3. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
In 1947, Andy, a banker, is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in Shawshank State Penitentiary for killing his wife and her lover. He befriends Red - a contraband smuggler who gets him a hammer so he can fashion chess pieces, he also gets him posters of movie stars. Andy works in the laundry and is bullied by 'The Sisters' - a bull queer gang led by Bogs. In 1949, Andy gives financial advice to the chief warden - Byron Hadley. Andy is nearly beaten to death by The Sisters and Hadley does him the favour of kicking the s**t out of Bogs. Bogs gets transferred to another prison and that is the end of the attacks on Andy. Andy is transferred to the library to help Brooks - an elderly inmate but it is really just a cover for Andy to do the prison's books. He is so good at this, his services are in great demand from other prison employees and other prisons themselves. Brooks gets released but after so long (50 years) in prison, he cannot adjust to life outside and hangs himself. Andy gets put in solitary confinement for playing The Marriage of Figaro full blast over the prison. After he is let out he cooperates with the authorities on a money laundering scheme. In 1965, a new inmate called Tommy arrives at the prison and Andy helps him get his G E D. In 1966, Tommy tells of a man at another prison who confessed to a crime identical to the one Andy has allegedly perpetrated. The governor puts Andy in solitary again and gets one of the officers to kill Tommy. Then, Andy disappears. An irate governor throws stones at his posters and discovers Andy has been digging his way out of prison over two decades. He has also taken the prison's ledger as proof of corrupt goings on. Andy goes to the bank and takes everything out of the money laundering account. He sends details of the prison corruption to a local newspaper and the Governor kills himself. The film features a very optimistic outcome for Andy. Disappointing box office returns did not stop the critical acclaim being heaped upon the Shawshank Redemption. Because it is a truly well made and interesting film, Shawshank's reputation began to grow among film fans and the movie has done cracking business in both VHS and DVD formats. An excellent feel good movie, Shawshank portrays a message of hope in desperate circumstances. This is a case of Hollywood success at making a really good movie - one without pyrotechnics and CGI - just a dialogue based movie with men talking to each other. The script has been finely honed and the direction by Frank Darabont manages to tell the story of Andy masterfully - focusing on a number of themes such as redemption, friendship, hardship and freedom. The men in the prison are treated as humans, no matter what they are in prison for - the film possesses a gentle streak of humanity. With plenty of quotable lines, The Shawshank Redemption finally reached the appreciation it deserves.