The Shawshank Redemption (September 23, 1994)
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4 min readSep 23, 2011
17 years ago today, The Shawshank Redemption was released. The movie basically tanked at the box office, but through repeated airings on TNT and exposure via DVD, it has become one of the most beloved films of all time, still the #1 rated film on the IMDB top 250 movies list.
To celebrate, here is an interview in three parts on “The Charlie Rose Show” with writer-director Frank Darabont, and actors Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins.
I was lucky enough to see the Hollywood premiere of the film — one of the cinematic highlights of my life — and raced home that night to send an email to some Castle Rock execs about how much I loved the movie. I noted all sorts of themes and dynamics in the movie, but one tiny set of grace notes sticks with me even to this day: how Darabont used the harmonica in the story. From the script:
ANDY
I had Mr. Mozart to keep me company.
Hardly felt the time at all.RED
Oh, they let you tote that record
player down there, huh? I could'a
swore they confiscated that stuff.ANDY
(taps his heart, his head)
The music was here...and here.
That's the one thing they can't
confiscate, not ever. That's the
beauty of it. Haven't you ever felt
that way about music, Red?RED
Played a mean harmonica as a younger
man. Lost my taste for it. Didn't
make much sense on the inside.ANDY
Here's where it makes most sense.
We need it so we don't forget.RED
Forget?ANDY
That there are things in this world
not carved out of gray stone. That
there's a small place inside of us
they can never lock away, and that
place is called hope.RED
Hope is a dangerous thing. Drive a
man insane. It's got no place here.
Better get used to the idea.ANDY
(softly)
Like Brooks did?
Then this:
152 EXT -- PRISON YARD -- DUSK (1957) 152Red emerges into fading daylight. Andy's waiting for him.RED
Same old, same old. Thirty years.
Jesus. When you say it like that...ANDY
You wonder where it went. I wonder
where ten years went.Red nods, solemn. They settle in on the bleachers. Andy
pulls a small box from his sweater, hands it to Red.ANDY
Anniversary gift. Open it.Red does. Inside the box, on a thin layer of cotton, is a
shiny new harmonica, bright aluminum and circus-red.ANDY
Had to go through one of your
competitors. Hope you don't mind.
Wanted it to be a surprise.RED
It's very pretty, Andy. Thank you.ANDY
You gonna play something?Red considers it, shakes his head. Softly:RED
Not today.
And this:155 INT -- RED'S CELL -- NIGHT (1957) 155...and we find Red gazing blankly as darkness takes the
cellblock. Adding up the months, weeks, days...He regards the harmonica like a man confronted with a
Martian artifact. He considers trying it out -- even
holds it briefly to his lips, almost embarrassed --
but puts it back in its box untested. And there the
harmonica will stay...FADE TO BLACK
Now that is all set up for a tiny grace note. When Red hitches a ride up to that field in Buxton, he trudges along looking for that tree Andy had described:ANDY
(turns back)
Red, if you ever get out of here,
do me a favor. There's this big
hayfield up near Buxton. You know
where Buxton is?RED
(nods)
Lots of hayfields there.ANDY
One in particular. Got a long rock
wall with a big oak at the north
end. Like something out of a Robert
Frost poem. It's where I asked my
(MORE)ANDY (cont.)
wife to marry me. We'd gone for a
picnic. We made love under that
tree. I asked and she said yes.
(beat)
Promise me, Red. If you ever get
out, find that spot. In the base of
that wall you'll find a rock that
has no earthly business in a Maine
hayfield. A piece of black volcanic
glass. You'll find something buried
under it I want you to have.RED
What? What's buried there?ANDY
You'll just have to pry up that
rock and see.
So when Red sees that wall, then peers up and spots that tree, what do we hear in the soundtrack? A harmonica. Not once, but twice. The only time in the movie.Andy talks about how music can remind us of hope.He offers a taste of hope to Red with the gift of the harmonica, but Red refuses to accept it.But when Red finally gets free, rejects committing suicide like Brooks, and heads up to Buxton, what happens when he spots that magical tree? Harmonicas. And then this. And this.Is there a better movie than The Shawshank Redemption? Hard to imagine.Happy Birthday, Shawshank!
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