A Companion To the Movies
Title and Year: “Shawshank Redemption” (1994)
Director: Frank Darabont (based on the Stephen King novel)
Actors: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, and William Sadler.
The Shot
Long/medium/close-up: Roger Deakins, the film’s cinematographer, and director Frank Darabont worked together to create this wonderful and classical film heavily utilizing long shots, close ups, and slow zooms. Throughout the film “Shawshank Redemption”, a series of shots take place where the camera is set inside a dark space looking out at the characters. For example, the camera is set inside the entrance of a tunnel built and used by Andy to escape, which views the Warden and his guards finally discovering how he escaped after taking off the poster. Another shot is taken with the camera set inside the safe looking out at Andy and the Warden.
Lighting: The lighting for “Shawshank Redemption” includes a couple different lighting techniques. In the beginning of the story, Darabont uses low key and dark lighting during Andy’s flashback of him with the gun. The dark lighting gives the audience a feeling of fear and suspense. Darabont used dark lighting many times throughout the movie which created a unique effect. For example, dark lighting was used in Andy’s cell which created the sense of distress and suspense. However, Darabont uses natural light, the sun, for emphasis during the scene the prisoners, including Andy and Red, were drinking beers on the roof top of the prison. In the beginning of this particular scene, the camera was facing the dark, shadowed-side of the men’s faces. In the film towards the end of the scene on the roof, at the moment Red told the audience they almost felt like free men that day on the r...
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...ither prisons or courtrooms. The criminal system has always caught my interest and enjoyment. Prison type films give the viewer insight into what living in a prison is like and what one may experience while living as an inmate there. I completely loved and enjoyed the film “Shawshank Redemption”. I can still remember the first time I saw the film, years ago, and recall the state of awe the film had put me in. I was sick with the flu and my dad showed me this film while telling me it was one of his favorites other than the Rocky series. After I watched Shawshank, I understood why. It was a brilliant classic that captivates the viewers attention all throughout the film, keeping the person watching the film eager to know what will happen next. “Shawshank Redemption” is one of those few films I can watch several times and never get sick of.
Extra Credit Assignment:
Society can be very cruel; hopes and dreams can become reality or vanish away into the shivering winds. It is important to maintain hope when life is crumbling around you and freedom is what humans strive for in order to execute what they please during their existence on earth. Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King, is a clear example of freedom combined with hope, illustrated by the characters of Andy Dufresne and Red. Andy, like Red, never loses hope of leaving prison; furthermore they gain a sense of freedom when departing from Shawshank. Having beliefs, in addition to fighting for what you believe is right are virtues that help you to strive for success which ultimately, lets you reach for freedom and hope.
The Shawshank Redemption is an inspiring story about Andy Dufreine and his efforts to maintain hope in horrible situations. The directors used many effective methods that displayed signs of hope in such a horrible place. Andy maintained hope by distracting his mind and always staying occupied. Andy was also inspired to survive by helping others find hope in life.
The film stars Tim Robbins as Andrew 'Andy' Dufresne and Morgan Freeman as Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding. The film portrays Andy spending nearly two decades in Shawshank State Prison, a surreal house of correction in Maine and his friendship with Red, a fellow inmate, which gradually develops over the years. Consequently the three reasons that the director wanted to produce this movie are to reveal hope, despair and integrity. Red describes the reasons eloquently: “All I know for sure is that Andy Dufresne wasn’t much like me or anyone else I ever knew. . . . It was a kind of inner light he carried around with him.”
Shaw Shank Redemption is arguably one of the greatest films ever created. I think that this statement is very true. This movie could not have been better. The movie represents what it was like in the 1950's - 1960's to be in prison. The movie shows how inmates lived their lives and how it was hard for them in the real world once they escaped or got paroled. Towards the end of the film Andy Dufresne did all of the tax returns for the prison and guards. in the end before Andy escapes it shows Andy putting a false set of tax returns into Warden Newton's safe. The Night that Andy makes his escape he takes the real taxes which he put in his name so he could make the tax claim and come out with a huge lump some of money. In the end the film shows
Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 film Inglourious Bastards entails a Jewish revenge fantasy that is told through a counterfactual history of events in World War II. However, this story follows a completely different plot than what we are currently familiar with. Within these circumstances, audiences now question the very ideas and arguments that are often associated with World War II. We believe that Inglourious Basterds is a Jewish revenge fantasy that forces us to rethink our previous understandings by disrupting the viewers sense of content and nature in the history of World War II. Within this thesis, this paper will cover the Jewish lens vs. American lens, counter-plots with-in the film, ignored social undercurrents, and the idea that nobody wins in war. These ideas all correlate with how we view World War II history and how Inglourious Basterds muddles our previous thoughts on how these events occurred.
Writing 2 Aidyn Ogilvy: Writing Portfolio I am going to write about a scene from the movie The Shawshank Redemption. I will be using figurative language to put the audience in the shoes of the main lead character Andy Dufrense. My audience will be people who like Stephen King. The scene will be when he escapes the prison. The lights have been turned out.
The Green Mile by Frank Darabont is a unique story about a man named John Coffey. Coffey is on death row at a State Prison for a crime that many believe he did not commit. Coffey while on death row creates a friendship with one of the guards named Paul Edgecomb. Paul Edgecomb while working discovers that God has blessed John Coffey with the ability to heal and give life. Paul makes this observation after an incident where Coffey grabbed Paul by the groin and held on for a few seconds until the lights flashed. Paul asks Coffey what had happened, and he simply replies with “I helped.” Paul at the time had a urinary infection that was causing him constant pain. The Green Mile is riddled with miracles throughout the story the theological themes of sin, redemption, and atonement comes to light. (Darabont, 1999)
Solomon Northup was a black man who was born a free man at a time when slavery was still legal in America. He was born in Minerva, New York, in the year 1808 (Northup 19). Northup’s father, Mintus, was originally a slave of the Northup family in Rhode Island. He was freed when the family relocated to New York. When he was growing up as a young adult, Northup helped his father with farming chores and became a raftsman for a short while on the waterways of New York. As an adult, Northup married Anne Hampton, who was of mixed heritage on Christmas day of 1829. Together, they had three children. Over the years Northup became a famous fiddle player, and this gave him recognition in his town.
While Quentin Tarantino is known for his provocative and diligently planned out films, he also is a man who enjoys presenting violence for the sake of violence. In many of his films, Tarantino depicts complicated plots and story lines that are often interrelated with other films he has created. One such example of this is the connection between Kill Bill Vol. 1 and a previous film of his, Pulp Fiction. The character Mia Wallace, played by Uma Thurman, discusses a television show she acted in, in which she was a member of a small assassin teamed comprised of attractive women, with Mia’s specialty being knives. In Kill Bill Vol. 1, the Bride, also played by Uma Thurman, is similarly a member of a small assassin team made up of attractive women.
The movie Southpaw is about a talented boxer named Billy Hope who has a wonderful family, a lot of money, and a lot of fame. Billy is the undefeated champ and is doing everything he can to keep that title. Kurt Sutter, the writer for the movie Southpaw conveys to the audience that you can do something to make a difference so you should never give up on your dreams and that family is everything.
I spent a lot of time considering what movie I would watch to write this essay. I listed off the movies that I would like to watch again, and then I decided on The Notebook. I didn’t really think I could write about adolescence or children, so I thought that, maybe, I could write about the elderly. The love story that The Notebook tells is truly amazing. I love watching this movie, although I cry every time I watch it. The Notebook is about an elderly man that tells the story of his life with the one he loves the most, his wife. He is telling the story to his wife, who has Alzheimer’s Disease, which is a degenerative disease that affects a person’s memory. She has no recollection of him or their life together, or even her own children. She wrote the story of their love herself, so that when he read the story to her, she would come back to him. There are three things that I would like to discuss about this movie. First, I would like to discuss their stage of life and the theory that I believe describes their stage of life the best. Second, I would like to discuss Alzheimer’s DIsease and its affect on the main character who has it and her family. Third, I would like to discuss how at the end of the movie, they died together. I know it is a movie, but I do know that it is known that elderly people who have been together for a long time, usually die not to far apart from one another.
In the media, prisons have always been depicted as a horrible place. The film, The Shawshank Redemption, is a prime example that supports the media 's suggestions about prison life. In the film we are familiarized with Andy Dufresne, who is a banker that is wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and her lover. While trying to both remain discreet and find his prison identity, he assists Ellis Boyd 'Red ' Redding, a peddler, and Brooks Hatlen. In his attempt to fit into the rough prison subculture, Andy strategically starts a business relationship with the captain Captain Bryon Hadley and Samuel Norton. The film gives an insider 's look at various aspects of prison life. These aspects include prison culture; explicitly, guard subculture and inmate subculture.
The movie Forest Gump was a historical fictional story narrated by the main character, Forest Gump. Forest Gump was born in 1944 in Alabama .He was raised by his mother ,and his father left when he was little .Forest Gump wasn’t your average white boy ,Forest was different psychically and mentally .Forest Gump had to wear leg braces as a little boy because of his back. His mother would always encourage him .even though forest was deemed as an idiot, she was still supportive. Forest Gump was teased in school because of his mental capacity .He befriend a girl in school name jenny ,and she would hold a special place in his heart besides his mother .Forest Gump talks about his life and the historic events that the nation endured. Forest Gump’s mother would always say life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what gonna get.”Throughout forest Gump’s life, he meets new people and he also began to have an impact on peoples lives. Forest Gump goes through life becomes successful in everything he does. Even though many might say forest was slow or stupid, he still managed to finish college become an all-star football player for college. He then goes to the army to fight in Vietnam and becomes a war hero .He always managed to keep Jenny in his life even though they were not together. Forest became successful by starting a shrimp business. Forest recruits lieutenant Dan from the army to be his business partner .Forest becomes a millionaire; however he was still humble and living with his mother. Forest was never involved with women socially nor sexually is .The reason for this because Forest never developed a scene of maturity to enter an adult relationship, and besides being a mother’s boy.
The mass media uses prison life as the source for movies and television shows. Over the years there have been many movies written about prison but the most prominent in my mind is Frank Darabont’s, The Shawshank Redemption. Throughout the film there are many examples of the falsities of prison life. There are some elements of truth but they are out weighed by the misconceptions. Numerous prisoners are allowed to walk around the prison and the prison yard with no guards in sight. In actuality there are always guards around, especially on the inside. The prisoner’s movement through the prison is highly restricted.
addresses the process of adaptation used when converting a literary hypotext to the film medium; The Shawshank Redemption (Darabont, Frank) is the film adaptation of Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption (King, Stephen). The story follows characters Red and Andy who serve life sentences in Shawshank Prison. Over many years a strong bond develops, and Andy, wrongly convicted, inspires many at the prison. After Andy escapes, Red decides to follow him upon being granted parole. The story privileges themes of hope, freedom, institutionalisation, friendship, time, and brutality. The film is similar to the novella, however, some aspects differ from the hypotext. Within the novella, Brooks is a minor character, Tommy Williams doesn’t die, and Warden Norton merely retires. Through altering the story, the film modifies the essence of Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption for film audiences and utilises film language to convey meaning. By adding certain scenes, the text takes on stronger themes of hope, institutionalisation and brutality. This draws attention to the themes within the hypotext and thus enhances the parallels between texts.