The Shawshank Redemption is on a lot of peoples lists of their favourite movies. Again even though it wasnt a massive hit on its initial release in 1994. On American screens, it made under $30 million. But since then, its earned a huge adoring fanbase via re-releases, home entertainment and word-of-mouth praise. If they made it again, itd probably make much more money than it did the first time around. But thats not a good enough reason. Some thought has to go to the fact that the original Shawshank simply couldnt be better. Frank Darabonts story was hugely emotionally engaging, and both Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman gave career best performances as the prison inmates who became firm friends. Could a new script match the original? Could any actor produce a better performance in Robbins or Freemans role? Would we care about the story as much seeing as we already know the ending? The answer to all three of those questions is no, so the wise thing would be for Hollywood to leave Shawshank alone, and just be happy that the film found success after its cinema release.
