Danielle Solzman
The Shawshank Redemption arrives on 4K Ultra HD for the first time as the film approaches it’s 27th anniversary since its release.
Frank Darabont, a screenwriter at the time, made the film his directorial feature debut. Darabont based his script on novella by Stephen King, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. He would follow it up a few years later with The Green Mile. In doing so, he is one of six filmmakers to see his first two feature films get nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. I must say that I love how Darabont optioned the rights for $5,000 only to get the check returned in a frame with a note from King. Also, the casting of Robbins also led to Roger Deakins being hired as a cinematographer on the film!
What’s so fascinating is that the film initially underperformed at the box office. Everything was going against it especially the competition from Pulp Fiction and Forrest Gump. It all changed following the Oscar nominations and a theatrical rerelease. We have the Turner acquisition of Castle Rock Entertainment to thank for the film’s popularity today. That and Warner Home Video shipping some 320,00 VHS copies for rent. Once the film started airing regularly on TNT, it’s fortunes would start changing for the better.
Synopsis
This inspiring drama tells the story of Andy Dufresne (Robbins), a prominent banker unjustly convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment at Maine’s Shawshank Prison. He is befriended by longtime convict Red (Freeman) who’s been in long enough to know the ropes and helps him cope with the frightening realities of prison life. As the two men grow closer, so does the sense of hope that can truly set them free.
Bonus Features
- Commentary by Frank Darabont (4K/Blu-ray)
- Hope Springs Eternal: A Look Back at The Shawshank Redemption
- Shawshank: The Redeeming Feature
- The SharkTank Redemption
- Storyboards
- Bogs Takes a Fall
- New Fish Arrive
- Photo Galleries
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Frank Darabont
CAST: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown, Gil Bellows, and James Whitmore
