The Shawshank Redemption at 30: is it really the greatest film ever made?

[Votto]

First time I watched the movie it was entertaining.
Second time viewing found it a lame fantasy story.
Doubt there will ever be a third.
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It is hard to believe one can overcome such injustice the way it happened.

The odds would be astronomical.

And, no doubt, millions face these odds every day.

 

[rampart]

Man with no Name series?

or "once upon a time in the west" i;'m partial to claudia cardinale.

the "good the bad and the ugly" may well have been the greatest movie ever. eli wallach's character was suburb.

if i had a moment i'd post the scene from the gun shop.

 

[evenflow1969]

It is hard to believe one can overcome such injustice the way it happened.

The odds would be astronomical.

And, no doubt, millions face these odds every day.

Yes, beating the odds is extremely rare. It does happen. I seem to remember a Clint Eastwood movie that depicts a situation that actually happened. They actually escaped the rock.

 

[Auld Phart]

or "once upon a time in the west" i;'m partial to claudia cardinale.

the "good the bad and the ugly" may well have been the greatest movie ever. eli wallach's character was suburb.

if i had a moment i'd post the scene from the gun shop.

this one?


and Claudia is worth watching, I agree.

 

[Sunni Man]

the "Good the Bad and the Ugly" may well have been the greatest movie ever. eli wallach's character was suburb.

Definitely a top contender for greatest movie ever made. ...
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[rampart]

this one?


and Claudia is worth watching, I agree.

from the moment wallach says ":revolvers........"

but every scene, the pow camp, the bridge, the gunfight in the graveyard. nothing is out of place.

 

[Sunni Man]

Eli Wallech who played Tuco in the movie.
In real life hated guns and had never held one in his hand before.
But he was such an accomplished veteran actor.
That in the scene were Tuco was mixing and matching various parts from the revolvers to assemble one that was acceptable.
Wallech totally ad libbed the entire scene because he knew nothing about guns.
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[expat500]

I thought it a great movie. Very well done. Particularly the music score.

But my favourite of all time: LOTR.

 

[Tommy Tainant]

Greatest?

for me, Stalag 17 was the greatest.

Musical greatest was Oliver.

William Holden ? I thought that was 13. Great movie on different levels.

 

[Auld Phart]

William Holden ? I thought that was 13. Great movie on different levels.

13 was Hogans Heroes

 

[Tommy Tainant]

Solid movie that i consider great but I am going to go with there is no such thing as "the greatest movie ever made". It's like food. You cant compare an amazing steak to amazing ice cream. It's in the handful of great drama's about prison and redemption though.

AFI's shitty list has it at 72. Their list was assembled by someone who stopped watching movies in the 50's.

AFI’S 100 YEARS…100 MOVIES — 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition is an updated edition to AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies, a list of the top 100 greatest American films of all time. Honoring the 10th anniversary of this award-winning series, a jury of 1,500 film artists, critics and historians determined...

www.afi.com

Its a bizarre list. 100% american films. Is Tootsie a great movie ? Really ?

 

[Sunni Man]

Stalag 17 was an excellent movie.
But not even close to being the greatest.
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[Tommy Tainant]

The Appartment is probably the best film ever. All of life is there and Shirley Maclaines long legs get a scene to themselves.

 

[Sunni Man]

The Appartment is probably the best film ever.

It's an ok movie.
Best ever....... No
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[odanny]

the top 4 greatest were directed by sergio leone so, no..

Sergio Leone is a legend, no doubt. Throw in the score by the amazing Ennio Morricone and you had movie making royalty.

 

[whitehall]

Based on a Stephen King book. Has it really been 30 years? Heavy handed fiction with a race card thrown in but entertaining none the less.

 

[The Sage of Main Street]

The Shawshank Redemption at 30: is it really the greatest film ever made?

It suffered at the box office and failed to win any Oscars, but the 1994 prison drama is still seen by many as greater than The Godfather

www.theguardian.com

I suspect not. But its worth a shout.
I will have a think about this.

Criminals Are the Enemies of the Human Race

Lifers never deserved to live. The RichKid Reich has been glorifying these humanoids ever since Cool Hand Luke (1967) about a lazy drifter who refused to grow up. Giving themselves an excuse to turn loose these predators on those born in the 99% distracted their subjects and terrified us into submission to Birth-Class Supremacy.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

It is a pretty good movie, but overwhelmingly unrealistic and politicized.
Look at every single character.
All of the criminals are good ol boys.
Every single figure of authority is hateful/corrupt and racist.
There are at least 100 instances of impossibility in the movie.
Just one - yeah... a cigar tin will stay waterproof and in mint condition buried in the ground for years and years. Not even one day of ageing.

 

[martybegan]

Of course it isn't. It's okay, but the book if way better, as is usually the case. The unnecessary race swap of the character "Red" didn't really help the film tell the story any better. Though it may have helped ticket sales.

Morgan Freeman was great in the movie. This was before mucking with roles became a DEI thing.

It works when the proper actor is used, like Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury, or Michael Clarke Duncan as Kingpin.

 

[martybegan]

It is a pretty good movie, but overwhelmingly unrealistic and politicized.
Look at every single character.
All of the criminals are good ol boys.
Every single figure of authority is hateful/corrupt and racist.
There are at least 100 instances of impossibility in the movie.
Just one - yeah... a cigar tin will stay waterproof and in mint condition buried in the ground for years and years. Not even one day of ageing.

Actually the only true guard bad guys are the warden and the head guard. The rest are just people doing their jobs.

And The "sisters" weren't portrayed in a good light.