ⓘ Details

Movie TitleThe Shawshank Redemption

Release DateSeptember 23, 1994 limited / October 14, 1994 wide

TaglineFear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.

Runtime142 minutes / 2 hours 22 minutes

DirectorFrank Darabont

Screenplay Written ByFrank Darabont

Based OnStephen King’s novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption

Is It a Remake?No. It is a feature-film adaptation of Stephen King’s novella.

BudgetApproximately $25 million

Box OfficeApprox. $28.8 million domestic / Approx. $29.4 million worldwide per IMDb and Box Office Mojo

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👥 Main Cast

Tim RobbinsAndy Dufresne

Morgan FreemanEllis Boyd “Red” Redding

Bob GuntonWarden Samuel Norton

William SadlerHeywood

Clancy BrownCaptain Byron Hadley

Gil BellowsTommy Williams

James WhitmoreBrooks Hatlen

Mark RolstonBogs Diamond

Jeffrey DeMunn1946 D.A.

Larry BrandenburgSkeet

Neil GiuntoliJigger

Brian LibbyFloyd

David ProvalSnooze

Joseph RagnoErnie

Jude CiccolellaGuard Mert

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🏆 Awards

⭐ Academy Award Nominee — Best Picture

⭐ Academy Award Nominee — Best Actor, Morgan Freeman

⭐ Academy Award Nominee — Best Adapted Screenplay, Frank Darabont

⭐ Academy Award Nominee — Best Cinematography, Roger Deakins

⭐ Academy Award Nominee — Best Film Editing, Richard Francis-Bruce

⭐ Academy Award Nominee — Best Original Score, Thomas Newman

⭐ Academy Award Nominee — Best Sound

⭐ Golden Globe Nominee — Best Actor, Morgan Freeman

⭐ Golden Globe Nominee — Best Screenplay, Frank Darabont

⭐ Writers Guild of America Nominee — Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

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📖 Short Plot Summary

Banker Andy Dufresne is convicted of murdering his wife and her lover and sentenced to life at Shawshank State Penitentiary. Inside, he befriends longtime inmate Red, survives brutality and corruption, and slowly becomes indispensable to the prison staff through his financial knowledge. Over decades, Andy protects a secret plan, holds onto hope, and proves that even behind walls, freedom can still be imagined, earned, and reclaimed.

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❝ Key Quotes

“Get busy living, or get busy dying.” — Andy Dufresne

“Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things.” — Andy Dufresne

“I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really.” — Red

“Salvation lies within.” — Warden Norton

“The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry.” — Brooks Hatlen

“I hope.” — Red

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💡 Trivia

Director

The Shawshank Redemption was written and directed by Frank Darabont.
The film marked Darabont’s feature directorial breakthrough after earlier short-film and television work.
Darabont later returned to Stephen King material with The Green Mile and The Mist.
The movie’s calm, novelistic pacing lets the friendship between Andy and Red build over decades instead of treating prison life like a conventional thriller.

Cast / Casting

Tim Robbins stars as Andy Dufresne, the quiet banker whose patience and resolve shape the entire story.
Morgan Freeman plays Red, whose narration became one of the film’s defining elements.
Bob Gunton plays Warden Norton, the religiously polished but deeply corrupt head of Shawshank.
Clancy Brown plays Captain Hadley, the prison’s brutal chief guard.
James Whitmore plays Brooks Hatlen, whose post-release storyline became one of the movie’s most heartbreaking passages.

Soundtrack / Score

Thomas Newman composed the film’s score.
Newman’s score received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score.
The film also prominently uses “Duettino — Sull’aria” from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro during Andy’s famous prison-yard broadcast.
The music supports the movie’s tone of melancholy, patience, institutional despair, and finally release.

Location

Although the story is set in Maine, much of the film was shot in Ohio.
The Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio, served as the primary prison location.
Other Ohio filming locations included Ashland, Upper Sandusky, and the surrounding Mansfield area.
The Ohio State Reformatory later became a major destination for fans through the Shawshank Trail.

Behind-The-Scenes

The film was adapted from Stephen King’s novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, first published in the collection Different Seasons.
Castle Rock Entertainment produced the film, and Columbia Pictures handled the theatrical release.
The film had a modest theatrical run compared with its later reputation, earning roughly $29.4 million worldwide against a $25 million budget.
After its theatrical release, the movie found a much larger audience through home video, cable television, and word of mouth.
The theatrical cut runs 142 minutes and is dedicated to Allen Greene, Frank Darabont’s former agent.

Nostalgia

The Shawshank Redemption became one of the clearest examples of a movie whose reputation grew massively after its theatrical run.
Its frequent cable airings helped turn it into a modern classic and a comfort-watch drama for many viewers.
Red and Andy’s friendship, Brooks’ release, the Mozart scene, and the final Zihuatanejo image became lasting parts of movie culture.
For many fans, the film is remembered less as a prison movie and more as a story about endurance, dignity, and hope.

Easter Eggs

Stephen King’s original novella title references Rita Hayworth, whose poster plays a key role in Andy’s long-term escape plan.
The changing posters in Andy’s cell quietly track time and shifting movie-star eras, from Rita Hayworth to Marilyn Monroe to Raquel Welch.
“Brooks was here” and “So was Red” became two of the film’s most quoted visual callbacks.
Warden Norton’s “Salvation lies within” Bible message becomes a literal clue to Andy’s escape and Norton’s downfall.
The final beach reunion was not in the same form in King’s novella, giving the film a more emotionally complete ending.

Misc.

The Shawshank Redemption is rated R.
Box Office Mojo lists the film’s release date as September 23, 1994, with a wide release on October 14, 1994.
IMDb lists the film’s estimated budget at $25 million and worldwide gross at approximately $29.4 million.
The film is widely known for ranking at or near the top of IMDb’s user-rated Top 250 list.
Your 3 Guys and a Flick ratings page lists The Shawshank Redemption as Episode 86, with Don rating it 4.50, Ken rating it 5.00, Jon rating it 4.75, and an overall rating of 4.75.

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