It's kind of amazing that two of the best movies of the last 15 years or so are novellas by Stephen King, a man more well known for horror books (Stand By Me is the other movie). Shawshank is brilliantly written and produced. Tim Robbins is at the top of his game, but it is the performance by Morgan Freeman which is the most impressive. He is simply wonderful. Due to the number of times that this film has been on TNT/TBS, I have probably seen it 15 or so times and it has never gotten old. I can't recommend a movie more highly than Shawshank.