The Shawshank Redemption

Close Viewing

The Rooftop - Freedom

• The background of the prisoners is offset by the green, bright tones of the outside of Shawshank – this is juxtaposed with the grey of the inside of the prison an the background of the guards.
• Andy ‘tricks’ Hadley and reveals him as an unintelligent thug

The Rooftop - Freedom

• This is an uplifting scene as we watch the harsh, unbreakable walls of Shawshank dissolve away for the men as they sit in the sun and drink cold bottles of beer.
• Andy sits by himself (in the light) to show that he is different. He retains hope and wants to retain a sense of freedom. This is the first time he shows emotion – looks content
• Red is seen with the guards in the background blurred over his shoulder – there is always the ‘institutionalised’ mentality – Andy offers hope

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The Rooftop - Freedom

• This scene is all about giving the prisoners a taste of hope and freedom. Andy is the a leader, offering redemption

“We sat and drank with the sun on our shoulders and felt like free men…We were the Lords of all Creation.”

• “You could argue he’d done it to curry favour with the guards…Me? I think he did it to feel normal again, if only for a short while”.
• The audience experiences victory with these men.

The Warden Visits Andy

• Not by accident, he chooses Andy’s sell.
• The natural light is always very prominent when Andy is present
• Background lighting is important
• Where does the real power lie? Is Andy warning the Warden? Who is smarter? – Close ups reveal a battle of wits between the two men. We don’t trust the Warden and neither does Andy.

The Warden Visits Andy

• ‘Light’ interesting quote – who is the ‘light of the world’.
• Andy is smarter than the warden. We cannot yet see the embedded humour of the situation with the poster and the rocks. The warden thinks that he is doing himself and Andy a favour, however the irony is that it is the worse mistake he could make.
• Andy and the Warden are strongly contrasted both cinematically – costume, lighting, dialogue

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Brooks leaving Shawshank – Red’s dialogue/ insight

• Red is one of the only people who understands Brooks’ reaction to his parole. In this way we can see that, to some extent, Brooks and Red are parallels with each other – they have both served long sentences, both have a life and lifestyle in the prison
• Just when we think Andy might save and redeem hope for Red, we learn that he is probably institutionalised like Brooks.

Brooks Leaving Shawshank – Red’s dialogue/ insight

• “He’s just institutionalised.”
• “This is all he knows. In here, he is an important man. Outside he’s nothing”.
• “These walls are funny. First you hate em, then you get used to em. Enough time passes you get so you depend on em. That’s institutionalised.”
• “They send you hear for life, that’s exactly what they take from you.”

Brooks Leaving Shawshank - Lighting

• Brooks lets Jake go out a small window in the library. The backing light is dark – almost black, no hope. It is often said that a caged bird will not survive outside that environment – this is like Brooks.
• Contrast of light – for Brooks’ exit from the prison the focus is on the light on the inside of the prison because this represents his home. Outside is grey and dull, ominous looking. This is because of uncertainty of the outside.

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Brooks Leaving Shawshank - Lighting

• Brooks is always seen in shadowed lighting – this symbolises lost hope – contrast with the birds in the park, they are free.

Brooks Leaving Shawshank – Sound Effects

• Music as Brooks leaves is slow and soft – not hopeful.
• Notice the noise of the cars: horns blaring, braking – totally unfamiliar to Brooks, this is supposed to highlight his displacement in the outside world.

Brooks Leaving Shawshank – Camera Techniques

• The camera is placed on the outside of the prison giving a long shot of Brooks saying goodbye to the guards – notice lighting is brighter on the inside – he is shaking the guards hands with shows familiarity. The placement of the characters tells us he is at home in the prison.
• Zoom in to a mid shot of Brooks sitting on the bus, his hands gripping the seat in front of him – facial expression shows he is scared.

Brooks Leaving Prison – Camera Techniques

• Close up of Brooks behind the wooden rails/ rafters, represents the prison bars – this shows that he is imprisoned on the outside – he smiles.
• Close up of Brooks’ feet shows him standing on the table and the wooden clippings dropping around his feet. We watch him rock the table and hang himself.
• Zoom out from the ‘Brooks Was Here’ engraving to a full shot showing Brooks hanging – symbolic of a prison suicide.

Brooks Leaving Shawshank – Camera Techniques

• This fades away to Andy and Brook reading the letter: Close up of Red, feeling remorse" He should’ve died in here” Red says.

Brooks Leaving Shawshank - Voiceover

• The letter back to the others at Shawshank documents Red’s loss of hope. Freedom traps him.
• “I saw an automobile once when I was a kid, but now they’re everywhere”. Shows how much the world has changed and how unfamiliar it is.
• “Maybe I should get me a gun and rob the Foodway so they’d send me home.” Brooks thinks of prison as home.
• “I don’t like it here, I’m tired of being afraid”.

Brooks Leaving Shawshank - Voiceover

• Voiceover changes to Brooks’ perspective – why do we trust him?

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Aria over the Loudspeaker – Freedom

• Irony – ‘The Marriage of Figaro’ (Mozart) about a servant who outwitted his master.
• Guards and prisoners alike are stunned and hypnotised by the music as it breaks the routine of prison life. The music transcends the day to day numbness.
• A medium shot reveals Andy has the same look on his face as in the ‘Rooftop Scene’. He is allowing them to have some freedom again.

Aria over the Loudspeaker – Freedom

• Crane shot of the prisoners in the yard looking at the loud speaker and listening to the music. The whole prison has been moved to a standstill.
• The light is resonating through the prison.
• Close up of the men’s faces as the camera pans shows that they are in awe of the music. They seem peaceful and at ease.

Aria over the Loudspeaker – Freedom

• Voiceover:
• “I tell you those voices soared. Higher and farther that a person in a grey place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away. And for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.” –This statement finishes with a close up of Red – Andy made his taste freedom.

Aria over the Loudspeaker – Freedom

• Andy has the same expression on his face as he did on the rooftop.
• The abrupt scratch of the music shows a return to the evil of the prison.

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Andy talks about Hope

• Red reveals he used to like the harmonica before: “I used to play a mean harmonica”
• Andy: “You need it so you don’t forget…there are places in the world that aren’t made out of stone… There’s something inside that they can’t get to they can’t touch…Hope.”
• Red: “Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.”

Red’s Second Parole Hearing – 30 Years

• Red is not as nervous or anxious about this hearing. He is calm. After all that has gone on – especially Brooks, he is giving up hope. His speech is the same but it is not done with such uncertainty. As the years pass he is residing himself to the fact that he has become institutionalised.
• Harmonica - Andy gives Red a harmonica remembering what he said. Music is hope. Andy is giving Red hope. The harmonica is a symbol of hope.
• Red plays a little note on the harmonica – hope?

Tommy Williams Murder

• The Warden steps out of the dark, shadowy background lighting, just as he did in the beginning of the film and so many times throughout – Leads us to think that if Andy is a ‘Christ-like figure’, then the Warden is surely the opposite (think devil)
• This shows how evil and corrupt the Warden is. He is ‘icy and remorseless’. He kills Tommy in cold blood as easily as the close up of his foot squashing or extinguishing the cigarette – with that movement he tries to extinguish Andy’s hope.

Tommy Williams Murder

• A crane shot of Tommy with 4 bullet holes in his back on the ground reveals the Warden shaded, examining his work. The light is placed over Tommy.
• The Warden threatens to take away all of Andy’s hope – “Are you catching my drift; or am I being obtuse”. The Warden plays games with Andy, allows him a little freedom, hope and then tries to squash his spirit.

Andy and Red Conversation – Lost Hope?

• This scene drives us to ask the question: Has Andy been beaten down and stripped of hope - by the Warden and Shawshank Prison?
• He sits in the shade and this could be symbolic of the fact that he feels that if he stays there any longer, Shawshank will kill his spirit.
• Andy believe is dreams and in freedom. This is why he tells Red about Zihuatenejo – it has “no memory”. It is a place where he can be redeemed, where he can be free. Will Red join him or is he in fact institutionalised?

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Final Scenes

• A medium shot of Andy sitting on the bed in his prison reveals that he is calm and appears to be waiting.
• A number of close ups reveals Andy reaching for the rope. He holds it in his hands – what is he going to do?
• A close up reveals Andy staring at the wall the poster is on.
• Zoom in to a close up of Red – “That was the longest night of my life” – Lightening crashes in the background.

Final Scenes

• The familiar sound of iron bars and alarms sends the routine of the prison underway.
• A close up of the guard reveals his shock – “Oh my holy God” – blasphemy

Final Scenes

• Cut to Warden Norton revealing Andy’s shoes in his shoebox – The viewer now thinks seriously about what is going on. Piece by piece the puzzle is put back together.
• Tilt to a close up of the Warden trying to figure out what is happening and then right on cue, the siren rings out – just as it did when Andy arrived
• The Warden is incensed at having been tricked and can’t figure out what has happened – Andy has outsmarted him

Final Scenes

• A close up of Raquel Welch draws our attention to the poster – all through the movie we’ve been drawn to the changing women on Andy’s wall but have never questioned it.
• The Warden throws a chess piece at the poster and we hear it carry on through the wall.
• A zoom out reveals the tunnel through which Andy escaped and the Warden, Red and Hadley all in awe of the discovery.
• Cut to police cars and sirens rushing to the prison. Men wading through the water

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Final Scenes

• Voiceover: “In 1966 Andy DuFresne escaped from Shawshank Prison.”
• Zoom in to a close up of the rock hammer worn to the nub: “I remember thinking it would take a man six hundred years to tunnel through the wall with it. Old Andy did it in less than twenty.”
• Flashback – Cut to a close up of Andy scratching his name in the wall. Reveals that the wall comes away easily.

Final Scenes

• Voiceover: “Andy loved geology. I imagine it appealed to his meticulous nature…Geology is the study of pressure and time. That’s all it takes really – pressure and time…That and a big god damned poster.”
• There are many references to earlier things Red has said, this is so we can see the intricate detail that has gone into the plot of this movie. Aspects have been introduced and then reinforced later – the puzzle becomes clearer.

Final Scenes

• Voiceover: “I guess after Tommy was killed, Andy decided he’d been here just about long enough.”
• The voiceover is important because we can make links and Red points them out. He also give just cause for Andy’s actions. He is our guide on this journey – the story of Andy’s life in Shawshank.
• In these scenes, Andy seems confident, like he knows something we don’t. He has outwitted the Warden and this is just an added bonus to his freedom – It is his revenge

Final Scenes

• The scenes play out with additional information, shots, snippets that allow us to see Andy’s movements.
• We are with Andy as he crawls through the sewer: “Andy crawled to freedom through five-hundred yards of shit smelling foulness I can't even imagine”
• At the end he is symbolically ‘reborn’ into the world, shedding his clothes and the entrapments of the prison.
• Andy’s ‘Christ- Like’ pose is the definitive mark of his redemption – all the trials and tribulations are washed away, overridden by his triumph and freedom – ‘Let the rain wash away our sins’

Final Scenes

• The Warden’s world begins to unravel when a newspaper is sent information from Andy about the embezzlement.
• A close up of the Warden’s attention being diverted to the embroidery – Close up zoom in to extreme close up: “His judgement cometh and that right soon”, coincides nicely with the sound of the siren coming to get Norton – It is his judgement day
• The police are after the real villain – contrast with Andy.
• A series of close ups reveal the Warden’s world crumbling – the Holy Bible – “You were right, salvation lay within” – Flicks it open to reveal the outline of the rockhammer.

Final Scenes

• The real evil in the prison are getting the ‘redemption’ that they deserve – Hadley “sobbing like a little girl”.
• Music is used here to build suspense and atmosphere when Norton is loading his gun – the end is near. Close up of Warden loading the gun is reminiscent of Andy at the beginning of the film – What’s going to happen? Who is he going to shoot? We think it is going to be the cops (mid shot points the gun at the door)
• The policeman yells “Make it easy on yourself Norton” – so he takes the easy alternative and shoots himself. Gunfire and he sound of shattering glass is linked to the way he dies – shattered skull

Final Scenes

• Voiceover: “I like to think the last thing that went through his head, other than that bullet, was to wonder how Andy DuFresne ever got the best of him”.

Final Scenes

• A mid shot of Andy in a convertible is the ultimate picture of freedom. He is bathed in light and has a content look on his face.

“Andy DuFresne, who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side.”

• Zoom out to a sweeping overhead shot of the Pacific Ocean – this in stark contrast to the same view of Shawshank at the beginning. The ultimate in freedom. The outcome of hope.

Final Scenes

• “I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright and when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice, but still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend.”

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Red’s Final Parole Hearing

• Red is in the light.
• The panel is different – younger man, a woman
• Rehabilitated? Well now, let me see. You know, I don't have any idea what that means...I know what you think it means. To me, it's just a made-up word, a politician's word so that young fellas like yourself can wear a suit and a tie and have a job. What do you really want to know? Am I sorry for what I did?...There's not a day goes by I don't feel regret. And not because I'm in here or because you think I should. I look back on the way I was then. A young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try and talk some sense to him. Tell him the way things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone. This old man is all that's left. I gotta live with that. 'Rehabilitated?' That's just a bulls--t word. So you go on and stamp your forms, sonny, and stop wasting my time. Because to tell you the truth, I don't give a s--t.

Ellis ‘Red’ Redding Leaving Shawshank - Lighting

• This scene is strongly contrasted with Brooks leaving prison. Red and Brooks are constructed as parallels throughout the film but in the end they are contrasted through Red’s ability to hope – an intentional ploy to build dramatic tension by Frank Darabont.
• Cinematic techniques in this scene are used to contrast the two characters and bring to an end one phase of the storyline.

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Ellis ‘Red’ Redding Leaving Shawshank - Lighting

• Light is on the outside of the prison this time – this represents freedom and also the fact that there may be some hope for Red.
• Red is always seen in the light in this scene, as is Andy through most of the film, this is symbolic of hope.
• Red is unfazed by the sound of a siren on the street below. It is like he is used to it.
• When Red arrives at the field in Buxton we can hear the sound of a harmonica playing, which symbolises hope – Red chooses hope “get busy living”
• We also hear the natural sound of the birds chirping, frogs etc which is strongly suggesting freedom.

Ellis ‘Red’ Redding Leaving Shawshank – Camera Techniques

• Placement of the camera inside the prison shows a long shot of Red leaving the prison. He is not so familiar with the guards and the focus is on the outside of the prison.
• A mid shot of Red on the bus reveals that he is somewhat relaxed, taking in the scenery.
• When Red arrives in the same room Brooks had there is a point of view shot of “Brooks was Here” – leaves the viewer questioning whether or not the same fate will await Red.
• Over the shoulder shot of Red considering his life on the outside in the mirror – is he a changed man? What has time done to him?
• In Buxton, there are a lot of wide shots and long shots that show the background – Red is free

Ellis ‘Red’ Redding Leaving Shawshank - Voiceover

• “There’s a harsh truth to face – no way I’m going to make it on the outside”
• “All I do anymore is think of ways to break my parole so they’ll send me back” – Notice Red does not say ‘home’. Close up of the gun and pan to the compass – hope? Freedom?
• “Only one thing stops me. A promise I made to Andy”. Andy is the guiding light for Red. He has offered him hope that there is a life for him on the outside.

Quotes

• Remember, Red. Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things and no good thing ever dies.

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• Get busy livin', or get busy dyin'. That's god-damn right – Red had a choice. He made it.

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• I find I am so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.

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Red is reunited with Andy

• The camera skims across the blue Pacific [a scene filmed in the US Virgin Islands], and then dissolves to a wide shot of a bright, warm, sunlit beach, where Red walks bare-footed on the sand toward an old wreck of a boat. With simple hand tools (a hammer rests on the boat!), Andy is patiently and meticulously sanding the old paint from the boat's ancient surface. He slowly turns and sees his friend approaching - and jumps off to greet him. The camera pulls back, revealing the wide, distant horizon of the blue Pacific with no end in sight. No longer are the prison-mates to be confined by walls, iron bars, supervisory guards, and limits on their lives. Both are redeemed, reconnected and re-united, with the precious possession of freedom.

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