The Shawshank Redemption
Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
Country
Production
Budget
$25 000 000
Box office
$28 418 687
Director
Actors
Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown, Gil Bellows, James Whitmore, Mark Rolston, Jeffrey DeMunn, Larry Brandenburg
All actors and roles (10)
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Producer
Niki Marvin, David V. Lester, Liz Glotzer
Camera operator
Composer
Artist
Terence Marsh, Jack Evans
Audition
Deborah Aquila, Julie Lichter
Editing
Short description
Framed in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film is based on Stephen King's novella "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption," published as part of the collection "Different Seasons" (1982).
- Stephen King's original novella, according to the author himself, was the culmination of all his impressions from various prison films he watched as a child.
- Tommy Williams' role was originally written for Brad Pitt.
- Warden Norton whistles the hymn 'Eine feste Burg ist unser Gott,' which translates roughly to 'A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.'
- The film is dedicated to Allen Greene, a close friend of the director. Allen passed away shortly before the film's release due to complications from AIDS.
- Dennis Baker, the former warden of Mansfield Prison, where the film was shot on location, played the role of an elderly inmate sitting in the prison bus behind Tommy Williams.
- Rob Reiner envisioned Harrison Ford and Tom Cruise in the roles of Red and Andy Dufresne, respectively.
- The role of Andy Dufresne was also offered to Kevin Costner, but the actor declined, and later greatly regretted it.
- In Stephen King's original novella, Red is Irish. Despite Morgan Freeman, who is Black, playing Red in the film adaptation, it was decided to leave in the line "Maybe it's because I'm Irish" as a successful joke.
- Although almost all the residents of Mansfield expressed a desire to participate in the film's mass scenes, most were too busy with their work to film. The extras had to be recruited from a local almshouse, and some of its inhabitants were former prisoners.
- When close-ups of Andy Dufresne's hands are shown on screen – when he loads the revolver at the beginning of the film and when Andy carves his name on the wall of his cell – those are actually the hands of director Frank Darabont. These shots were filmed during post-production.
- Two of the Shawshank prisoners are named Heywood and Floyd. This is a reference to Arthur C. Clarke's *Space Odyssey* trilogy, whose connecting character is Dr. Heywood Floyd.
- Andy Dufresne's prison number is 37927.
- Red's cell number is 237. These same numbers appear in both film adaptations of Stephen King's novel 'The Shining' (the 1980 film and the 1997 miniseries) – there, it's the number of the hotel room inhabited by the ghost of a woman. These numbers also appear in the film 'Stand by Me' (1986), based on Stephen King's novella 'The Body' – there, it's the amount of change collected by the four young heroes ($2.37).
- A portrait of Albert Einstein appears on the wall in Andy Dufresne's cell. This is a reference to the fact that Tim Robbins, who played Andy Dufresne, was simultaneously filming the romantic comedy 'IQ' (1994), in which Albert Einstein (played by Walter Matthau) was one of the main characters.
- Filming took place at the Mansfield Correctional Institution in Ohio. The prison was in such a dilapidated state that it had to be brought up to standard.
- Stephen King agreed to sell the rights to his work for almost nothing, as he and Frank had a long-standing and close friendship. This happened after Frank had quite successfully adapted King's story "The Woman in the Room."
- The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals criticized the film, in which the only representative of the fauna was the crow of Old Man Brooks. The film includes a scene of feeding the bird a worm found in the main character's plate during lunch. The society insisted that a pre-deceased larva, which had died naturally, be used. Once such an individual was found, the scene was filmed.
- The film the prisoners are watching is "Gilda."
- The photographs of a young Morgan Freeman on the documents are actually photographs of his son, Alfonso Freeman, who also appeared in one of the film's episodes.
- Despite not earning much money in theaters, the film became one of the most successful video releases, and subsequently on DVD.
- Frank Darabont's screenplay greatly appealed to another director who had successfully adapted the works of Stephen King – Rob Reiner, the director of "Stand by Me" (1986) and "Misery" (1990). Reiner was so captivated by the material that he offered Darabont $2.5 million for the screenplay rights and to direct the film. Darabont seriously considered the offer, but ultimately decided that this project was a "chance to do something truly great" and directed the film himself.
- The role of Andy Dufresne was initially offered to Tom Hanks. He was very interested, but couldn't accept the offer because he was already committed to the "Forrest Gump" (1994) project. Later, Tom Hanks starred in the lead role in Frank Darabont's prison drama "The Green Mile" (1999), also based on a novel by Stephen King.
- The film is based on the novella 'Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption' by Stephen King, published as part of the collection 'Different Seasons' (1982).
- Filming took place at the Mansfield Correctional Institution in Ohio. The prison was in such a deplorable state that it had to be renovated to make it presentable.
- Stephen King's original novella was, in the author's own words, the culmination of all his impressions from various prison movies he had watched as a child.
- Stephen King agreed to sell the rights to his work for almost nothing, as he and Frank share a long and strong friendship. This happened after Frank successfully adapted King's story 'The Woman in the Room' for the screen.
- The Humane Society of the United States criticized the film, in which the only representative of the animal kingdom was old Brooks's raven. The movie features a scene where the bird is fed a worm found in the main character's plate during lunch. The Society insisted that a dead larva that had died of natural causes be used. Once such a specimen was found, the scene was filmed.
- The role of Tommy Williams was originally written for Brad Pitt.
- The painting the prisoners are looking at is 'Gilda'.
- Warden Norton whistles the hymn 'Eine feste Burg ist unser Gott,' the title of which translates roughly to 'A Mighty Fortress Is Our God'.
- The photographs of a young Morgan Freeman on the documents are actually photos of his son, Alphonso Freeman, who also appeared in one of the film's scenes.
- Although the film did not make much money in theaters, it became one of the highest-grossing releases on home video, and subsequently on DVD.
- Dennis Baker, the former warden of Mansfield Prison where the film's location shots were taken, appeared in the role of an elderly prisoner sitting in the prison bus behind Tommy Williams.
- Frank Darabont's screenplay was highly praised by another director who had successfully adapted the works of Stephen King—Rob Reiner, the director of 'Stand by Me' (1986) and 'Misery' (1990). Reiner was so captivated by the material that he offered Darabont $2.5 million for the rights to the screenplay and the direction of the film. Darabont gave the offer serious consideration, but ultimately decided that this project was a 'chance to do something truly great' and directed the film himself.
- The role of Andy Dufresne was initially offered to Tom Hanks. He was very interested but could not accept the offer because he was already committed to the project 'Forrest Gump' (1994). Tom Hanks later starred in the lead role of Frank Darabont's prison drama 'The Green Mile' (1999), which was also based on a novel by Stephen King.
- The role of Andy Dufresne was also offered to Kevin Costner, but the actor turned down the offer, a decision he later deeply regretted.
- In Stephen King's original novella, Red is Irish. Although Morgan Freeman, an African American, played the role of Red in the adaptation, it was decided to keep Red's line, 'Maybe because I'm Irish,' in the film as a clever joke.
- When close-ups of Andy Dufresne's hands are shown—such as when he loads the revolver at the beginning of the film and when Andy carves his name into the cell wall—they are actually the hands of director Frank Darabont. These shots were filmed during post-production.
- Two of the Shawshank prisoners are named Heywood and Floyd. This is a reference to Arthur C. Clarke's Space Odyssey trilogy, in which the connecting character is Dr. Heywood Floyd.
- Red's cell number is 237. These same digits appear in both screen adaptations of Stephen King's novel 'The Shining' (the 1980 film and the 1997 miniseries), where it is the hotel room number haunted by a woman's ghost. These numbers also appear in the film 'Stand by Me' (1986), based on Stephen King's story 'The Body,' as the amount of change collected by the four young protagonists ($2.37).
- A portrait of Albert Einstein appears on the wall in Andy Dufresne's cell. This is a nod to the fact that Tim Robbins, who played Andy Dufresne, was simultaneously filming the romantic comedy 'I.Q.' (1994), in which one of the main characters was Albert Einstein (played by Walter Matthau).
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