Celebrating 30 years with ‘Shawshank'
- Brett Hiner: A Work in Progress
- August 23, 2024
- 423
When you teach a film studies class, perhaps the question most often asked by students — aside from “Do I have to put my cellphone away?” — is “What is your favorite movie?” It is a question not easily answered, in part because I am a firm believer in time and perspective allowing for how one both receives and perceives a film.
In the early 1980s, I assuredly would have said “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi” was numero uno. My youthful obsession with that film — and the Kenner figures, playsets and trading cards that were released with it — would likely be classified as “unhealthy” these days. And while still a favorite, it has since space-jumped its way out of my top 50 … probably.
However, when answering that question, since 1994 and the years that have encapsulated my 28-year teaching career, one film has been my go-to response (as it has for many, many folks, maybe none more so than Northeast Ohioans): “The Shawshank Redemption.”
The Stephen King penned novella, brilliantly adapted by screenwriter and Director Frank Darabont, celebrates its 30th birthday this fall. Since its release, Destination Mansfield, Mansfield’s economic development corporation, has held anniversary gatherings celebrating the film’s ties to Northeast Ohio and its massive, global popularity.
This year brought Darabont, Bob Gunton (Warden Norton), William Sadler (Heywood), Gil Bellows (Tommy) and Clancy Brown (Capt. Hadley), to name a few, back to the Ohio State Reformatory for a series of panels, discussions and reflections about the Shawshank experience, an experience that still seems so meaningful to all those involved, especially its audience.
The panel, moderated by Turner Classic Movie host Ben Mankiewicz, was a nearly two-hour chat filled with filmmaking tidbits that deepened one’s understanding of the film’s ascension to its modern-day classic status.
Side note: It continues to hold the rank of Best Film Ever on Internet Movie Database, being more loved than film heavyweights “The Godfather,” “Casablanca” and “Psycho.”
Thirty years later the actors’ love for the film and each other seems to have only grown deeper. That might help explain why it is so adored by so many: the film’s authenticity.
Sadler, who played prisoner Heywood, reminisced about his love for James Whitmore, who played convict Brooks Hatlen. Whitmore passed away from lung cancer in 2009.
“He was the gentlest, kindest actor on the set,” Sadler said. “I remember when we were filming the scene when he was holding the knife to my neck after he had found out he was being paroled. His hand was shaking terribly, nervous he would actually hurt me. Never mind that the knife had been so dulled it would not cut through melted butter. If you watch closely, you can see me pushing his arm up to get the knife to actually touch my skin. It is the kind of human being James Whitmore was.”
Darabont, still emotional about the film’s success, reflected on how lucky he was to have been given the freedom from the production company to make his first feature-length film relatively unobstructed from studio executives.
“Rob Reiner had just come off making ‘A Few Good Men’ and offered me some money for the script,” Darabont said. “Because of the offer, I had to think about it, right? His version would have had Tom Cruise playing Andy and Harrison Ford playing Red. It probably would have done quadruple the initial box office as ours.
“But I slept on it and had to say no. And ask yourself, can you picture anyone other than Tim (Robbins) and Morgan (Freeman) playing those roles, supported by our brilliant ensemble? And anyone bettering Morgan’s narration? No way. Sometimes you get lucky because someone said no.”
Personally, I remember seeing the film on my college campus back in 1994 and immediately heading over to the office of the head of student programming and asking for the movie poster so I could display it in my room. It resonated, as it has with so many, on a level that not many films have, before or since.
Upon every viewing, I think I appreciate a much-loved scene all the more and still try to wrap my brain around why I think it is the finest film ever made.
Before heading to the 30th anniversary panel discussion, my wife and I watched it again, and I was once again moved by the visual poetry — poetry that really centers around the choices, some more difficult than others, we all make in life.
My current favorite scene centers around Red, with Freeman’s brilliant narration, standing outside that pawnshop window, agonizing over a choice: Does he buy that gun and break his parole to get back to a world that, after 40 years inside, makes sense to him, or does he buy that compass and head into a world filled with all the uncertainty that makes life tough: fear of the unknown? “There’s a harsh truth to face: no way I’m going to make it on the outside,” Red admits.
Thankfully, he takes the “get busy livin’” portion of the oft-quoted line and settles on the compass, mainly because he chooses to fulfill his promise to Andy, providing one of the most satisfying final 20 minutes of a movie … ever.
At its heart Shawshank is about hope and friendship, a “buddy film” where the substance comes from the authenticity of friendships found in the most hopeless of places. Many movies offer us vicarious experiences and quick, superficial emotions found in car chases and explosions. Shawshank offers this: Even in the darkest of times, meaningful relationships allow hope to shine through.
For part two I’ll share a little about some of the memories some local extras experienced on the film set.