Shawshank Redemption

The next type of gangster film that I wanted to focus on was the type of Prison gangster films.  My favorite one that came to mind was the Shawshank Redemption which aired in 1994 with Morgan Freeman & Tim Robbins.  These types of movies are known to try and show hardship not only for the inmates but also show the hardships for the guards and even the almighty evil warden himself.  Being locked up in the big house isn't the only bad thing that happens in this time and I believe that this movie portrayed that very well.

The scene that I wanted to examine in this film takes place on the rooftop where the inmates are tarring the roof of the prison.  While doing this Tim Robbins the banker accused of killing his wife overhears the guards talking about taxes and the money that his brother had left him.  The guard then complains how the IRS will take most of the money that he gets from his brother and tax him for it.  When Tim Robbins character Andy hears this his mind begins to race, you can see it because he stops mopping the tar on and the camera zooms in on his face which you can see he wants to say something to the guards.

Morgan Freemans character Red, then looks at Andy and tells him to keep mopping the tar on the roof.  This shows the separation of class between the two because Andy thinks he still belongs with the outside world not the inmates.  It also shows the problems that the guards might have even being free men, and working they aren't blessed with some of the brain power that Andy has.  Andy then leverages his skills and offers to help the guard do his tax work so that the IRS won't touch it, and in return all he wants is some ice cold beer for the workers almost like breaking the barrier between the two.

The two things that I liked most about the scene was the costumes that were picked out by the director for the guards on top of the building.  When I looked at them first glance they almost look more of Nazis then prison guards and I think that was the effect he was going for because of the sternness of the guards themselves.  I also extremely like the camera angle of andy being held over the edge of the building because it gives you a feeling that he is now powerless to the guard and that the only way he will get out of this is by talking the guard down.  But when you look at the face of Andy he seems to have no fear of death and I believe that they wanted him like the because he knew that he was not supposed to be in the prison.

The hardship that comes with being in jail also shows that their is hardship outside of jail.  When some leave they go crazy because they can simple not cope with the freedom after being locked up for so long.  But one thing that the movie did show a lot of viewers that I believe I got from it was the notion of hope.  And never to give up hope even though you might be in a bad place there is always room for hope because you never know what can happen.  Below is the clip from the Shawshank Redemption.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4oPFXWXaDE

References

King, S. (1994). The Shawshank redemption. New York: Penguin Books.

The Shawshank Redemption - overview. (n.d.). AMC Movie Guide. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from http://movies.amctv.com/movie/133417/Shawshank-Redemption/overview