Shawshank Redemption's journey from flop to classic
The Independent|September 23, 2024
The producers wanted Tom Cruise. The creek in its most famous scene was toxic. And barely anyone saw it upon its release 30 years ago. So what changed, asks Tom Fordy
Tom Fordy
Shawshank Redemption's journey from flop to classic

I remember well my introduction to The Shawshank Redemption. Someone I once knew – a true Nineties lad’s lad – handed me a VHS copy and told me it was “a beautiful film”. He was not the sort of bloke who ordinarily talked about beautiful art. But he was right. Beneath the stone walls, the brutality, and the tragedy of an innocent man condemned to a life term, The Shawshank Redemption was that very thing: a story of profound beauty.

“This was a miracle,” says executive producer David Lester. “This story was so human.” It’s incredible – no, criminal – that the film flopped when it was released on this day 30 years ago. But – just as Tim Robbins’s Andy Dufresne crawled through a “river of shit” and came out clean on the other side – The Shawshank Redemption emerged as one of the great cultural touchstones of its decade, if not the entirety of cinema history. It’s ranked on the Internet Movie Database as the greatest film ever made.

“All I know,” Robbins told Mark Kermode in 2004, “is that there isn’t a day when I’m not approached about that film – approached by people who say how important that film is to them, who tell me that they’ve seen it 20, 30, 40 times, and who are just so... thankful.”

Based on a Stephen King novella and directed by Frank Darabont, it tells the story of Forties banker Andy, who’s jailed for murdering his wife and her lover. Inside Shawshank State Prison, he befriends Red (Morgan Freeman) and whiles away the years by chiselling rocks, rehauling the prison library, and finding a creative use for pin-up posters.

The cast and crew, of course, knew how good it was from Darabont’s script alone. “It’s really quite a remarkable piece,” Lester says, talking from Los Angeles via Zoom. “I never read a better script in my life, right from the jump.”

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September 23, 2024-Ausgabe von The Independent.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September 23, 2024-Ausgabe von The Independent.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS THE INDEPENDENTAlle anzeigen
Fiji claim historic Cardiff win to deepen Welsh crisis
The Independent

Fiji claim historic Cardiff win to deepen Welsh crisis

Wales slumped to a record-equalling 10th successive Test match defeat as Fiji claimed a 24-19 Autumn Nations Series victory in Cardiff.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
November 11, 2024
Bold Scotland fail to stop steady Springbok charge
The Independent

Bold Scotland fail to stop steady Springbok charge

Scotland produced a spirited display but lacked the guile to get over the line as they went down to a 32-15 defeat by world champions South Africa at Murrayfield. Three first-half tries – two from Makazole Mapimpi either side of an opportunist score from Thomas du Toit – gave the Boks a 19-9 interval lead after the Scots had the double setback of a 20-minute red card for Scott Cummings and a Ben White try chalked off.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
November 11, 2024
Arsenal stop rot at Chelsea but Liverpool real winners
The Independent

Arsenal stop rot at Chelsea but Liverpool real winners

One of those games where, as entertaining as it ended up, it’s hard not to look to those who weren’t on the pitch. That isn’t even Bukayo Saka, who had to go off injured. It is, of course, Liverpool, with the leaders having extended the gap over both Manchester City and Arsenal this weekend.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
November 11, 2024
Emotional Cavendish bows out with a trademark finish
The Independent

Emotional Cavendish bows out with a trademark finish

Sir Mark Cavendish sprinted to victory in his final race in professional cycling yesterday, bringing to an end a glittering career that will see him immortalised in the history of the sport.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
November 11, 2024
BUY NOW PANIC LATER
The Independent

BUY NOW PANIC LATER

From tech to takeaways, if you don't have to pay it all now, why not splash out? Ellie Muir looks at the payment service Klarna and how it has enticed her and millions of others

time-read
6 Minuten  |
November 11, 2024
Joy, pain and awkward truth behind every climber's tale
The Independent

Joy, pain and awkward truth behind every climber's tale

Everest is there for the conquering but Rod Ardehali finds distressing stories of overcrowding, pollution and locals who disappear from view after helping climbers reach their dream

time-read
7 Minuten  |
November 11, 2024
It's not just bad weather that challenges our winemakers
The Independent

It's not just bad weather that challenges our winemakers

November is a time when many vineyards across the northern hemisphere can let out a deep sigh of relief.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
November 11, 2024
There's no benefit in playing chicken with Trump on trade
The Independent

There's no benefit in playing chicken with Trump on trade

This week Rachel Reeves will use her Mansion House speech in the City of London to \"promote free and open trade between nations\".

time-read
4 Minuten  |
November 11, 2024
Dutch police use hologram to hunt sex worker's killer
The Independent

Dutch police use hologram to hunt sex worker's killer

In Amsterdam's red light district, a hologram of a woman who was brutally murdered 15 years ago stares back at you through a window. The life-sized rendering of 19-year-old sex worker Bernadett “Betty” Szabo leans forward and breathes on the glass, unveiling the word “help”.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
November 11, 2024
Russia losing 1,500 soldiers a day, claims UK army chief
The Independent

Russia losing 1,500 soldiers a day, claims UK army chief

Daily death toll at its highest since the start of war in Ukraine

time-read
3 Minuten  |
November 11, 2024