I can't believe I've never watched The Shawshank Redemption before

[CatWoman]

this movie is AWESOME!!!

When Brooks died, I actually cried.

[BlooInBloo]

1. This is a joke, right?

It's ok if it's not, though. I still love you.

[CatWoman]

3. no, it's not a joke

:loveya:

that fucking POS warden!!!

I love the way Tim Robbins fucked him over!! :rofl:

[BlooInBloo]

11. lolz - yup. Just an all-around great flick.

[CatWoman]

17. what's really amazing is

it's a Stephen King movie :wow:

[BlooInBloo]

24. Oh yowsas - I didn't realize THAT.

:rofl:

[Mira]

50. It's from a Stephen King short story. N/T

[Aristus]

71. In some ways, it's better than the King story.

In the novel, King writes that Andy was able to access his phony identity ("Peter Stevens" in the book; "Randall Stevens" in the movie) in order to make good his escape, but provides only the vaguest hints that he was able to get his hands on the warden's dirty money.

In the novel, the warden resigns after the escape, a broken man. In the movie, his suicide in the face of arrest is a much more satisfying fate.

In the novel, Red is a red-haired white man. The line "Maybe because I'm Irish" carried over to the film word-for-word without explanation. I like that. B-)

[CatWoman]

73. ARISTUS!!!!!!!

:hi:

:loveya:

I haven't seen you in a long time!!

Every time I watch Jeopardy, I think of you (fondly, that is) :)

[Aristus]

77. I'm never far away...

Always great to see you, my darling Cat... :hug:

[sharesunited]

2. James Whitmore. And why did Brooks kill himself?

[CatWoman]

7. he just couldn't handle being "free"

:cry:

[Obamanaut]

82. I discovered, while working as a prison guard, that this sort of thing

really happens. One of the inmates at the prison where I worked was getting out, but said he’d be back. He was in his 70’s, in a wheel chair, could barely walk, had no family to go home to, and no job prospects. Inside, he had some status with the other inmates. People pushed his chair around, brought his meals to him in the mess hall, ran errands for him, etc.

About three weeks after he was released, he found himself a pistol, hobbled into a convenience store, and came back into “the system.”

[Skittles]

8. could not handle the real world after decades long incarceration

that's how I understood it

[UnseenUndergrad]

22. I believe...

the term is "institutionalized".

Inside he was an important man, an educated man; outside, he was just a used-up old con with arthritis in both hands... probably couldn't get a library card of his own, considering his former life.

[sharesunited]

30. Shattered prestige and self image. He was an elite on the inside.

[lunatica]

15. He was 'institutionalized'. Spent all his life in jail

Even cars weren't around when he went in.

[lunatica]

26. A Stephen King classic

I've watched it at least a dozen times. If I run across it no matter what part I catch it in I stop and watch the rest. The book is titled, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption

[alcibiades_mystery]

66. The book is titled Different Seasons

Other films they made from the four short stories in that book include Apt Pupil and Stand by Me.

[Aristus]

72. Andy Dufresne is mentioned by the character Dussander in the story "Apt Pupil."

Dufresne is the banker who helps Dussander purchase his stocks, before getting sent to prison. I've never seen the movie of "Apt Pupil", so I don't know if the crossover is included in the film.

[devilgrrl]

80. I had to put 'Different Seasons' down after reading 'Apt Pupil'

Waaay too disturbing..... :scared:

[Aristus]

83. Too much like real life, if you ask me. One of the most horrifying final lines in any novel:

"It was five hours later, and nearly dark, when they took him down from the tree." Provided you know why he was up in that tree, that is...

Did you pick "Different Seasons" back up in order to read "The Breathing Method"? Great story...

[proteus_lives]

89. Apt Pupil is one of my favorites.

Ultra-creepy. Have you ever seen the film version? Surprisingly good. Also check out an earlier King story with a similar theme. I believe it's title was "And Cain Rose Up."

[devilgrrl]

91. No, never picked it up again...

but will consider it. :-)

[tech3149]

84. Of the genre, I have a hard time choosing between

Shawshank and Green Mile. They both do a good job of showing the humanity of those that cross the legal system and the inhumanity of institutional correction systems that choose to punish rather than modify behavior.

My few run-ins with law enforcement, the officers come out guns blazing and try to show they are in control. In most cases, when I demonstrated I was not a threat to them or anyone else the interaction became totally civil. There were a few hard asses that you could bend over backwards and still have them treat you like "the Enemy".

I've worked in police departments and correctional facilities and I can tell you there is a percentage that will never get the idea of "protect and serve" or will see anyone accused or convicted of a crime to be the "worst of the worst". Anyone who can think and keep their emotions in check will soon find out that is total BS.

I won't even get into the judicial system! Just ask yourself, If a DA or prosecuting attorney "makes their bones" by turning in a high conviction rate, what balances out that survival instinct to preserve and further their career?

In Shawshank, it was just a lazy legal system that chose the easiest option to obtain a conviction. There was no real search for truth to administer justice. Same thing in Green Mile, prosecute the poor black man that can't afford to defend himself. Win a conviction and look like a hero.

In Shawshank, Brooks was truly the most sympathetic character. He had been broken down by the institution and couldn't deal with the freedom and choices you have to deal with in normal life. His crime was one of passion and I think we are all likely to do the same thing. Delacroix was pretty much the same thing but he showed his humanity by caring for that smart little mouse.
Coffey was the real genius of the story. He wasn't all that smart by normal definitions, but he had a love for all living things and had a skill that did much good in the course of his life.

Too long of a response at this time of night, but if you haven't seen it, check out Green Mile.

[undeterred]

4. I hate what happens to the mouse.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

9. Isn't that "The Green Mile?"

[undeterred]

13. Oh yeah.

:blush:

[sharesunited]

23. Easy mistake. Same director and stephen king as source material.

[geckosfeet]

45. Good movie too.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

5. I love movies with a revenge/redemption theme...this is one of the best.

[Skittles]

6. I watched it the first time last year, while donating blood

awesome :thumbsup:

[CatWoman]

10. he sure got over on them

:rofl:

:hi:

[KittyWampus]

19. interesting timing with posters and Farrah passing recently...

:cry:

[UTUSN]

12. It is SO good to see you. n/t

[CatWoman]

20. always nice to see you too, Doll

:hi:

:)

[KittyWampus]

14. a friend recovering from herion addiction used Brooks' character as an analogy to life

after you're committed to being clean.

[Fuzz]

16. One of my top 5

[givemebackmycountry]

18. That's one of those movies that kind of sneaks up on you.

And stays with you for a long, long, time.

It's also one of those movies that whenever I stumble across it, I stop what I'm doing and watch it until the credits roll.

It's Morgan Freeman's best role.

I'm glad you enjoyed it Cat.

The last minute of the film when Red is walking down the beach toward Andy, and the music starts to play kills me every time.

[elocs]

21. Congratulations on finding an old gem. There may be others you have missed too. n/t

[CatWoman]

28. sunday is normally my Fox Animation night

but they ran a movie instead, and surfing the channels I came upon it :)

[Captain Hilts]

25. I want to have a stab at the book before I see the movie. I hear both are GREAT!

[CakeGrrl]

93. I'd read the book first. I have every one of Stephen King's works

including those by his alias, Richard Bachmann, and I've preferred the novels to each of the movie adaptations that I've seen, though I've liked several of the movies.

SK gets 'typed' as a horror/blood-guts writer, but he infuses his stories with a lot of dark humor, and some aren't gory so much as they veer into the supernatural/sci-fi. I've had a number of laugh out loud moments reading his stories.

[merh]

27. I cried when Brooks died too

it is one of the best movies ever made, imho.

[charlie]

29. Hard to believe it's a King novella, isn't it?

His stuff almost never makes it to the screen without somehow turning into dreck.

[CatWoman]

33. I never read the book

but I'm going to order it ASAP

:hi:

[charlie]

37. It's a really good story

I'm not especially a King fan, but I enjoyed that one. For whatever reason, I think he's much better at short stories than novels.

Full title is Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, if you haven't gone looking for it yet. It's part of a collection, Different Seasons, if I remember right.

Lucky you, I'd like to see that flick for the first time again :hi:

[Morning Dew]

40. Different Seasons - four novellas

WIN
WIN
WIN

and


WIN


Great collection.

[Enthusiast]

62. I believe it includes 'The Body'

that was made into the movie Stand By Me.

[Morning Dew]

75. And Apt Pupil - which was made into a movie as well.

The movie wasn't that good.


I wish they'd figure out a way to do The Breathing Method.


My (humble) opinion is that the entire body of King's work fits into that Gentlemen's club.

Many more rooms, many more stories.

[Vickers]

43. "I'd like to see that flick for the first time again"

Har!

I say that all the time about movies, albums, books, etc. etc.

:thumbsup:

[Democrat 4 Ever]

47. King also wrote the short story that the movie "Stand By Me" is based upon.

Another gem with a lot of messages in the script.

[charlie]

51. Apt Pupil, too

True to form for most King movies, it went straight to the cut-out bin.

Breathing Method hasn't been done, though I think it's hardly a wonder why. People will pay to be scared, but to be squicked for 2 hours? I dunno.

[angrycarpenter]

35. A lot of movies have come out of that Night Shift book.

About ten by my count.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

48. Delores Claiborne...another SK treasure of a movie.

[charlie]

56. I haven't seen or read that one

Kathy Bates and Jennifer Jason Leigh, that's a quality pair. And the Tomatometer looks good at 87%. I'll check it out, thanks!

[angrycarpenter]

31. If not for Forest Gump it would have won best picture.

It was nominated and I was pulling for Shawshank but Forest Gump was also a great movie so I guess it deserved it's oscar. .

[dflprincess]

38. But Morgan Freeman was robbed in the Best Actor category

I liked Forest Gump as well and though Hanks gave a great performance - but I was pulling for Freeman that year.

[Pirate Smile]

32. That is one of those movies I watch over and over whenever I run across it on TV.

Luv.It!

[Selatius]

34. You should watch the Green Mile as well if you can. They're both great movies. nt

[tucsonlib]

36. A Great Movie. Now, Go Rent "V For Vendetta"

:popcorn:

[CatWoman]

39. OK

:)

[alfredo]

88. And "Waltz With Bashir."

[jesus_of_suburbia]

41. Love this movie! Glad you saw it and liked it too.

[Missy Vixen]

42. We just saw it a couple of months ago for the first time

What an amazing movie. I'm glad you enjoyed it, too.

I'll be watching it again soon!

[RandomThoughts]

44. That was one of the most inspirational movies for me.

I consider Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbinson two of the best movie heroes because of that movie.

And I think Shawshank redemption should also be filled under Educational

A librarian who would not give up. But even when in prison he was always free.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se8TM696HRY

[Cha]

46. It's one of my favorite

flix of all time..yay Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins~

[CatWoman]

49. what was the deal with 'the sisters'?

what took the guard so long to kick the leader's ass?

[Cha]

52. Well, I haven't seen it in a long

time although I've seen it more than once..it looks like I'm due to see it again soon 'cause I don't know what you're talkin' about.

Certain scenes standout to me but not "sisters" or guards who should be kicking ass..sorry, B-)

[backscatter712]

59. The sisters were the prison gang that was raping people, including Andy Dufresne.

[Cha]

92. Thanks..I wasn't

concentrating as much on that aspect but it came back when you explained.

[backscatter712]

55. The warden and the corrupt chief guard used the Sisters as a way of maintaining order.

Remember when the Warden threatened to throw Andy to "the Sodomites"?

That's how it worked - you toe the line, or the guards look the other way while the Sisters have their way with you.

I imagine it took a rather significant bribe to get the guards to take out the Sisters' leader. Also, note that Andy got a lot of clout from doing accounting work for the guards (and later crooked accounting for the warden).

[RandomThoughts]

60. I think your evaluation is wrong.

Why would there be a bribe, and who would it be from or too?

The sisters were part of the Wardens enforcement, like how Bush used fear of terrorism. He did not care about them but let them hurt people because he did not care about people and it added a fear element to his enforcement.

[backscatter712]

70. I think you're right, I mixed up my plot details.

This was just after Andy had offered his accounting services to the guards in exchange for beer for his fellow inmates.

When the guards had figured out they had a free accountant they could use to do their taxes for them, they sent a message to the Sisters to leave him alone - by making sure their leader never walked again...

Oh, yeah, Red & the fellow inmates didn't bribe the guards, they pitched in for coming home presents for Andy after he got back from the infirmary after that last brutal beating by the Sisters. Such as the rocks Andy used to make his chess set, and the Rita Hayworth poster Andy used to cover the tunnel he was digging through the wall...

[RandomThoughts]

57. Everything has some good and some bad.

Nobody can say exactly why good people have bad things happen. Like what happened to Andy. Nor can it be said why things happen when they do.

Thinking about that plot sequence, it was Andy working for the guards that led to him having protection, but the advice he was giving was within his learning, even if the guards took advantage of his unfair imprisonment to get the advice.

I would say Andy did not seek protection from the guards, but his working for them ended up creating that protection, and working for the guards is ambiguous as far as bad or good, but working for the corrupt warden would be considered bad. As he said, he had to go to prison to become a crook, but in working for them, he found ways to do good like the library, and it also eventually put him in the place to destroy the wrong that the Warden represented.

There are many themes of compromise and how people end up in different places, but it was Andy not giving up on a hope, that never made him become what the bad guards were. It is presumed that some of the guards were not bad, although in that film Stephen Kind did not show that.

Although it is a complex film, with many interpretations.

And as another poster said, 'the sisters' were just another part of the evil of the warden.

[CatWoman]

65. ahhhh.......

:think:

[spanone]

53. one of my favourite movies of all time...andy dufresne...it's from a stephen king novel

[mnhtnbb]

54. One of my top ten. I've lost count of how many times I've watched it.

[Yavin4]

58. I Still Cannot Decide Which Was The Best Movie That Year

Pulp Fiction or Shawshank.

[CatWoman]

64. excellent taste, as always

:hi:

[Contrary1]

61. My favorite movie of all time...

I was laying on the couch after chemo one night, having myself a major pity party.

And then Andy said: "Get busy living, or get busy dying."

My whole outlook changed at that very moment.

[Enthusiast]

63. Wow, that is amazing! nt

[Just-plain-Kathy]

67. "Do you trust your wife?" .....Great scene.

[seabeyond]

68. lol and movie watcher hubby watched dancing with wolves adn high noon first time today. i cant

believe he hadnt seen either of those movies.

[Obamanaut]

74. We just watched dances with wolves yesterday for the first time, and

One Eyed Jacks w/ Marlon Brando today. When our area went to digital tv in Feb, we lost tv because the converter wouldn't pick up the signal. We watch movies from the library, read, and listen to music.

Finding older unwatched movies is becoming more and more fun.

[CatWoman]

76. One Eyed Jacks is DA BOMB!!!!

Friend betrayed friend and was the recipient of the ultimate justice.

Marlon was delicious in that.

Another excellent Brando western: Appaloosa.

[saltpoint]

69. CatWoman, you chose a fine film to watch of a summer's weekend.

Way to go.


:thumbsup: :hi:

[omega minimo]

78. Tim Robbins rules

:kick:

[bridgit]

79. Shawshank is a good one

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

81. That letter Brooks sent to Red after he got out

"...Dear fellas, I can't believe how fast things move on the outside. I saw an automobile once when I was a kid, but now they're everywhere. The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry. The parole board got me into this halfway house called "The Brewer" and a job bagging groceries at the Foodway. It's hard work and I try to keep up, but my hands hurt most of the time. I don't think the store manager likes me very much. Sometimes after work, I go to the park and feed the birds. I keep thinking Jake might just show up and say hello, but he never does. I hope wherever he is, he's okay and makin' new friends. I have trouble sleepin' at night. I have bad dreams like I'm falling. I wake up scared. Sometimes it takes me a while to remember where I am. Maybe I should get me a gun, an, an rob the Foodway so they'd send me home. I could shoot the manager while I was at it, sort of like a bonus. I guess I'm too old for that sort of nonsense any more. I don't like it here. I'm tired of being afraid all the time. I've decided not to stay. I doubt they'll kick up any fuss. Not for an old crook like me. ..."

[Horse with no Name]

85. One of the very best movies I have ever seen

:thumbsup:

[opihimoimoi]

86. 37957 Andys number??

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

87. I think I'm one of the few who saw it in the theatre.

I'm proud of that fact.

[proteus_lives]

90. Read the original story!

It's worth it!

[davidpdx]

94. One of my all time favorites

I didn't see the movie until years after it was released, maybe 2001 or 2002. Now I've seen it so many times I know the lines to the movie.