One of the greatest films of our time, now comes in even more color with 4K quality. Accountant Andy Dufrein is charged with the murder of his own wife and her lover. Once in a prison called Shawshank, he is faced with the brutality and lawlessness that reigns on both sides of the bars. Everyone who falls into these walls becomes their slave for the rest of their lives. But Andy, who has a lively mind and a kind soul, finds an approach to both the prisoners and the guards, seeking their special favor.

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The Shawshank Redemption is a screen version of Stephen King’s novel. In my opinion, this is the rarest case when a film has surpassed the literary work for which it was created. And, despite the fact that it is always difficult to stage a picture based on a book, this is an example when the film not only perfectly conveyed on the screen all the depth, atmosphere and semantic core of King’s wonderful book, but also turned out to be stronger, surpassing the original.

Of course, this film is not so much about the escape and the horrors of prison life, but, above all, about human relationships and people. And, first of all, this is the story of a wonderful person, told to us by his friend.

Andy Dufrein is a young man who worked as vice president of a large bank and was unjustly sentenced to two life sentences for the murder of his wife and lover. In fact, he is a person who has found himself in a monstrous and terrible situation. And, having gone through all the circles of hell and tested for pride, courage, perseverance, honor and human dignity, he did not break down and did not lose his human appearance, showing himself to be an integral and strong personality with an unbending core of will within, incredible character and strength of mind. Always calm, balanced, restrained, noble and very intelligent – just once he showed the emotions accumulated inside, lost control and lost his temper.

Andy is, first of all, a man of words and deeds. And he does not differ from one another. Andy is well characterized by many excellent episodes: his incredible tenacity and perseverance, with which he wrote letters to the State Senate asking for funding for the prison library, his desire to always help another person, his dialogue with Tommy, whom he helped to get an education: “I am not dealing with losers. ” – “I’m not a loser.” – “Good. Because if you and I start, we will go to the end – one hundred percent. ” And, of course, the famous rooftop scene and the scene where he locked himself in the director’s office and played an old phonograph record through the loudspeaker. This moment perfectly shows the feelings that the prison kills and which Andy returned to many prisoners, including his friend:

“I have no idea what those two Italians were singing about that day – I really didn’t want to know. Some things are better not to know. I wanted to think that they were singing about something so beautiful that it cannot be expressed in words and that more often makes the heart beat. These voices were purer and brighter than those dreamed of in this gray, squalid place. As if two birds flew in and scattered the walls of our cages with their voices, and for a short moment every person in Shawshank felt free. ”

Shawshank is a majestic, gothic and gloomy prison building that leaves no hope for a person after the cell door is closed behind him. But to many prisoners, including Red, Andy showed a different outlook on life and gave such a thing as hope, because in the end, Red realized that everyone has a simple choice – live or die, but if you live, then you have to go to the end, and no matter how hard it may be for you, you can always remain human, because even in prison you can be free and you cannot lose hope: “This is what they can never take from us. This is a piece of your soul and it belongs only to you. ”

Red, Andy’s closest and best friend, is an equally dramatic character. Received a life sentence for murder and spent most of his life in Shawshank, he became a “prison” man. A person for whom life makes sense only in the context of a prison, because here he is a person and a significant person who can get everything, and in freedom he is nobody and nobody needs, and in order to acquire something, it is enough to open a telephone directory. Red very accurately formulated the idea of ​​depriving a person of freedom and his life in prison: “These are strange walls: first you hate them, then you get used to them, and then you start to depend on them.”

Red is not a stupid person, but he did not comprehend and did not fully understand the meaning of his stay in prison and his “re-education”, so every ten years he receives a refusal from the early release commission. And only with the arrival of Andy, he begins to slowly change and rethink his life and, in the end, he fully understands the true meaning of the word “hope” and the lack of meaning in the word “re-education” and comes to understanding and forgiveness. Forgiving yourself.

The relationship between these two people, which began with mutual distrust and hostility, is shown in a remarkable and masterly manner: “They say you keep yourself apart from everyone. Do you think your shit smells better than the rest? ” and culminating in a reassessment of the values ​​of life and of oneself and a real friendship lasting a lifetime, which withstood all trials and obstacles.

The acting in the film is worthy of the highest praise – all the actors played excellently, and Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman played their characters beautifully and very organically, demonstrating a very strong and deep acting and the fact that Tim Robbins was not even nominated for an Oscar is outrageous injustice on the part of the Academy.

In addition to the two main roles, there are many very interesting minor characters in the film: the humorous Haywood performed by William Sadler, the young ochlamon and Mr. Rock and Roll Tommy, Brooks is a very deep and dramatic character, about whom Frank Darabont said: “This is a very touching character and if he leaves you indifferent, it means that nothing will touch you in this life ”.

And, of course, the brilliantly played negative roles of Clancy Brown and Bob Gunton, who brilliantly played the warden of Norton. His character is a terrible, cold-blooded and completely ruthless man who believes in only two things – discipline and the Bible. The latter is very symbolic, because, considering himself “the shepherd of the lost sheep and the light of the world”, he soullessly and cruelly destroys what Andy has been building for years, but, in the end, the biblical text in the picture in his office turns out to be prophetic: “And his judgment is coming and it will be quick and quick. ”

In addition to the excellent acting and the brilliant script adaptation of King’s book, many things from which can be safely quoted, it is worth noting the technical execution of the picture: wonderful camera work and editing, good sound and artist’s work, unobtrusive, dramatic, soft and very beautiful music by Thomas Newman. fits perfectly into the style of the film and conveys the Shawshank atmosphere, the inner world and the experiences of the characters in the picture.

There are many memorable, sometimes shocking, and sometimes very touching moments in the film, when tears are almost impossible to hold back, and, of course, one cannot but mention the incredibly strong jailbreak scene shown through Andy’s eyes and told by Red – it creeps to the skin and evokes admiration for the triumph of human courage and fortitude:

“The policemen combed everything around, but the only thing they managed to find was a set of prison uniform, a bar of soap and an old stone hammer, worn to the ground. I once thought it would take six hundred years to dig a tunnel for them. Andy did it in less than twenty. I sometimes imagine how he is driving in his own car with the top down and then I can not help smiling. Andy Dufrein, passing through the river of shit and coming out clean from the other side, Andy Dufrein, heading for the Pacific Ocean “…

The ending of the film, despite the previous tragic narration, is optimistic and life-affirming, and one of the final moments of the picture is incredibly beautiful and is one of the most powerful scenes in the film: Red walks across the field towards a huge, spreading oak tree, soft sunlight is shining, beautiful nature is all around , grass, flowers and bees flying towards them, harmony and silence, broken only by the twittering of birds and the chirping of insects in the grass – this place is very similar to paradise.

And the final dialogue when Red reads Andy’s letter: “Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best thing of all, and good things don’t die.” “I hope I can cross the border. Hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific Ocean is as blue as I saw it in my dreams. I hope”.

I have seen this film countless times, but with each new viewing I watch it as if for the first time, reliving the events and rethinking life together with the heroes of the picture. After watching, I sit for a long time in thought with tears in my eyes, and at this moment calmness and some kind of lightness reign in my soul. This film is a must see for everyone and even if you are not a film fan, after watching “The Shawshank Redemption” you will gain a lot for yourself. One of the most powerful and deepest dramas in the history of cinema.

Info Blu-ray
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265 (49.0 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: HDR10
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Audio
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: DTS 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
French: Dolby Digital 2.0
French: Dolby Digital 2.0
German: Dolby Digital 2.0
Italian: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
Chinese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Hungarian: Dolby Digital 2.0
Polish: Dolby Digital 2.0
Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles
English SDH, French, German SDH, Italian SDH, Spanish, Hungarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Japanese, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian SDH, Polish, Swedish.