I am the last man in America to have seen Shawshank Redemption

I held off on watching Shawshank for a long time, too, because I didn't think the movie could live up to the story. Guess I was wrong about that, eh?
Still, the original story's worth checking out.

 

How I love McSweeney's.

I'm partial to this one: http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2005/7/11starmer.html

 

Choose your favorite version:

or

 

Don't feel bad, BYH. I haven't seen it.

 

Well, you did die four years before it was released.

 

I'm envious. What I would do to watch that film for the first time again.

"Get busy livin, or get busy dyin'. That's goddamn right."

The tears start flowing for me with that line, time and again, all the way through the beautifully understated end.

 

Great, great movie.

How Robbins came away from that movie with nothing is a crime.

 

I saw this same showing last night. I should've been in bed by 10 because I had a 6 a.m. wakeup call, but I couldn't turn it off. I had to watch end where they go through Robbins' escape.

It's actually kind of cool watching it again (kind of like Fight Club and other movies) to see the clues. It makes the scene where the Warden handles the Bible incredibly tense, even though you know what happens.

The only thing, and maybe I'm thinking too much, was that it seemed pretty amazing that Ellis Redding found the right hayfield and knew where to dig given the vague directions he go from Andy. Oh well, whatever. A great flick.

 

Yeah, that bugged me, too.

 

Excellent movie, one of my top five of all time (Godfathers I and II, Shawshank, 12 Angry Men and To Kill A Mockingbird). Morgan Freeman has never been in a bad movie, to my way of thinking. Or is that too obtuse for you to understand.

And, by the way, how did Forrest Gump beat this out for best movie of the year? There is no comparison.

 

Great movie. I can't even remember how many times I've watched the ending. I'll catch it in the middle on TNT or TBS and have to see the rest. Freeman's line about missing his friend really is outstanding, but another favorite is his comment on the warden.

"I'd like to think that the last thing that went through his head, other than that bullet, was to wonder how the hell Andy Dufresne ever got the best of him."

 

My friend from grad school wrote that. He's trying to get a sportswriting job around Augusta, if anyone's hiring. Hilarious stuff.