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Excellent! Nov 18, 2009
This is a keeper for you video collection. It will make you laugh and cry. A wonderful movie. Some sad moments, but they all work themselves out. Great to keep and great to give as a gift. Based on a short story by Stephen King.
One of the greatest film Nov 16, 2009
Great movie what else can i say!!! we have a lot of reviewers they talked about the story, so I give the review about the blu-ray .
In my opinion this is a good almost a perfect transfer of the movie. Sharpness and a clearity are very good,like a blu-ray should be.
If you dont have this movie in your home, you really missed something, dont wait any longer, run to the next store and buy SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION you wont regrett it.
The best movie I have ever seen in my entire life. Nov 15, 2009
Inspirational. Uplifting. Deeply moving and truly life-changing. All these words can describe The Shawshank Redemption, and so can many others. This is a movie about hope, forgiveness, justice, and the power of friendship - and of course redemption. If ever there was a movie that could inspire people to overcome the challenges and obstacles in their lives, this is it. Many fans of the film have said that it helped them through divorces and loss of loved ones. There are probably some people who saw this movie and decided not to commit suicide. Simply put, The Shawshank Redemption is a powerful film. According to Roger Ebert, it "absorbs us and takes away the awareness that we are watching a film.". The movie has even been labeled 'essential' by Amazon, and many people (myself included) would proudly proclaim it as the best movie ever made. Although Shawshank was a box-office failure in 1994, it quickly became the #1 rental of 1995 when it was released on video. Perhaps some people ignored its' theatrical release because they thought it was 'just a prison movie', but went on to rent the video because of the film's 7 Academy Award nominations, including best actor and best picture. Unfortunately, it lost to Forrest Gump, which was in my opinion an overrated and lackluster film. It tried to convey the message that 'you can do it if you put your mind to it', but Forrest never really 'put his mind' to anything - things just sort of happened to him. The Shawshank Redemption has a much more solid example of it's message. It deserved to have won something, but in the end the Academy often goes for the most sensational film of the year, which is what Forrest Gump was. Oh, well. One of the many things I've learned from The Shawshank Redemption is to be able to accept certain things I cannot change. Other things I've learned include one of the movie's best quotes: "Get busy living... or get busy dying.". In other words, move forward and forget the past. This quote comes from the character Andy Dufresne, played by Tim Robbins. Andy Dufresne is a bright, young banker who is wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and her lover. He is sentenced to serve two life sentences back to back and in 1947 he is sent to Maine's Shawshank State Prison. After spending the first two months of his imprisonment in silence, he decides one day to talk to a fellow prisoner known simply as 'Red', played by Morgan Freeman. Red is the narrator of the story and he is also 'the guy who can get it for you' - cigarettes, marijuana, playing cards, etc. Andy and Red start to do business together and quickly become good friends. Red doesn't believe Andy when he says he's innocent, but they develop a real bond none-the-less. Red helps Andy adjust to prison life and soon Andy not only makes friends amongst his fellow inmates, but he finds himself applying his education by assisting the guards and even the Warden Norton with their taxes. Andy also builds a bigger and better prison library, complete with books, magazines, and even records. He also helps a number of young inmates earn their high school equivalencies and even rids the prison of a homosexual rapist who poses a threat to others. Andy brings positive change to the prison in general and viewers start to feel like he's in this prison for a reason, like it was meant to be. Indeed, Andy certainly knows how to make the best of a bad situation and he brightens the darkness of the Shawshank State Prison. The Shawshank Redemption is a movie that all adults and mature teenagers should see. It is definitely not your average prison movie, although it does contain plenty of adult language and some violence. If you can get past that content, however, you will find an amazing movie that you will never forget. Plus, this 10th anniversary two-disc special edition features various extras. Writer/director Frank Darabont gives a feature-length commentary and he also joins Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman on a segment of The Charlie Rose Show, in which they look back on the movie years after it was released. There are also two documentaries. The first is called Hope Springs Eternal: A Look Back at The Shawshank Redemption, which includes comments from many of the cast and crew members, including Stephen King, who wrote the novella the movie is based on. The second is called Shawshank: The Redeeming Feature, which examines the movie's enormous impact and following. There are also stills galleries and storyboards and even a comic spoof of the film called The Sharktank Redemption, which takes place in an office building and is decidedly unfunny and pointless. For the most part, however, these extras are interesting and insightful and are a nice addition to my favorite movie that I have seen. I very highly recommend this DVD.
Greatest Movie Ever Oct 26, 2009
This is my favorite film, and over the years I have watched it grow from a near box office flop to one of the most beloved films. This is the tale of Andy Dufrense convicted of murdering his wife "and the fella she was banging." Andy is then sent to Shawshank prison to server back to back life sentences. While there he meets Red, the only guilty man in Shawshank, and his group of friends that make the time easier. He also meets Boggs and the bull queers who make his life a living hell. Through the course of actions, Andy begins to accept he is in prison and makes the best of it. He uses his skills as a banker to do favors for the warden and the guards, and in return he tries to make Shawshank more tolerable for all, by building a library and helping to educate the inmates. Andy seems content to remain in prison, he has found his niche, then he gets word that there may be evidence that could set him free, when the warden disregards the information, Andy generally goes insane and makes a last ditch effort to get out. The film is a roller coaster of emotions, some comical, some tragic, and in the end total redemption. I have seen it many times and still come close to tears at points. Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman create wonderful characters and should have both won Oscars. Since this films release it has moved to number 2 on the [...] list, just behind the Godfather.
About the DVD: It is sparse, which is to say that it does not have the toys that we have come to know and love from our discs (Behind the scenes, trailers, deleted scenes, directors/actors commentary) this one only has the Theatrical trailer. Hopefully with this being the 10 year anniversary of The Shawshank Redemption, Warner Brothers will capitalize on the occasion and release a collectors edition rife with all the requisite goodies.
T
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Blu-ray 'book' edition - a must have Oct 16, 2009
I wasn't sure what to expect when I ordered the Shawshank Redemption on Blu. It was my third, having already enjoyed the VHS and the DVD. It's one of my favorite movies, the all-time 'guy movie' (but all genders should love it), a show of friendship, loyalty, love of freedom and, above all, love of life in freedom. And who could tell a story better than Stephen King, the number one story-teller in residence? And who else practically exhales humanity if not Morgan Freedman as Red Redding? Add Tim Robins as the mysterious and never tired of living Andy Dufresne and it's a movie that at least I keep watching over and over again. I've already watched the Blu edition twice after having watched the DVD and the VHS who knows how many more times.
But I won't be reviewing the movie or the script - it's been done thousands of times already by others, much better qualified. I only want to discuss this most impressive Blu-ray rendition. So, here it comes.
THE BINDING
Physically, it comes in what I see it's called a 'book' binding. I have one other edition of 'The Matrix' put together in the same fashion. It is literally a book. Hard-cover style, the disk attached to the inner side of the back cover. If you open the book, carefully, you will find glossy, beautifully illustrated pages dedicated to the many great actors that played in Shawshank, to Stephen King, of course, the director, the writer. Being a book, it doesn't lock. It also doesn't open very well so, like I said, open it carefully.
I am not going to say that "this book binding alone should be reason enough to get yourself the Blu edition" because it would be silly but the pretty package shows that some TLC was invested when putting this together this release, unlike some other do-it-quick-and-cheap DVD-to-Blu translations - and they know who they are.
PICTURE AND SOUND
The quality is dramatically better when compared to the previous DVD edition. And, no, it does not compare with an upscaled DVD. I watched the first few minutes on the DVD and on the Blu on a PS3 that upscales DVDs and there is no comparison. There is some graininess in scenes shot in semi-dark surroundings but I would call the overall quality of the picture as somewhere between 'excellent' and 'spectacular'.
Almost the same to be said about the sound. The TrueHD makes a significant difference on a 7.1 surround system. I know it because the Dolby 5.1 track is also included and even my untrained ears can tell the difference.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Sadly, there's nothing new here. Three LENGTHY features (40-plus minutes each), including a full Charley Rose episode discussing the movie with all the two main actors and the director. The other two extras feature Stephen King, the script writer, the director, the actors, the town where the movie was shot, the 'Shawshank Prison' building (a former real prison in real life), even former 'true' prisoners, talking about how it really was. All three features are worth watching but, sadly, they are in the old 'narrow screen', low-res TV format with 2-channel stereo sound.
An alternative sound track with director's commentary is also available.
RATING THIS EDITION
With all the little shortcomings noted, it HAS to be a 5-star because I'm comparing it with any of the prior editions. There are very few movies I have on DVD that I would buy again on Blu but, this would be the one I'd get even if I could only afford buying one.
If you have a Blu player and you love The Shawshank Redemption you owe yourself getting this.
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