Dom Robinson reviews
The Shawshank Redemption
Distributed by
VCI
Cat.no: VCD 0004
Cert: 15
Running time: 137 minutes
Year: 1994
Pressing: 1998
Region(s): 2, PAL
Chapters: 18 plus extras
Sound: Dolby Surround (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Languages: English
Subtitles: None
Presented in Fullscreen
Price: £DELETED
Extras : Scene index, Sub-plots, Theatrical trailer, Interviews and
Biographies.
Director:
Producer:
Screenplay:
Frank Darabont (Based on the short novel "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" by Stephen King )
Music:
Cast:
Andy Dufresne : Tim Robbins (The Player, Bob Roberts, Jacob's Ladder )
Red : Morgan Freeman (Deep Impact, Kiss The Girls, Outbreak, Robin Hood:Prince of Thieves, Seven )
Warden Norton : Bob Gunton (Broken Arrow, Ace Ventura 2 )
Heywood : William Sadler (Die Hard 2, Bill And Ted's Bogus Journey )
Captain Hadley : Clancy Brown (Highlander, Blue Steel )
Tommy : Gil Bellows (Love And a .45, Silver Strand )
Brooks : James Whitmore (Asphalt Jungle, Battle Cry )
The Shawshank Redemption Tim
Robbins ) was sent to the Shawshank maximum security prison in 1947 after
being convicted of two brutal murders, receiving a double life sententence,
and he finds out that when you're there for life, that's exactly what they
take from you.
The film follows the fortunes and tragedies of a few of the main inmates,
starting with Andy's first day along with the other new arrivals, where the
prisoners take bets to see which new "fish" will crack first under the
pressure on their first night inside.
As time goes by, Andy forms an unlikely friendship with Red (Morgan Freeman ,
who also narrates the story), a prison "fixer" who can get anything you want,
including Andy's request for Rita Hayworth. Andy also finds himself in favour
with the Warden and the guards when he can use his banking expertise to help
corrupt officials boost their personal wealth.
There are excellent performances from all concerned in this film. Tim
Robbins is perfect as the frightened prisoner who insists he never commited
the crime of which he has been jailed for, but eventually begins to make the
best of a bad situation. Morgan Freeman is equally at home as the
long-term inmate who has long since given up hope of seeing daylight on the
other side as he is endlessly turned down at each parole hearing.
Main actors aside, there is class support from the rest of the cast who have
a sizeable and memorable part, namely Bob Gunton as the evil prison
warden who'll stop at nothing to make life hell for all the prisoners;
Clancy Brown as the equally-evil prison guard Byron Hadley;
William Sadler , good in both Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey as
Death and in Die Hard 2 making life hell for Bruce Willis, appearing
here as a fellow inmate; Gil Bellows as Tommy, a young kid who finds
life is treating him harder than most on the inside; and James Whitmore
as Brooks, the eldest resident of Shawshank prison.
There are two problems with the picture quality of this release. Firstly,
there is a fair amount of pixellation which really shows up on any areas of
black, grey and brown. Secondly, the disc is not presented in widescreen format.
Given that the fullscreen version appears to be open-matte, the 4:3 presentation
isn't the disaster I was expecting and so isn't too much of a problem. However,
given the amount of space available on a DVD one wonders why both formats
haven't been included. A widescreen PAL master clearly exists so are VCI's
DVD division anti-widescreen?
The Dolby Surround soundmix is effectively used mainly to set the ambience,
especially when the inmates try to tease the new "fish" at the start of the
film and later when Andy decides to give a global broadcast to an Italian
opera record across the tannoy system. Also, a wonderful score from Thomas
Newman sets the mood for each scene it is used in. I can't comment on the
Dolby Digital AC-3 sound though as my home cinema setup isn't suitably
equipped.
There are 18 chapters spread throughout the film, compared to 63 on the PAL
LD. However, there are plenty more extras to be found on the DVD. While both
have the theatrical trailer, the DVD contains a scene index making it easy to
get to your favourite parts of the film, an almost six-minute piece containing
interviews with the principal cast members plus producer Niki Marvin and
director Frank Darabont, as well as text biographies of some main cast members.
Also, there's another intriguing extra to this disc called "Sub-Plots".
Click on this brings up a menu with five headings :
1. Red's parole hearings
2. Red and Andy's friendship
3. The "Sisters"
4. Red gives Andy...Rita, Marilyn and Raquel too!
5. Funds, Funds and more funds - The Library Grows
To those who know the film, you'll have an idea of what to expect, but to those
who don't I won't spoil what's in store. However, to summarise, each heading
contains three or four small clips strung together which show how that aspect
of the film develops. It's worth noting that you should only view these after
seeing the whole film so as not to spoil any surprises.
There's just the one language on this disc - English - and there are no
subtitles, nor is there a commentary track.
Another thing to note is that on playing the disc you can't skip past the
VCI logo and copyright info.
Overall, it's a close-run thing between the PAL LD and DVD on first inspection.
The DVD contains the sub-plots feature plus biographies and the interview
section, but after viewing these once you won't come back to them too often.
The LD, on the other hand, benefits from a better picture quality and a
widescreen presentation.
However, while the LD costs £29.99, the DVD will get you a penny change
from 20 quid, so the ultimate decision will be left to the consumer. An NTSC
Laserdisc Special Edition is also available which contains a running commentary
track from the director. This is a coup for region 2 PAL in one respect though
as a region 1 disc has yet to materialise.
On any format though, or whether seen in widescreen or fullscreen, the film
itself is unsurpassable and it makes one wonder when Frank Darabont will follow
it up.
NB. This title is now deleted, but a DVD containing both the widescreen and
fullscreen versions is available. Read the review
HERE!
For a review of the PAL Laserdisc, please click
HERE !
FILM : *****
PICTURE QUALITY : ***
SOUND QUALITY : ****
EXTRAS : ****
PACKAGE : ***
Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1998.
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