Final Film Critique: Shawshank Redemption Pamela Lawson ENG 225 Instructor Markham December 12, 2013 The movie, The Shawshank Redemption (1994), is a remarkable story of a man imprisoned for life who finds friendship and eventually redemption through his acts of kindness and common decency. The main character is named Andy Dufresne and he is a young and successful banker convicted of killing his wife and her lover. He is send to Shawshank Prison to serve out his life sentence. Over the next 20 years in prison, Andy holds on to his optimism and gradually gains the respect of the other inmates. During his incarceration he befriends Ellis “Red” Redding, who is also serving a life sentence for murder, and they form a tight friendship giving compassion and comfort to one another.
The Shawshank Redemption is a film based on the Stephen King novel “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption”. It is based on the imprisonment of a thriving young accountant named Andy Dufresne, played by Tim Robbins. He is sent to prison for the murder of his late wife and her lover. Andy is enrolled in Shawshank prison, a disheartening place where hostility from both the prison guards and inmates is not only tolerated but quite common. While Andy is serving his sentence he comes across a man named Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding, played by Morgan Freeman.
The Shawshank Redemption The film, The Shawshank Redemption directed by Frank Darabont, is based on the lives of several prisoners at Shawshank State Prison. All of the prisoners and the prison itself are somehow redeemed or changed in the duration of the film. They battled against institutionalisation and fear and some learn to hope for a better future. The main character in the film is Andy Dufresne. He is a young banker who is convicted of the murder of his wife and her lover and is sentenced to life at Shawshank State Prison.
Shawshank Redemption won an Academy award for best picture and best actor which was given to Morgan Freeman. Andy Dufrense seemingly the cold killer of his cheating wife and her lover, sits in court getting question by the court prosecutor answering them emotionless and nonchalant. The judge sentence Andy to two life terms in Shawshank Prison. When Andy reaches Shawshank he immediately catches the attention of the prison veteran “Red”. One day while in the prison yard Andy approaches Red for a small rock hammer, Red is the “Sears” of the prison, not only did Red gain a customer that day but he also gained a friend for life.
This paper examines how storytelling, style and directing, acting, cinematography, sound, editing, and other elements of film making contribute to this film about patience, loyalty and hope. Written and directed by Frank Darabont, The Shawshank Redemption is a prison drama based on a Stephen King story. The story is presented in chronological order allowing the audience to experience the judicial and penitentiary system evident in 1947, the setting of the film. The film takes us through the trials and tribulations of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), a young successful banker, sentenced to two life sentences for murdering his wife and her secret lover. In conversations throughout the film, Andy proclaims his innocence.
Critique on The Stafford Prison Experiment Philip Zimbardo put together a prison life experiment that was to last 2 weeks. He wanted to understand more about how prisoners lose privacy, civil rights, liberty, and how the guards gain more control and social power. The experimental prison was set up in the basement of Stafford University more than seventy-five people volunteered for this experiment. Ten prisoners and eleven guards were randomly selected from these applicants. The participants chosen were emotionally stable, mature, physically healthy and law abiding citizens.
Charlie also worked so much that he ended up moving a cot into his lab to research, proving his avid enthusiasm. If he didn’t get an IQ boost, he would’ve never been able to do that. Secondly, Charlie pointed out in the beginning that he didn’t care that the intelligence wouldn’t last, and that he just wants to be able to experience it once. Even when he was being depressed about his mind regressing, he earnestly said that he didn’t blame anyone and that it was none of their faults. Charlie is a good person and was truly thankful for the operation.
The three characteristics, are hope and full of despair, freedom and afraid of the concept of freedom and Brave and coward. One of the differences between Andy has hope even though he is in jail, but Red is full of despair. Andy spent nineteen years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, but he still held on to the belief that there was a better life waiting for him outside. Red is full of despair because he is used to the prison life because he came into the prison way before Andy. Red has been in the prison for almost forty years.
Can religion help the parent forgive it’s own flesh, blood and bone – their child – any given crime? After four years of imprisonment Kenny returns home to stay with his mother, Myrna. For all these years Myrna has forced herself not to think about her son or his crime, but with Kenny’s return she finds herself in a very unpleasant position. In the first couple of months of Kenny’s imprisonment she visits him whenever she can, always asking him the same question: “But why?” (page 3, line 54) and getting the same response: “He knew he’d done wrong,” (page 3, line 56) but the response changes after a few weeks to complete silence. When Myrna gets sick the visits are put to an end.
What wasn’t normal was that she was sad, very sad. I had never seen my grandmother cry, that I could remember, and even worse I had no idea why she was crying. Now I can’t believe she didn’t cry more. Then she went to the hospital for a long time for various surgeries, and plans on what to do next. My brother and I stayed at my Grandpa’s house most of the time she was up there mostly only going home to sleep and get ready for school the next day, it was weird and confusing but my grandpa was good at getting our minds off of things and keeping our spirits up when he needed to.