Movie of the Week – The Shawshank Redemption

This week’s movie is: The Shawshank Redemption (1994).

Andy Dufresne is imprisoned after being convicted of murdering his wife. He struggles at first, but soon finds his place making friends with Red and a few other prisoners. While he is exposed to inhuman indecency, he is able to occupy himself with other pursuits to pass the time and not completely lose his humanity or hope.

The film, based on a Stephen King short story (I know, I am surprised by this every time too), is written and directed by Frank Darabont. He is also responsible for Buried Alive (not well known, or particularly great, but a lot fun), The Green Mile, The Mist (both of which are also based on King’s writings), and season one of The Walking Dead. He worked with a great crew on the film, including: composer Thomas Newman, cinematographer Roger Deakins, and production designer Terence Marsh.

The film stars Tim Robbins and co-stars Morgan Freeman. Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown, and Gil Bellows feature in support.

While The Shawshank Redemption is undoubtedly a fantastic Hollywood style drama, it is also probably the most overrated film in cinema history (the same can be said for The Green Mile as well, which is also highly overrated on IMDb). It currently sits at number one on IMDb’s Top 250 user rated films of all-time, yet it is not even on 2013’s Critics List of the Top 250 Films of all-time. That said, it is a highly enjoyable drama that pulls the viewer in with its almost tall-tale narrative of Andy’s time in prison. It is a must-see for fans of 1990s’ Hollywood style films. It was nominated for seven Oscars including Best Picture, but it lost in every category. Forrest Gump won Best Picture that year (to continue the trend of overrated films).

Trailer: Here

Available on: Blu-ray and Video-On-Demand

Movie of the Week - Cradle Will Rock

This week’s movie is Cradle Will Rock (1999).

The film is about politics and art in 1930s America, focused around a liberal musical drama and the attempts to stop its production. Directed by Tim Robbins (its sort of a follow-up to Bob Roberts thematically), the film is a mix between comedy and drama with musical numbers. What makes this film great is its cast and scope. There are wonderful performances throughout, but the film is highlighted by Angus Macfadyen’s Orson Welles and Cary Elwes’s John Houseman constantly arguing. John Cusack plays Nelson Rockefeller, Ruben Blades as Diego Rivera and many other fine performances capture real people (check out the full credits), while there are also fictional characters, like Bill Murray’s vaudevillian ventriloquist, coming to the realization that his era is ending – mirroring industrialist capitalists facing the advent of unions. The scope of the film is vast, encompassing the mood on multiple levels of the time period. The film also features great numbers from the musical it is centered by, along with original music from David Robbins and wonderful cinematography by Jean-Yves Escoffier. For those interested in the period, it is a must see. Check out the trailer.

Cradle Will Rock [DVD]