Morgan Freeman’s The Shawshank Redemption is still one of the best crime-drama movies, and people still love to watch it. The movie was released on 22 September 1994, where Freeman played the role of Ellis Boyd Redding, Tim Robbins portrayed the character of Andy Dufresne, and Clancy Brown was seen as Captain Hadley.
The story is based on Stephen King’s novel Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption. Freeman’s character is also remembered as Red, because of his epic dialogue in the film.
The famous dialogue in The Shawshank Redemption was kept as a Joke
Before the casting of the lead hero for the film The Shawshank Redemption, many great actors were considered to play the part of Ellis Boyd Redding. Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Paul Newman, Gene Hackman, Robert Redford, and Robert Duvall were some of the big names who were on the list of potential actors to play the lead role in the 1994 drama crime movie. In Stephen King’s novel, the character played by Morgan Freeman is a middle-aged Irishman, but director Frank Darabont had the 86-year-old actor in his mind as the character Red.
During the smuggling of the rock hammer scene in the film, Andy and Red’s dialogue included an amazing statement by Morgan. When Andy, the other character in the film, asks Red, aka Ellis Boyd, why his name is Red, he responds, “Maybe it’s because I’m Irish” and it was kept in the movie as a joke.
Morgan Freeman thought the movie title The Shawshank Redemption was complicated
During an interview, Freeman stated why he was dissatisfied with the film’s title. According to the actor, people couldn’t recall the title, which would hurt the film’s sales. While talking about the movie’s title, the Now You See Me actor stated,
“Nobody could say, ‘Shawshank Redemption.’ What sells anything is word of mouth. Now, your friends say, ‘Ah, man, I saw this movie, The … what was it? Shank, Sham, Shim? Something like that. Anyways, terrific.’ Well, that doesn’t sell you.”
No doubt the movie was a huge success and it brought fame and fortune to most of the people who were involved in its making. Robbins, who played the role of Andy in the movie, once mentioned that Nelson Mandela told him that he loved the crime-drama movie. The 64-year-old actor said,
“I swear to God, all over the world—all over the world—wherever I go, there are people who say, ‘That movie changed my life. When I met Nelson Mandela, he talked about loving Shawshank.”
One of the reviewers said that The Shawshank Redemption was the best film released in 1994. The movie earned 73.3 million at the box office and is loved by fans all around the world.
Source: IMDB; Cheatsheet
