“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...
I don’t see why Shawshank is a lefty film. I like the part where Tim Robbins talks about hope, and how there is something inside us no one else can touch. It’s the ultimate triumph of patience and persistance and dedication. The movie doesn’t deny God, but confirms that he is in control, and that in the end, the Warden’s quote is very apt, that his Judgement is swift and it comes.
I like the part at the end where Freeman talks about the feelings that only a free man can feel. I like how they deal with rehabilitation, in how it has to be a fundamental shift in how someone sees the world, and that he gets out because for the first time he was able to truthfully say he was guilty.
I don’t know if it is my favourite, but it’s right up there.