Darabont later adapted and directed two other King stories, The Green Mile (1999) and The Mist (2007).[105] In a 2016 interview, King said that The Shawshank Redemption was his favorite adaptation of his work, alongside Stand by Me.[106]
The oak tree, under which Andy leaves a note for Red directing him to Zihuatanejo, became a symbol of hope for its role in the film, and is considered iconic.[58][107] In 2016, The New York Times reported that the tree attracted thousands of visitors annually.[108] The tree was partially destroyed on July 29, 2011, when it was split by lightning, and news of the damage was reported by U.S. and international publications.[107][109] The tree was completely felled by strong winds on or around July 22, 2016,[107] and its vestiges were cut down in April 2017.[110] The remains were turned into The Shawshank Redemption memorabilia, including rock hammers and magnets.[111]
The prison site, which was planned to be fully torn down after filming,[55][112] became a tourist attraction.[53] The Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society, a group of enthusiasts of the film, purchased the building and site from Ohio for one dollar in 2000 and took up maintaining it as a historical landmark, both as its purpose as a prison and as the filming site.[55][113] A 2019 report estimated the attraction to be earning $16 million in annual revenue.[41] Many of the rooms and props remain there, including the false pipe through which Andy escapes,[55] and a portion of the oak tree from the finale, after it was damaged in 2011.[44] The surrounding area is also visited by fans, while local businesses market "Shawshanwiches" and Bundt cakes in the shape of the prison.[55] According to the Mansfield/Richland County Convention and Visitors Bureau (later renamed Destination Mansfield),[59] tourism in the area had increased every year since The Shawshank Redemption premiered, and in 2013 drew in 18,000 visitors and over $3 million to the local economy.[44] As of 2019, Destination Mansfield operates the Shawshank Trail, a series of 15 marked stops around locations related to the film across Mansfield, Ashland, Upper Sandusky, and St Croix. The trail earned $16.9 million in revenue in 2018.[59][114]
In late August 2014, a series of events was held in Mansfield to celebrate the film's 20th anniversary including a screening of the film at the Renaissance Theatre, a bus tour of certain filming locations, and a cocktail party at the reformatory. Cast from the film attended some of the events, including Gunton, Scott Mann, Renee Blaine, and James Kisicki.[15] The 25th anniversary was similarly celebrated in August 2019.[115] Guests included Darabont, Blaine, Mann, Gunton, Alfonso Freeman,[114] Bellows, Rolston, Claire Slemmer,[116] and Frank Medrano.[117] Darabont stated that only at this event, the first time he had returned to Mansfield, was he able to realize the lasting impact of the film, stating, "It is a very surreal feeling to be back all these years later and people are still talking about it."[112]
Critical reassessment
Contemporary review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an 89% approval rating from 140 critics, with an average rating of 8.20/10. The consensus reads, "Steeped in old-fashioned storytelling and given evergreen humanity by Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins, The Shawshank Redemption chronicles the hardship of incarceration patiently enough to come by its uplift honestly."[118] The film also has a score of 82 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 21 critics indicating "universal acclaim".[119]
In 1999, film critic Roger Ebert listed Shawshank on his list of The Great Movies.[92] The American Film Institute ranked the film number 72 on its 2007 AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) list, outranking Forrest Gump (76) and Pulp Fiction (94).[120][121] It was also number 23 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers (2006) list charting inspiring films.[122]
In 2005, the Writers Guild of America listed Darabont's screenplay at number 22 on its list of the 101 greatest screenplays,[123] and in 2006, Film4 listed it number 13 on its list of 50 Films to See Before You Die.[124] In 2014, The Shawshank Redemption was named Hollywood's fourth-favorite film, based on a survey of 2,120 Hollywood-based entertainment industry members; entertainment lawyers skewed the most towards the film.[125] In 2017, The Daily Telegraph named it the 17th-best prison film ever made,[126] and USA Today listed it as one of the 50 best films of all time.[127] In 2019, GamesRadar+ listed its ending as one of the best of all time.[128]
The Shawshank Redemption appeared on several lists of the greatest films of the 1990s, by outlets including: Paste and NME (2012),[129][130] Complex (2013),[131] CHUD.com (2014),[132] MSN (2015),[133] TheWrap,[134] Maxim,[135] and Rolling Stone (all 2017).[136]
Cultural influence
In November 2014, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences celebrated the film's 20th anniversary with a special one-night screening at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California.[46] In 2015, the film was selected by the United States Library of Congress to be preserved in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Darabont responded: "I can think of no greater honor than for The Shawshank Redemption to be considered part of our country's cinematic legacy."[90] Variety said that the word "Shawshank" could be used to instantly convey images of a prison.[36]
The significant and enduring public appreciation for the film has often been difficult for critics to define.[90] In an interview, Freeman said, "About everywhere you go, people say, 'The Shawshank Redemption—greatest movie I ever saw'" and that such praise "Just comes out of them". Robbins 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'".[8] In a separate interview, Stephen King said, "If that isn't the best [adaptation of my works], it's one of the two or three best, and certainly, in moviegoers' minds, it's probably the best because it generally rates at the top of these surveys they have of movies. ... I never expected anything to happen with it."[137] In a 2014 Variety article, Robbins claimed that South African politician Nelson Mandela told him about his love for the film,[8] while it has been cited as a source of inspiration by several sportsmen including Jonny Wilkinson (UK), Agustín Pichot (Argentina), Al Charron (Canada), and Dan Lyle (USA),[138] and Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York.[139] Gunton said he had encountered fans in Morocco, Australia, South America,[140] Germany, France, and Bora Bora.[38] Director Steven Spielberg said that the film was "a chewing-gum movie—if you step on it, it sticks to your shoe".[40] Speaking on the film's 25th anniversary, Darabont said that older generations were sharing it with younger generations, contributing to its longevity.[41]
It has been the number-one film on IMDb's user-generated Top 250 since 2008, when it surpassed The Godfather, having remained at or near the top since the late 1990s.[8][78] In the United Kingdom, readers of Empire voted the film as the best of the 1990s, the greatest film of all time in 2006, and it placed number four on Empire's 2008 list of "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time" and their 2017 list of "The 100 Greatest Movies".[21][141][142][143] In March 2011, the film was voted by BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra listeners as their favorite film of all time.[144] It regularly appears on Empire's top 100 films, was named the greatest film to not win the Academy Award for Best Picture in a 2013 poll by Sky UK (it lost to Forrest Gump),[145] and ranked as Britain's favorite film in a 2015 YouGov poll. When the British Film Institute analyzed the demographic breakdown of the YouGov poll, it noted that The Shawshank Redemption was not the top-ranked film in any group, but was the only film to appear in the top 15 of every age group, suggesting it is able to connect with every polled age group, unlike Pulp Fiction which fared better with younger voters, and Gone with the Wind (1939) with older voters.[77]
A 2017 poll conducted by Gatwick Airport also identified the film as the fourth-best to watch while in flight.[146] When English film critic Mark Kermode interviewed a host of United States moviegoers, they compared it to a "religious experience".[77] It was also voted as New Zealand's favorite film in a 2015 poll.[147] Lasting fan appreciation has led to it being considered one of the most beloved films of all time.[8][36][114][148][149]
