Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Is The Shawshank Redemption the best film ever?
London Times ^ | Christopher Goodwin

Posted on 09/12/2009 9:47:56 PM PDT by Saije

Frank Darabont, the director of The Shawshank Redemption, has words for the millions of people who believe his 1994 prison drama is the greatest film of all time. “I think that’s a little crackers, to be honest, especially when you think of the other films on the list.” He means films such as The Godfather, Citizen Kane, Lolita, Vertigo and foreign-language contenders like Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Conformist, Jean-Luc Godard’s Contempt, Luis Buñuel’s Belle de jour or Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant.

But, hey, pointy-headed film critics can have their high­falutin’ crushes. There’s no getting round the fact that The Shawshank Redemption, which stars Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, is consistently being voted the best film ever in all sorts of readers’ polls. It currently sits atop the 250 best movies of all time on the world’s most popular cinema website, imdb.com, as it has done for most of the past decade...Empire’s readers have also voted Shawshank their favourite film of all time.

What gives? How has a film set mainly in a bleak prison, in which women are barely glimpsed, by an unknown first-time director, adapted from a little-known Stephen King novella, become such an enduring crowd-pleaser? Shawshank tells the story of the friendship of two prison inmates, Andy, played by Robbins, and Red, played by Freeman. It’s a film that can make strong men — including the rugby star Jonny Wilkinson, who loves it — blub like babies and insist that they will change their lives pronto. Devotees quote its life-affirming mantras: “You can get busy living or get busy dying”; “Fear can keep you a prisoner. Hope can set you free”.

(Excerpt) Read more at entertainment.timesonline.co.uk ...


TOPICS: TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: hollywood; homoeroticcrap; moviereview; movies; shawshank; stephenking
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120 ... 161-163 next last
To: Saije

Groundhog Day.


81 posted on 09/12/2009 10:43:13 PM PDT by Kirkwood
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Saije
hardly ..it's interesting but BS.....homosexual gang rape by whites is very rare in prison

contrary to American History X and Shawshank Redemption, homosexual rape as intimidation is overwhelmingly a black on black or anyone else event.

serious white boys simply do not do it

it is a hanging offense for any Hispanic gang like La Eme or Nuestra Familia and especially for the Aryan Brotherhood.

Hollywood cannot help but infect everything with politically correct social engineering designed to purvey an image they want the rest of us to believe is fact because it suits their worldview. They are doing it right now already with Sons of Anarchy, they did it with Sopranos when they let chicks write episodes..it was nauseating. They tinker with Clancy movies all the time.

Most kids today think Deliverance was a documentary...like hillbillies like man butt...that such BS...queerness is not tolerated at all in rural mountain areas of the SE..no way.

82 posted on 09/12/2009 10:43:19 PM PDT by wardaddy (Bro and his czars...we have tar, feathers and rails waiting...and a road outta town..)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: rednesss
The Thing was an awesome movie.

And the Swamp Thing was awesome because of Adrienne Barbeau.

83 posted on 09/12/2009 10:43:49 PM PDT by Migraine (Diversity is great... ...until it happens to YOU.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 59 | View Replies]

To: LukeL

Sharon Stone WHINED her way through the film. Also, Casino suffers from the same problem as Goodfellas in that it starts with DeNiro playing a guy in his thirties (although he ages in both).


84 posted on 09/12/2009 10:44:19 PM PDT by Clemenza (Remember our Korean War Veterans)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: eclecticEel

Jon Voight is cool. He made me laugh in Midnight Cowboy. I know it was a serious movie, but he was such a bonehead.


85 posted on 09/12/2009 10:44:42 PM PDT by beaversmom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 75 | View Replies]

To: Saije

It’s either Shawshank or The Money Pit.


86 posted on 09/12/2009 10:45:52 PM PDT by JerseyDvl (Since they call Bush, "Dubya" then I must insist on calling Barry, "Hussein" *2009=1984 on steroids*)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Saije

Pulp Fiction numero uno.


87 posted on 09/12/2009 10:46:49 PM PDT by skimask
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: JerseyDvl

The tricky thing about Shawkshank is how they digitally removed susan sarandon, who is joined at the hip with robbins, from all the scenes.


88 posted on 09/12/2009 10:47:46 PM PDT by gthog61
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 86 | View Replies]

To: Clemenza

I like Ronin! Wouldn’t put it on any best of lists but thought it was good. But then I like DeNiro and I like Jean Reno, especially in The Professional. No Women. No Children. That’s the rule.


89 posted on 09/12/2009 10:48:25 PM PDT by Saije
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 76 | View Replies]

To: beaversmom
Jon Voight is cool. He made me laugh in Midnight Cowboy.

"Are you telling me that John Wayne was a fag!?!"

It was fun seeing Voight, who hails from the Bronx, playing a naive Texas panhandle hayseed. The book by James Leo Herlihy is also great, and is a bit more explicit in telling Joe's backstory (told confusingly in "dream sequences" in the film).

90 posted on 09/12/2009 10:48:51 PM PDT by Clemenza (Remember our Korean War Veterans)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 85 | View Replies]

To: Saije

I’m partial to North By Northwest...the classic case of mistaken identity.


91 posted on 09/12/2009 10:49:34 PM PDT by skimask
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: Saije; All

Best film ever? Hmmmmm......

“Slapshot”
“Airplane!”
“This is Spinal Tap”
“Blazing Saddles”


92 posted on 09/12/2009 10:50:57 PM PDT by eekitsagreek (I want Amy Grant and Sarah Palin (wearing only a Blackhawks sweater) under my Christmas tree PLEASE!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Saije
Shawshank is not the best movie of all time neither was The Dark Knight when it held the top spot on IMDb or the #9 best movie all time as its currently ranked. Both movies show the flaw in IMDb's rating system; vote stuffing, generational bias, lack of context etc....

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/ratings

Shawshank benefits from more votes than any other title, for example 79,502 more than The Godfather which is ranked #2. The Godfather however suffered from Dark Knight fans intentionally ranking it low in order to move it down and move The Dark Knight into the top position. Many who voted had never even seen The Godfather. The demos show a bias toward people aged 18-29 (249,013) and Non-US users (236,153).

Shawshank is a good mainstream commercial movie which benefits from cable TV re-runs and a young and international demo who have no historical context and limited knowledge of movies.

93 posted on 09/12/2009 10:53:49 PM PDT by FTJM
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Saije

No tellin’ what the Brand-man had stuffed in his mug—anything from chicken salad to peanuts. Liked the old 50s version of “The Thing” in black-and-white. Always go with the original; a remake is usually nothing more than an inferior knock-off.


94 posted on 09/12/2009 10:54:11 PM PDT by attiladhun2 (Obama is the anti-Reagan, he believes government is the solution, rather than the problem)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: Migraine

Sure any time. I don’t think I’ve seen it as much as you, but I’m definitely a fan (see my homepage).

My brother and I watched Lawrence so many times, I know he could recite it. I was pretty good too, I guess.

One of my favorite parts of Zhivago is the ending where Yuri’s half-brother is talking with Zhivago’s daughter. Love how Alec Guinness says, “Ah, then it’s a gift.” Wish someone would post that scene on YouTube. One of the best actor voices ever.

Speaking of Lawrence, funny enough I was watching some Peter O’Toole clips on You Tube earlier tonight.

O’Toole was such a class act when he got his honorary Oscar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxg5geT4jrA


95 posted on 09/12/2009 10:54:33 PM PDT by beaversmom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 80 | View Replies]

To: Saije

I’m not particularly a Shawshank fan, but it’s a lot better than anything Clint Eastwood ever directed. Not a bad film.

I couldn’t pick a “best film”. There are too many worthy candidates for the honor:

“Gold Rush” (1925)
“City Lights”(1931)
“The 39 Steps” (1935)
“My Man Godfrey” (1936)
“Dodsworth” (1936)
“The Awful Truth” (1937)
“Mr Smith Goes To Washington”(1939)
“Ninotchka” (1939)
“Casablanca” (1942)
“Now, Voyager” (1942)
“The Palm Beach Story” (1942)
“I Remember Mama” (1948)
“Kind Hearts and Coronets” (1949)
“Sunset Blvd” (1950)
“Ikiru” (1952)
“Singin In The Rain” (1952)
“Seven Samurai” (1954)
“Paths of Glory” (1957)
“The Seventh Seal” (1957)
“Charade” (1963)
“Jaws” (1975)
“Goodfellas” (1990)
“Schindler’s List” (1993)

I’m sure I’ve neglected many other memorable films.


96 posted on 09/12/2009 10:55:49 PM PDT by devere
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: skimask
Pulp Fiction numero uno.

I am absolutely compelled by that movie; but I have a hard time explaining "why" in polite company. Love it. I usually avoid the cocaine overdose scene, though, oh, and the pawn-shop basement homo torture -- too dehumanizing. I watch the movie just to catch the parts in the Ed Sullivan night spot, the Denny's-esque restaurant philosophical discussion interrupted by Hunny=Bunny's holdup, and the "Dead N***er Storage" episode. Never was soundtrack music done more elegantly than in the scene where Neil Diamond's "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon" and the "Son of a Preacher Man" clips were featured.

97 posted on 09/12/2009 10:57:11 PM PDT by Migraine (Diversity is great... ...until it happens to YOU.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 87 | View Replies]

To: Saije

“Best ever” is a hilarious description to apply to any work of art. That said, ‘Shawshank Redemption’ is definitely up there. The first ‘Lord of the Rings’ movie and ‘Titanic’ are certainly up there, as well. Heck, now there’s a list of other great movies pouring through my brain...


98 posted on 09/12/2009 10:57:11 PM PDT by Lancey Howard
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Saije

Most important film ever made is “Cool Hand Luke”, the finest film ever made in history, is “The Lives of Others”.


99 posted on 09/12/2009 10:57:39 PM PDT by ansel12
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: devere

Jaws and Schindler’s are on my list too.


100 posted on 09/12/2009 10:58:38 PM PDT by beaversmom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 96 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120 ... 161-163 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson