield, Ohio, located in north-central Ohio. The prison featured in the film is the old, abandoned Ohio State Reformatory immediately north of downtown Mansfield. The Reformatory buildings have been used in several other films, including Harry and Walter Go to New York, Air Force One and Tango and Cash. Most of the prison yard has now been demolished to make room for expansion of the adjacent Richland Correctional Institute, but the Reformatory’s Gothic Administration Building remains standing and, due to its prominent use in films, has become a tourist attraction. The real warden of the Richland Correctional Institute had a cameo appearance in Shawshank as the prisoner seated directly behind Tommy on his bus ride to prison and several other staff members from the nearby Mansfield Correctional Institution have small roles.

Several exterior scenes were shot at the Malabar Farm State Park, in nearby Lucas, Ohio. The sequence in which Andy is parked outside his home contemplating murdering his wife was filmed at the Pugh Cabin within the park. The sequences representing the village of Buxton and the field where Red finds Andy’s hidden letter were filmed on private land located opposite the park entrance on Bromfield Road. The oak tree is clearly visible from the roadside. The adjacent rock wall, which was constructed specifically for the film, is located on the far side of the hill away from the roadside. The wall is still standing, although it has been somewhat eroded. Other scenes were shot in Ashland, Ohio, Butler, Ohio, Upper Sandusky, Ohio and Portland, Maine. The two scenes in Mexico were filmed on the Island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The first scene where Andy was driving a convertible on a road along the Pacific Coast with the top down is route 73 on the north side of St. Croix between Salt River (where Christopher Columbus landed in 1493) and Cane Bay. The second scene was the last scene of the movie. Red was walking on a beach toward his friend Andy while he worked on repairs to a boat on the beach. That was filmed at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge on the southwest point of St.Croix.

The photo of a young Red on his parole forms is that of Morgan Freeman’s son, Alfonso. Alfonso is also seen in the yard when Andy’s load of prisoners is first dropped off, shouting enthusiastically “Fresh Fish! Fresh Fish” whilst reeling in an imaginary line. Alfonso later played a parody of his father’s character, Red, in a short spoof titled The Sharktank Redemption, available on the second disc of the 10th anniversary DVD.

The film ends with the prominent dedication “In Memory of Allen Greene”. Darabont dedicated the film to his friend and agent, Allen Greene II, who died just before the completion of the film due to complications from AIDS.

Music

The score was composed by Thomas Newman, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score in 1994, marking his first Academy Award nomination. Interestingly enough, the main theme (“End Titles” on the soundtrack album) is perhaps best known to modern audiences as the inspirational sounding music from many movie trailers dealing with inspirational, dramatic, or romantic films in much the same way that James Horner’s driving music from the end of Aliens is used in many movie trailers for action films.