In its Oscar year, Shawshank Redemption (written and directed by Frank
Darabont, after the novella Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption,
by Stephen King) was nominated for seven Academy Awards, and walked
away with zero. Best Picture went to Forrest Gump, while Shawshank and
Pulp Fiction were "just happy to be nominated." Of course hindsight is
20/20, but while history looks back on Gump as a good film, Pulp and
Redemption are remembered as some of the all-time best. Pulp, however,
was a success from the word "go," making a huge splash at Cannes and
making its writer-director an American master after only two films. For
Andy Dufresne and Co., success didn't come easy. Fortunately, failure
wasn't a life sentence.
Shawshank Redeems Hollywood
Can Hollywood, usually creating things for entertainment purposes only,
create art? To create something of this nature, a director must approach
it
in a most meticulous manner, due to the delicacy of the process. Such a
daunting task requires an extremely capable artist with an undeniable
managerial capacity and an acutely developed awareness of each element of
art in their films, the most prominent; music, visuals, script, and acting.
These elements, each equally important, must succeed independently, yet
still form a harmonious union, because this mixture determines the fate of
the artist's opus. Though already well known amongst his colleagues for
his
notable skills at writing and directing, Frank Darabont emerges with his
feature film directorial debut, The Shawshank Redemption. Proving himself
already a master of the craft, Darabont managed to create one of the most
recognizable independent releases in the history of Hollywood. The
Shawshank Redemption defines a genre, defies the odds, compels the
emotions,
and brings an era of artistically influential films back to
Hollywood.
The Shawshank Redemption - Tied for the best movie I have ever seen
Why do I want to write the 234th comment on The Shawshank Redemption? I
am not sure - almost everything that could be possibly said about it
has been said. But like so many other people who wrote comments, I was
and am profoundly moved by this simple and eloquent depiction of hope
and friendship and redemption.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)