20 Things You Somehow Missed In The Shawshank Redemption
19. Those Are Frank Darabont’s Hands
Frank Darabont and director Stanley Kubrick have more in common than their Stephen King adaptations: Darabont, like Kubrick, is also a perfectionist on the sets of his films. In fact, he’s such a perfectionist that he took it upon himself to do a little acting.
When Andy’s seen loading a revolver in the early moments of The Shawshank Redemption, the camera shows a close-up shot of his hands. Darabont was so convinced that actor Tim Robbins wouldn’t be able to do what was asked of him that he decided to just step in and do it himself.
Later, Darabont again does what he believed Robbins couldn’t and shoots a close-up shot of his own hands carving Andy’s name into his cell wall. If you pay attention to Andy's hands in other scenes, you can really see the difference once it cuts to the close-ups.