Movie Review: 'The Shawshank Redemption'
Pros: Good - if a bit overlong - script. Fine cast and great performances. Cons: Leisurely pace might be a turn-off to some viewers. One of the few good things about television and the home video business is that, on occasion, a box-office "flop" that is simply a good movie that didn't find a receptive audience in theatrical release can still make a comeback thanks to repeated airings on cable networks such as TNT and through sales and rentals of videocassettes (remember those?), DVDs, and Blu-ray discs. Such is the case of Frank Darabont's first major feature film, 1994's The Shawshank Redemption, which he adapted from a Stephen King novella ( Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption ) which had been published in a mid-1980s anthology, Different Seasons . Though it was given good reviews in its initial release back in 1994, The Shawshank Redemption tanked at the box office...badly. Viewers, perhaps puzzled by its strange title or by it...