So, after having watched The Shawshank Redemption for the brazillionth time, I noticed something…
…I don’t think that - even when I watched the movie for the first time - I didn’t know that Andy was going to escape. It seemed pretty obvious from the original previews, I think.
My entire experience of the movie has this underlying theme that I know Andy is escaping, very very very patiently. Certain parts of the movie don’t really work for me, like Andy tutoring the kid for year, and although obviously the kid getting shot is a significant catalyst, Andy was planning on escaping anyways.
So, my question is… did anybody here ever watch The Shawshank Redemption without knowing anything about the story (either from the original King short story, or from trailers, reviews or word-of-mouth)? If so, were you surprised by the big reveal towards the end, that Andy had been digging his way out for almost 20 years? If you didn’t know that he escaped, how was the movie working for you up till then?
I *wish *I hadn’t known he was going to escape. I’d read the book, years earlier, and so I knew, going in, exactly what was going to happen. I think not knowing would’ve made the movie even better. The big reveal near the end would’ve had a larger impact, for sure.
I saw the film in the very early stages of its word-of-mouth success phase, and knew nothing of the story. It was a very satisfying reveal, and I’m glad I was in the dark.
It’s funny that you started this thread today. For some reason, I’d never gotten around to seeing it, and awhile back I TiVo’d it and then forgot to watch it until yesterday. I had no idea that he was going to escape - for some reason I kept expecting him to find a way to prove his innocence and get released. In a way, it’s a let-down, because he’s still believed to be guilty. At the very end, though, when Red finds him on the beach, working on the boat, it doesn’t really matter because he’s free.
I did read the King story first so I knew what was going to happen. The full title to the novella is Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. The novella is one I re-read from time to time I think it was one of King’s best works.
It’s one of my favorite movies. I had no idea about the ending…in fact I thought the film did a good job of making us believe Andy was on the verge of committing suicide.
The final scene on the beach is just perfect. I’ve always thought this was ultimately a love story between the two friends.
I definitely saw the movie with no knowledge of the ending. I love the movie, it is one of my all time favorites.
I didn’t expect “the kid” to get murdered, and I didn’t expect Andy to escape – the whole bit about him asking for a length of rope, after making his bitter comment about it was time “to get busy livin’, or get busy dyin’” after spending two months in the hole… I just didn’t see how he could escape.
Obviously, knowing the title and Hollywood convention, once Andy was revealed to actually be innocent, I expected him to come out on top in the end. I just couldn’t see it how it would happen without being too much of a deus ex machina. So the ending was miraculously uplifting.
I’d rather the movie not have ended with Red meeting Andy on the beach, it should remain something he looks forward to. I later read the story version and really like the way the story ends, “I hope.” Sums it all up really.
The novella is wonderful, if you ever get a chance to read it.
There’s a part in the movie that’s not in the book…when Andy plays La Nozze Figaro on the record player for all the inmates. The music is absolutely breathtaking, and I’m glad they did that.
I heartily concur. I had read the novella numerous times before seeing the movie, yet the movie still overwhelmed me. I had the same reaction after reading The Body and then seeing** Stand By Me**.
I knew nothing about it and while watching couldn’t care less whether he escaped or not. The main character just struck me as a whiney bastard. Having him be an innocent whiney bastard just made the whole idea of a redemption being in there silly, as does him escaping.
You know I had seen the previews, and the poster was very much a ‘freedom’ image, but watching the film I was drawn in enough that I didn’t start thinking ahead so the reveal worked for me.
I didn’t know anything about it going in. (I can’t remember why I was watching a movie I knew nothing about – maybe a friend wanted to see it?) The movie set me up to really, really want Andy to escape and the villains to get what was coming to them. And then it gave me exactly what I wanted. A truly satisfying movie experience. (I’m not so big on movies that leave me feeling depressed. If I wanted to feel depressed, I could sit at home and stare at the wall and save 10 bucks. If I’m paying to be entertained, I’d like to leave the theater feeling good.)
And yes, I’d say Andy tutoring Tommy and then Tommy getting shot works for me, at least in the sense that it pushed my hatred for the Warden to another level and made the payoff that much more fulfilling.
hmmm that book had 4 short stories in it, “the Body” aka Stand by Me, Shawshank Redemption of course, “Apt Pupil” which was made into a truly lame movie (since when are modern movies MORE tame and less shocking than the old book they came from. what was the other one? the Breathing Method, the only one that didnt make it to film. great book with 4 great stories.
I thought the plot made more sense in the movie version, or at least was more fittingly ironic. In the novella, he had set up a false identity before he ever went to prison. Whereas in the movie, he set up a false identity to help the Warden cover up his financial crimes.
I didn’t know anything about it. I didn’t have any sense of a “reveal” though. It’s a movie about an innocent man in prison made for the masses, of course he was going to escape. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it, I think it’s a good movie, I just didn’t have any wow moment or anything.