Dom Robinson reviews
The Shawshank Redemption (Widescreen re-issue)
Distributed by
VCI
Cat.no: VCD 0004W
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
Widescreen: 1.85:1, Fullscreen 4:3
16:9-enhanced: Yes
Macrovision: Yes
Price: £19.99
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.
Gladly VCI have addressed one problem that dogged the first release - the fact
it was fullscreen only. Ok, so the fullscreen was open-matte, hence the 4:3
presentation wasn't the disaster I was expecting and so wasn't too much of a
problem. However, given the amount of space available on a DVD one wonders why
both formats weren't included and since a widescreen PAL version existed on
video and laserdisc it made me wonder if VCI's DVD division were
anti-widescreen?
The widescreen version is the correct 1.85:1 ratio and not the lesser 16:9
as quoted on the sleeve.
However, the other problem still there is with the picture quality. There
is a fair amount of pixellation which really shows up on any areas of
black, grey and brown.
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.
Extras :
Chapters/Trailer/Interviews/Biographies :
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.
Languages/Subtitles :
Also Available :
Menu :
The interactive menu works well and is animated with a clip from the film
showing behind the options.
One 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.
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 and won't be doing so until at least
March 1999.
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.
For a review of the PAL Laserdisc, please click
HERE !
FILM CONTENT : *****
PICTURE QUALITY : ***
SOUND QUALITY : ****
EXTRAS : ****
-------------------------------
OVERALL : ****
Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1998.
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DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
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