The Shawshank Redemption Reaction
Added 2025-05-24 21:00:04 +0000 UTC=======================================
Comments
That was a really good reaction, Liam! I took my time with it, and spread out watching over 3 nights, because I just love this movie so much. The first house my husband and I bought was 2 towns over from Buxton, ME, and yes... those stone walls run all over the place in that area, because it was once farmland, and it marked property. There are remnants everywhere, still. We sold the house last year (we've lived in Vegas for 6 years) but watching this made me homesick! Living in Maine, Stephen King is obviously super popular, but he's also super down to earth. I have friends who have run into him in places like doctor's offices, and even then, he's down to chat and take photos with fans.
Kirstie Brote
2025-06-02 05:46:51 +0000 UTCThis came out in 1994 at the same time as Forrest Gump, which led it to perform poorly in cinemas. Since coming out on VHS and DVD it's frequently been given among the highest ratings of any movies. This is a prime example of what makes Stephen King so much more than just a horror writer. Once a woman in his local supermarket told him 'I don't like your stuff, I prefer emotive stuff like Shawshank Redemption' and she didn't believe him when he said 'I wrote that as well'. Emotive character focus is a common theme in his writing, and I'm going to quote something of his in that vein on one of your other posts tonight, something that makes me cry in the same sort of way as the Brooks montage (and, literally in this rewatch, at the opera music scene and the line 'every last man in Shawshank felt free'). The rock-hammer-shaped hole Andy carved in the Warden's Bible was in the Book of Exodus, as in escape, of Moses and his people from Egypt. I've seen this movie around 10 times in the last 20 years and it's only now I've realised that Hadley was played by the white-haired guy I know from some of his later work. So thanks for that - you can never know what new things you can hope to discover. Love the music, and love the message about hope. Something all of us would do well not to give up on.
Ed Green
2025-05-25 20:56:38 +0000 UTC
