The Shawshank Redemption
The Shawshank Redemptionis an iconic flick and one of the most successful adaptations of a Stephen King story , but there remains some muddiness about the eld of Andy Dufresne and exactly how long he spends in Shawshank prison . Famously , theater director Frank Darabont ’s moving-picture show was a box function flop on its initial theatrical run in 1994 before get seven Academy Award nominations without pick out home a single Oscar . Nevertheless , the tale of Red ( Morgan Freeman ) and Andy Dufresne ’s ( Tim Robbins ) friendly relationship within the wall of Shawshank prison house is considered both a beloved classic and a brilliant book adaptation in present-day culture .
Despite being base on Stephen King ’s novella , Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption , Frank Darabont ’s moving-picture show deviates importantly from the source material both in damage of story and casting . For example , The Shawshank RedemptionremovesBrooks Hatlen ’s offense entirely from the story , while the narrator , Ellis Boyd “ Red ” Redding , go from being a white Irishman in the book to being played by Morgan Freeman ’s loop of the quality . Similarly , the novella describes Andy Dufresne as a “ poor , smashing , little world , ” making him strikingly different physically from the towering Tim Robbins .
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Despite these change , working out the amount of time Andy spends in Shawshank prison is childlike . According to Red , he first arrives in “ early 1947 , ” while his remarkable leakage takes stead in 1966 , meaning that he spends nineteen years in jail . However , since the movie never mention his age , it is necessary to name to the novelette , in which Red claims thatconvicted manslayer Andy Dufresneis thirty when he first arrives at Shawshank , make up him forty - nine days old when he escapes . There is also a year or less between Andy ’s escape and Red gaining his own freedom , with the ten - year gaps between each of his parole hearings making this relatively comfortable to work out . The first , which take place just before Andy Dufresne arrives in 1947 , mark twenty years of Red ’s incarceration ; the 2nd is ten years later on in 1957 , with the third in 1967 . While the moving-picture show is a little hazy regarding how long after his release Red join Andy in Zihuatanejo , it seems potential that Andy Dufresne is fifty year quondam at the end ofThe Shawshank Redemption .
Unsurprisingly , the movie ’s variance from the narration , which is just one part ofStephen King’sDifferent Seasonscollection , perplex these details . While the novella says Andy Dufresne ’s geezerhood when he is first taken to the prison is thirty , it also says he arrives there in 1948 rather than 1947 . Similarly , the amount of sentence he and Red are in prison is significantly longer . Rather than escaping in 1966 , Andy does n’t get out until 1975 , and the story terminate in May 1977 , make Andy Dufresne fifty - nine .
There are reasons that these changes to dates and timescales make gumption from a storytelling perspective . For a start , there is a certain amount of condensing that is necessary to bring the news report to the screen . The art of book - to - film adjustment can easily go improper , but writer / director Frank Darabontavoids this cakehole by alleviate necessary story alteration to fully embrace the tarradiddle ’s themes . This may explain whyThe Shawshank Redemptionis IMDBs best - rated movieand , more pertinently , why the movie is so attractively paced . It also remains hard to imagine good performances than those given by Freeman and Robbins , which further elevatesThe Shawshank Redemptionas an enduring will to desire and friendship in film .
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