3. Shawshank Redemption (1994)
A film adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name. The Shawshank Redemption places on this list for it's amazing score, composed by Thomas Newman. Newman has received 6 Academy Award nominations for Best Original Score on films such as, American Beauty, Road to Perdition and Finding Nemo to name but a few. The outstanding performances by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman also made this film one to remember. Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is falsely imprisoned for the murder of his wife and her lover. For his crime, he is sentenced to life in Shawshank prison, a popular point of reference in Stephen King's universe of novels. During his time at Shawshank, Andy meets Red (Morgan Freeman), who is also in for murder. Red admits he is 'The only guilty man in Shawshank', one of many famously quotable lines the film has spawned. One of the best performances and arguably most memorable scenes is one in which recently paroled prisoner Brooks Hatlen (James Whitmore) writes a letter to his friends back at the prison, explaining how he is struggling to deal with life outside prison. Prepare yourself for tears. It is very powerful stuff.... http://youtu.be/kotNxb2YApk Red helps other prisoners acquire contraband, and in Andy's case he gets a rock hammer and other tools for shaping rocks, as Andy wants to build a chess set. But all is not as it seems. Andy spends years secretly picking away at the prison wall with his rock hammer, only to escape one night through the wall of his cell and away into a sewage pipe. Red and Andy share a word the night before he escapes, telling Red that if he ever gets out he's going to go to Zihuatanejo, Mexico. The best part of the film comes in the form of it's ending: Red is paroled and he begins to live the monotony of a paroled prisoner, bagging groceries and living at the halfway house. just like Brooks. Red decides to take the directions Andy gave him the night before he escaped. After following the clue Andy gave him, Red finds a small tin box filled with money and a letter, "If you've come this far, maybe you're willing to go a little further." The two old friends are reunited on the beach of the Mexican village in what is one of the most satisfying endings in cinematic history. The Shawshank redemption received 7 Academy Award nominations and 2 Golden Globe nominations.