“Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”
It’s a movie that you can’t turn off….because “no good thing ever dies…”
Behold The Beauty Of “Zihuatanejo”!
Few times in the history of film has a single movie location meant so much to the audience…and if you know what “Zihuatanejo” means, then you know one of the greatest, most intense and uplifting films of all time!
Celebrating 30 Years Of “The Shawshank Redemption!”
In the fall of 1994, a film about the human spirit persevering agains all odds was a modest hit at the theaters, and since has grown to become one of cinema’s greatest achievements.
To celebrate, the film’s Director Frank Darabont revealed some great secrets from the making of the film – and it is easy to forget that it began as a Stephen King novella! Time to explore the majesty of “The Shawshank Redemption!”
The Shawshank Redemption – Directed by Frank Darabont – released in 1994
Just how beloved is this movie? Well, consider this: a few years ago, the classic British film magazine Empire voted “The Shawshank Redemption” the best movie OF ALL TIME!
Here is the trailer:
The film was an adaptation of iconic Writer Stephen King’s 1982 novella which was titled “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption“.
It’s the story of Andy Dufresne, a wrongly imprisoned convict and the only innocent man in Shawshank State Penitentiary. It’s here, locked inside this brutal and unforgiving institution, where Andy meets fellow lifer Red – played brilliantly by Morgan Freeman – and has his relationship with hope put to the ultimate test.
And Now, “Shawshank” Secrets Revealed!
Here is the interview from The Guardian:
“The movie’s like a Rorschach test,” suggests Darabont, speaking to us as his enduring prison drama starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman turns 30 years old. “People can project their own traumas and difficulties onto that film and gain some uplift and encouragement from it, and that’s pretty cool. It’s not a feeling you get that often as a filmmaker,” he adds. “To have even one of those in your life is a real gift.”
The film doesn’t shy away from the brutality of prison life, but Dufresne’s refusal to let that life break him is what makes the film so inspiring.
Morgan Freeman’s Directing Advice!
I love this anecdote…I think we can all agree that Morgan Freeman is the coolest person on the planet, and his performance in “Shawshank” is heartwarming and heartbreaking in equal measure. But it turns out he had some advice for the Director before filming. As Darabont told The Guardian:
“I learned that every actor is different and has differing needs from a director and I had the perfect examples in Morgan and Tim,” he says of the experience. “Tim approaches things from an intellect standpoint which seeps into his intuition and performance; he needs more conversation about backstory and motivation whereas Morgan is purely intuitive.”
“Darabont recalls discovering this on the job during a conversation he was having with Freeman about an upcoming scene: “I could see his eyes glazing over. I stopped myself and said ‘You don’t need all this conversation, do you?’ He said, ‘No not really. I just need to know when you want me to turn left and when you want me to sit down.’ That taught me a valuable lesson that every actor has a different approach.”
“When to turn left and when to sit down!” I love that!
UM…it was REAL POOP!
Now, for one of the film’s greatest secrets revealed. When Dufresne crawls his way through the prison’s sewer to freedom, little did we all know when watching the scene what Tim Robbins was crawling through!
AS Darabont said:
“It’s a glorious moment, right? Everybody feels their soul being uplifted. Meanwhile, we were out in this horrible little creek that was filled with cow poop,” reveals Darabont of crafting this key moment.
“They had to dam the creek to get the water level up and pour sterilizing stuff in there so Tim wouldn’t get some horrible disease. Actors can be real troopers sometime because sliding out of that pipe into that muck was so gross. To convey that incredible moment while covered in cow urine? It’s amazing.”
Yes, it was a body of water filled with cow poop and urine! No wonder Tim loved letting the rain wash it all away!
I have a lot of film fanatic friends and we are all in agreement: if we come across “Shawshank” on TV somewhere, we stop and watch the rest of it to the end…it’s powerful story never gets old and if you don’t cry when you see the last scene, you have no soul!
As I said, the film is based on a Stephen King novella…he has written novels that have become classic films, like this:
“Carrie” is in my top five films of all time…an incredible cast, brilliant direction and a lead character you care about – oh and it’s scary in the best way too!
See more here:
I also shared a look at a terrific Halloween season thriller written by King – all about a killer car:
Smart, well done and some great thrills to – take a test drive with “Christine!”
Here’s the trailer and more:
I love King’s writing so much I compiled seven great adaptation for film…see them all here:
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Let me know your favorite “King film!”Shawshank” moment and if you like this story, please share on social media – thanks!
Categories: Art, Cult Movies, Film Fight Club, Great Films, Movies, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities
johnrieber 
I was in Mansfield, OH in the late summer of 2018. I stopped off at a Bob Evans restaurant after attending a Bridgestone PGA event the Firestone CC in Akron. I saw a guy sitting with his family in the next booth over wearing an Arkansas Razorback hat. I was there alone, so I stopped over and said Hi and introduced myself. He lived in Mansfield, but he attended law school at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. They also have a vacation home on Greers Ferry Lake here in Arkansas as well. We have since gotten together a couple of times for dinner when they are in Arkansas for a getaway. They told me that the “Shawshank prison” is there in Mansfield. I will definitely check it out if I ever make it back out there.
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I found myself in Mansfield, OH in the late summer of 2018. I stopped to eat at a Bob Evans restaurant and met a guy who was wearing an Arkansas Razorbacks hat. I was by myself, so I just said hi and introduced myself to them. Turns out that they live in Mansfield, but that he went to law school at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, and they own a vacation home on Greers Ferry Lake here in Arkansas. We became Facebook friends and have since met up with dinner a couple of times when they were here in Arkansas for a getaway. They told me that the “Shawshank State Penitentiary” is there in Mansfield. If I ever go back, I’m going to go check it out.
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“…if we come across “Shawshank” on TV somewhere, we stop and watch the rest of it to the end…it’s powerful story never gets old and if you don’t cry when you see the last scene, you have no soul!” I’m sharing this line with my wife. I tell her this exact thing all the time. Now I know she has a soul, she puts up with me, so that means automatic entry into heaven . . . but I have had to question it at times for not loving Shawshenk as much as I do. Ha, ha. Love the review.
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Thank you – it’s like not crying at the end of “It’s A Wonderful Life”! Can’t be done!
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Hi John, this is TCs favourite movie. I have read the novella a few times.
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This is a great movie. I love the character differences in the actors…and the poop? Oh, my!
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such a great film and one you never forget! interesting details about how to direct these two very different stars and the cow poop disclosure. I’m reading Stephen King’s new book of short stories, ‘You Like It Darker,’ and it is soooo good. especially one of them that I could see as a film.
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He is such a gifted writer and thanks for sharing your comment with us!
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One of my favorite movies of all time with the best line that I try to incorporate in my own life—”Get busy living or get busy dying.”
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YE! Thanks for sharing it!
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I loved that film, and I didn’t realise the poo was real! I hope they paid him well. My favourite prison films are Brubaker, and The Last Castle, probably because Robert Redford is in both of them, lol.
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Well that was a big surprise for me as well! Agree on your Redford choices – both terrific! Thanks for the comment!
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An undeniably great film, though my favourite prison film is still ‘The Green Mile’, also a King story adaptation of course. Freeman seems able to act any part with consummate ease, and I can imagine him needing almost no direction whatsoever.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Great point on Freeman…and yes “Green Mile” is also a classic – Darabont again of course with more Stephen King!
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