A great work of art by Stephen King. Brilliant, a Masterpiece. Very well written and thought out. The storyline is extremely tight & well constructed. This film should have won the Oscar for Best Picture but unfortunately it came out the same year as Forest Grump. Forest Grump won the Best Picture Oscar because it was oatmeal for the masses and could be digested easily. When I saw Shawshank Redemption in New York City you could hear a pin drop. That's how captivating a story it is. When the sadistic prison guard captain beat the new inmate to death the audience's eyes were glued to the moviescreen. The film speaks volumes about feelings of despair and hope. The Count of Monte Cristo would have been proud of Andy Dufresne.