The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

     

                                                                                        

Country: United States

Language: English
Directed by:  Frank Darabont
Produced by: Niki Marvin
Based on :Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King
Starring:  Tim Robbins
                Morgan Freeman
Cinematography:  Roger Deagins

Editing by: Richard Francis-Bruce
Music by: Thomas Newman
Release dates: September 23,1994 (limited)                        
                         October 14,1994( North America)
Budget: $ 25 million
Box office:  $28,341,469
Duration: 142 minutes

The Shawshank Redemption tells the story of Andy Dufresne, a banker who spends 19 years in Shawshank State Prison for the murder of his wife and her lover despite his claims of innocence. During his time at the prison, he befriends a fellow inmate, Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding, and finds himself protected by the guards after the warden begins using him in his money laundering operation. 

This movie is about hope and freedom. Freedom is important because it has been taken away from the prisoners who spend whole life in the prison, suffering beatings from the cruel wardens and having a hard time. It is significant that they are still able to feel free, when being trapped behind bars at the same time. Hope is needed to survive, according to Andy " Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and good thing never dies".

The Mozart Opera scene

This Three-minute scene is my favourite scene in one of my favourite movies. It happens when Andy has briefly barricaded himself in one of the prison offices and decides to treat his cellmates to some music over the Shawshank loudspeaker system, and the music is Mozart's opera "the marriage of Figaro".


"It was as if a beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest moments everyman at Shawshank felt free." explained by Red. The music echoing in Shawshank evokes the awareness of pursuing better life among the prisoners who will be jailed for the rest of their life. It is very touching when everyone stop their work and conversation, without moving, listening to the music sang by two Italian women, even none of them can understand the meaning of the music, they still enjoy it. That's the magic of music, and also the magic of hope.

As Red narrating:

"I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free."

Cinematography

It starts when Andy is choosing the disk from a box full of disks. The camera tilts from the box full of disks to Andy, selective focus and medium close up shot shows the importance of the main character. Then he chose a disk and put it on a phonograph, the shot is close up, and selective focus. After that, the camera focus on the key when Andy comes and use the key to lock the doors to ensure no one can come in.

Then the camera follows the string and focus the loudspeaker( selective focus), when Andy turns on the buttons and broadcast the music to the whole shawshank through the loudspeaker system.

It is rack focus when showing the prisoners and the guards stop what they are doing, leaning to the window, trying to find out where the beautiful music is coming from. Using wide angle, the whole square full of prisoners can be seen. The camera height changed from eye level to high angle, then finally, birds eye, then the loudspeaker is slowly revealed  high above the sky. The scene is deep focused, everyone is paying attention to the loudspeaker and enjoying the breathtaking moment. The close-up shot of the prisoners faces reinforces the feeling.

Andy, however, lying on his chair, enjoying the music and his 'masterpiece', ignoring the slammed door and the fiery warden outside the door. When the warden shouting "open the door, turn that off!" and "I am warning you Dufresne!" outside, Andy leans forward and turns up the volume instead, there is a zooming shot and extreme close up to the button, which emphasis the silent resist against the warden and the shawshank jail. In the end, the screen on the door is smashed by the officer and the warden comes in the room. The shot is medium close up, which allows the viewers to notice his angry facial expression. Low angle makes the warden look bigger, threatening and empowered.

The Mozart Opera scene available here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjqmg_7J53s

The trailer available here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hB3S9bIaco