Frank Darabont wrote and directed The Shawshank Redemption, a 1994 American drama film based on Stephen King's 1982 novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. Despite his protestations of innocence, banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is sentenced to life in Shawshank State Penitentiary for the murders of his wife and her boyfriend.
The prison drama movie ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ trailer has dropped by Netflix ahead of the film’s release date which is on March 1st 2022.
Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is condemned to two life sentences in jail for the murders of his wife and her boyfriend. Andy, on the other hand, is the only one who knows he didn't commit the atrocities. During his time there, he establishes a connection with Red (Morgan Freeman), witnesses the cruelty of prison life, adapts, and assists the warden, among other things, all in the span of 19 years.
Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne, a banker sentenced to life in prison in 1947 for the murder of his wife and her lover
Morgan Freeman as Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding, a prison contraband smuggler who befriends Andy
Bob Gunton as Samuel Norton, the pious and cruel warden of Shawshank penitentiary
William Sadler as Heywood, A member of Red's gang of long-serving convicts
Clancy Brown as Byron Hadley, the brutal captain of the prison guards
Gil Bellows as Tommy Williams, a young convict imprisoned for burglary in 1965
James Whitmore as Brooks Hatlen, the elderly prison librarian, imprisoned since the early 1900s
Mark Rolston as Bogs Diamond, the head of 'the Sisters' gang and a prison rapist
Jeffrey DeMunn as the prosecuting attorney in Dufresne's trial
Alfonso Freeman as Fresh Fish Con
Ned Bellamy and Don McManus as, respectively, prison guards Youngblood and Wiley
Dion Anderson as Head Bull Haig.
Renee Blaine portrays Andy's wife and Scott Mann portrays her golf-instructor lover Glenn Quentin
Frank Medrano plays Fat Ass, one of Andy's fellow new inmates who is beaten to death by Hadley
Bill Bolender plays Elmo Blatch, a convict who may actually be responsible for the crimes for which Andy is convicted
James Kisicki and Claire Slemmer portray the Maine National Bank manager and a teller, respectively
Darabont bought the film rights to King's story in 1987, but he didn't start working on it until five years later, when he spent eight weeks writing the script. Darabont acquired a $25 million budget for The Shawshank Redemption two weeks after submitting his script to Castle Rock Entertainment, and pre-production began in January 1993. Many celebrities of the period auditioned for the role of Andy, including Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, and Kevin Costner.
‘The Shawshank Redemption’ received mostly positive reviews upon its initial release. Birdman of Alcatraz, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Cool Hand Luke, and Riot in Cell Block 11 were all compared by some reviewers to earlier well-received prison dramas.
Shawshank was named on Roger Ebert's list of The Great Movies in 1999. The film has been nominated for the American Film Institute's top 100 film or film-related topics lists, or has appeared on them. It was nominated for AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies list in 1998, and it was ranked number 72 on the revised list in 2007, beating out Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction.
While The Shawshank Redemption garnered positive reviews upon its initial release, particularly for its story and performances by Robbins and Freeman, film was a box office flop, grossing only $16 million during its first run.
It went on to win numerous award nominations, including seven Academy Award nods, as well as a theatrical re-release that brought the film's box-office gross to $73.3 million when combined with international receipts.