The Shawshank Redemption
The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 movie, directed by Frank Darabont, based on the Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. The film stars Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne and Morgan Freeman as Red.
This movie is primarily about Andy Dufresne's life in jail after being tried and convicted, despite his protestation that he was innocent of murdering his wife and her lover.
As of August 2004, The Shawshank Redemption has been listed as #2 in the Internet Movie Database Top 250 movies of all time (voted on by IMDB users) for over a year.
Differences from the book
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
On the whole, the film is a more or less faithful adaptation of the Stephen King book. For a general description of the plot, see Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. However, there are a number of differences.
- The Indian Normaden that shares Andy's cell for a period doesn't appear at all in the film.
- The scene where Norton inspects Andy's cell for contraband without finding the rock hammer (and they quote scripture at each other) doesn't appear in the novella.
- In the novella, there are several wardens before Norton.
- In the novella, Norton resigns after Andy's escape. In the film, he has siphoned off lots of money, and when Andy gets out and this becomes known, he commits suicide in his office.
- Red never becomes assistant librarian in the novella.
- Brooks' threats to cut the throat of another prisoner to avoid being paroled only appear in the film. In both the novella and the film, Brooksie is paroled and leaves Shawshank. His suicide soon after leaving prison only occurs in the film.
- In the novella, Andy sells off all his assets while still on trial. Together with a friend, he sets up a false identity and transfers all assets there. In the film, Andy himself sets up the false identity while laundering money for the warden, and then siphons off money from the warden's stolen money to transfer to the false identity.
- In the novella, Williams is transferred (not killed).
- In the novella, there are 14 cells in cellblock 5, facing each other across a corridor. In the movie Andy's cell is upstairs and there is no cell across from his.
- In the novella, the warden rips the poster away. In the film he throws a carved rock at it first, putting a hole through it.
- Red is an Irishman in the book but in the movie he is black, although when asked by Andy why he is called "Red" he jokingly replies "Maybe it's because I'm Irish".
A memorable scene in the film is the stilling of a courtyard full of hardened criminals, when a duet from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, che soave zeffiretto, is played across the public address system. The recording used was Karl Böhm's 1968 production for Deutsche Grammophon (catalogue number 449 728-2) and the singers are Gundula Janowitz and Tim Robbins
