The Shawshank Redemption: Stephen King's Novella Finds Its Film Audience
In 1947, banker Andy Dufresne enters a Maine prison under a life sentence for a double murder. He insists he is innocent, but inside the institution another prisoner, Red, expects him to break under the pressure. Their developing friendship became the heart of The Shawshank Redemption, directed and adapted by Frank Darabont from Stephen King's novella. King published Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption in Different Seasons in 1982. The prison story began on the page before Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman gave Andy and Red their screen identities, and before the film found an audience through a difficult theatrical launch.
Darabont's relationship with King's writing began with a different story. In 1980, at 21, the aspiring filmmaker wrote to King for permission to adapt The Woman in the Room as a short film. King had established a policy allowing unknown filmmakers to adapt a short story for a $1 fee, with commercial exhibition requiring his approval. Darabont took three years to finish the short. While earning a living as a prop assistant, he devoted $7,000 of his $11,000 salary to post-production in the final year. King admired the result, opening the way for a later adaptation of the prison novella.
Darabont turned the Shawshank Redemption material into a script that attracted attention at Castle Rock Entertainment. Producer Liz Glotzer praised it, and Rob Reiner wanted to direct it himself. Reiner had already enjoyed success with Stand by Me, adapted from another story in Different Seasons. He reportedly offered Darabont around $3m for the opportunity, but Darabont insisted on directing his own screenplay as his first feature. That decision also affected casting: Tom Cruise wanted to play Andy but would not take the risk on a director without a feature behind him. Darabont continued with the project and assembled a different group of collaborators.
Robbins became Andy, and Freeman played his fellow lifer, Ellis Red Redding. Roger Deakins handled cinematography, while Thomas Newman composed the music. Their prison world is controlled by corrupt warden Samuel Norton, played by Bob Gunton, and guards led by Captain Byron Hadley, played by Clancy Brown. Andy faces abuse from guards and other prisoners, but his banking knowledge gives him a way to navigate the institution's power. He does the books for Norton's illegal business schemes and keeps an eye on the investments of most of the prison staff. In return, he gains opportunities to improve the prison library, bringing practical benefits to other inmates while becoming entangled in Norton's activities.
Before release, public test screenings and early reviews gave the filmmakers reason to expect success. Yet crowds failed to arrive when The Shawshank Redemption opened on September 23, 1994. Its wider release on October 14 coincided with the opening of Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, which arrived with acclaim from Cannes and quickly reached the top of the charts. Forrest Gump was also continuing its long theatrical run. The prison drama entered a market occupied by two hugely successful competitors, each drawing attention with a distinctive style. Its deliberate pacing and earnest treatment of hope struggled to attract the same level of public interest.
Oscar nominations brought another opportunity in early 1995. The film received seven nominations and won none, but the attention helped pave the way for a moderately successful theatrical re-release. VHS then gave it a much stronger life outside cinemas. By the end of the year, it was among the country's most rented titles. Viewers could discover the friendship and prison story at home, beyond the competition surrounding its opening. The film's growing rental popularity created a new stage in its public life, reaching people through video shops after its initial theatrical performance had fallen short of the filmmakers' expectations.
Television expanded that reach further. Ted Turner had acquired Castle Rock in 1993 and was reportedly able to sell himself broadcast rights cheaply, partly because of the film's poor box-office performance. The Shawshank Redemption first aired on his TNT network in 1997, drawing exceptionally high ratings. Frequent screenings followed, supported by low broadcast costs and the ability to charge a premium for advertising. Meanwhile, internet access was spreading through American households. Online film polls, particularly IMDb's ranking, gave the movie another public platform where its growing reputation could bring it to the attention of new viewers.
The film regularly hovered near the top of IMDb's list, gaining a prominent place in online rental storefronts as those services displaced video shops. Its popularity also crossed demographic lines. In 2015, a YouGov survey named it Britain's favorite film. It was liked by 52% of respondents and led the over-60 group when people chose their favorite from the listed films. Other favorites had more divided followings: Star Wars and Pulp Fiction ranked highly among younger adults but poorly among people over sixty, while Gone with the Wind showed the opposite pattern.
- Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption: Stephen King — stephenking.com
- The Shawshank Redemption: AFI synopsis and credits — watch.afi.com
- How The Shawshank Redemption became the internet's favourite film — www.bfi.org.uk