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Matt Glasby

This is the latest instalment in our ongoing From the Vault feature series, in which we reflect on culturally significant movies celebrating notable anniversaries.
When the 67th Academy Awards nominations were announced on February 16, 1995, many were surprised that The Shawshank Redemption, a prison drama few had heard of and even fewer had seen, received seven nominations.
Besides the unwieldy title – what the hell was a Shawshank anyway? – and unstarry cast, it was based on a 1982 Stephen King novella, and they never won Oscars, did they?
Well, no. Forrest Gump was the big headline grabber, with Pulp Fiction hoovering up the critical cachet.


But in the years that followed, writer-director Frank Darabont’s debut, a celebration of how the human spirit endures against the odds, has been hailed as a modern classic, occupying the number-one spot on the IMDb’s much cited Top 250 Movies list since 2008.
Darabont was primarily a screenwriter for horror films whose first movie as director was the 1983 short The Woman in the Room, also based on a King story. The Shawshank Redemption, released 30 years ago this month, was a much more ambitious proposition.
Taken from the same King collection as The Body – which would be adapted into 1986’s glorious Stand by Me – The Shawshank Redemption charts the unlikely, decades-long friendship between former banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), incarcerated in Shawshank prison for killing his wife, which he denies, and lifer Ellis “Red” Redding (Morgan Freeman).
Over the years, Red, a man who knows how to get things, smuggles in a rock hammer so Dufresne can carve chess pieces, and a poster of actress Rita Hayworth to brighten up his cell wall.

While we have seen a lot of the prison business on screen before, The Shawshank Redemption is so beautifully written, shot and acted that there is no time to call cliché.
Robbins is perfect as the uptight Dufresne, who slowly wins the inmates – and the audience – over through strength of character rather than charm. Freeman, meanwhile, is all crinkly charisma as Red, his honeyed voice-over giving the film its warmth.
In the novella Red is a red-headed Irishman, hence the name, but Freeman’s presence adds layers of subtext to his struggle.
A strong supporting cast includes Clancy Brown as brutal prison officer Byron Hadley, and Bob Gunton as crooked Warden Norton, who Dufresne helps to launder money.

Roger Deakins’ cinematography is both gorgeous and apt, panning up in horror at Shawshank’s imposing edifice as Dufresne walks inside for the first time, then soaring like a bird when he plays the inmates opera over the Tannoy – just one of many opportunities he takes to improve prison life.
Darabont’s excellent script is not without its cheesy moments, but they are leavened with acknowledgements of darkness. Hadley beats a new inmate to death and Dufresne is repeatedly attacked and assaulted by “the sisters”, led by the terrifying Bogs Diamond (Mark Rolston).
But the harder the journey, the greater the hero, and the more we see Andy punished for a crime he did not commit, the more we admire his resolve. “I must admit I didn’t think much of Andy first time I laid eyes on him,” Red tells us. “Looked like a stiff breeze would blow him over.”
Over 19 years of incarceration, however, we come to realise he is actually a man of substance, strong enough to win a war of attrition against a pitiless system.

Unlike the rest of the inmates, Dufresne’s main goal is not just survival, but enrichment.
He writes a letter to the state every week requesting more books for the library. When his request is granted after six years, he resolves to write two per week to get even more.
He also helps inmates pass their exams and tries to immerse himself in beauty – the chess set, the opera, Rita herself – when all around is ugliness.
While this alone would be enough to power most well-meaning dramas, what pushes The Shawshank Redemption to greatness is that Dufresne is not just doing these things for their own sake; he has a deeper plan.
Almost everything we see him do is part of an elaborate escape. Shawshank’s walls are softer than they appear and crumble easily when scraped with a rock hammer; the poster covers the resulting tunnel. And Warden Norton’s laundered money will make Dufresne a rich man on the outside.

But it is hard to think of another film about a long con that makes us care as much about the magician as their tricks.
The final half-hour of the film, in which we at last learn the fiendishness of Dufresne’s plan and see him and Red reunited as free men on a Mexican beach, is as thrilling as it is emotionally satisfying.
So perhaps it is no wonder that, although The Shawshank Redemption lost the Oscar battle, eventually it won the hearts of millions of people.
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American cinema

Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman in a still from The Shawshank Redemption (1994). Frank Darabont’s prison drama did not win an Oscar, but in the 30 years since its release it has been hailed as one of the greatest films of all time. Photo: Courtesy of Park Circus/Warner Bros

Robbins and Freeman in a still from The Shawshank Redemption. 

(From left) Dion Anderson, Brian Delate and Clancy Brown in a still from The Shawshank Redemption.

(From left) Freeman, Gil Bellows and Brian Libby in a still from The Shawshank Redemption.

Robbins in a still from The Shawshank Redemption.

1 of the most controversial films ever, Natural Born Killers at 30 still shocks the senses

Woody Harrelson in a still from Natural Born Killers (1994). Photo: Warner Bros.

Woody Harrelson (left) and Juliette Lewis in a still from Natural Born Killers. The 1994 movie remains the most provocative film of Oliver Stone’s career and one of the most controversial movies ever. Photo: Warner Bros

Robert Downey Jnr (left) and Woody Harrelson in a still from Natural Born Killers. Photo: Warner Bros

Tom Sizemore and Juliette Lewis in a still from Natural Born Killers. Photo: Warner Bros

Woody Harrelson in a still from Natural Born Killers. Photo: Warner Bros

A still from Natural Born Killers. Photo: Warner Bros

The Village at 20 finds the bleak, daring M. Night Shyamalan thriller has aged well

Bryce Dallas Howard in a still from M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village (2004), which remains one of his very best films. Photo: Touchstone Pictures

Adrien Brody in a still from The Village (2004). Photo: Touchstone Pictures

Director M. Night Shyamalan (left) and William Hurt on the set of The Village. Photo: Touchstone Pictures

Joaquin Phoenix in a still from The Village (2004). Photo: Touchstone Pictures.

Bryce Dallas Howard in a still from The Village (2004). Photo: Touchstone Pictures

The Notebook at 20: how Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams shot to stardom in 2004 romance

Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in a still from The Notebook. Ironically for a romance, they had to overcome a mutual dislike. Equally ironic, they fell in love after making the 2004 romance, which shot both of them to stardom. Photo: New Line Cinema

James Garner (left) and Gena Rowlands in a still from The Notebook. Photo: New Line Cinema.

Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in a still from The Notebook. Photo: New Line Cinema.

Director Nick Cassavetes (left) and Gena Rowlands on the set of The Notebook. Photo: New Line Cinema.

Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in a still from The Notebook. Photo: New Line Cinema

The Babadook at 10: supernatural horror film Stephen King called ‘deeply disturbing’ is unafraid to tackle a taboo

Essie Davis (top) as Amelia and Noah Wiseman as Samuel in a still from The Babadook (2014).



Essie Davis (left) as Amelia and Noah Wiseman as Samuel in a still from The Babadook (2014), a horror film that poses questions no one dare ask.



Essie Davis as Amelia Vanek in a still from The Babadook (2014).

Noah Wiseman (left) as Samuel and Essie Davis as Amelia in a still from The Babadook (2014).

Noah Wiseman as Samuel in a still from The Babadook (2014).

Essie Davis (top) as Amelia and Noah Wiseman as Samuel in a still from The Babadook (2014).

Shaun of the Dead at 20: how Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright’s zombie comedy prefigured today’s infantilised pop culture

Simon Pegg (front) in a still from Shaun of the Dead. Photo: Rogue Pictures

Simon Pegg (left) as Shaun and Nick Frost as Ed in a still from Shaun of the Dead. The 2005 “Britpop film” spawned a new genre, the romantic zombie comedy, or rom-zom-com. Photo: Rogue Pictures

(From left) Dylan Moran, Kate Ashfield, Simon Pegg and Lucy Davis in a still from Shaun of the Dead. Photo: Rogue Pictures.

Director Edgar Wright (left) and Mark Donovan on the set of Shaun of the Dead. Photo: Rogue Pictures.

Nick Frost (left) and Simon Pegg in a still from Shaun of the Dead. Photo: Rogue Pictures.

Kate Ashfield (front) and Simon Pegg in a still from Shaun of the Dead. Photo: Rogue Pictures.

Lifestyle

Entertainment

Culture

Film & TV

The Stephen King novella adaptation with Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins lost out to Forrest Gump at the 1995 Oscars but holds up 30 years on


The Stephen King novella adaptation with Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins lost out to Forrest Gump at the 1995 Oscars but holds up 30 years on.


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