reviews for The Shawshank Redemption, seven Academy Award nominations, and its powerful legacy, the movie did not perform well at the box office during its initial theatrical run.
Nevertheless, as per a Rotten Tomatoes fan poll, The Shawshank Redemption has been named the best movie of 1994. It defeated Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction in the finals and Disney's The Lion King in the semifinals. Forrest Gump was the other movie that made it to the final four before losing to Pulp Fiction. Other movies in the poll that The Shawshank Redemption won over include Jim Carrey's The Mask, Kevin Smith's Clerks, and Brandon Lee's The Crow.
What This Means For The Shawshank Redemption
It Has Stood The Test Of Time
Even though The Lion King, Forrest Gump, and Pulp Fiction all performed better at the box office, The Shawshank Redemption is now widely regarded as the best movie of 1994. While critics are still impressed by it, general audiences are even more complimentary, leading to an 89% critical score and a near-perfect 98% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Another telling metric is IMDb, where The Shawshank Redemption is rated the number one movie of all time with a 9.3/10 score that sures even The Godfather and The Godfather Part II.
The Shawshank Redemption: 10 Differences Between The Book & The Film
The Shawshank Redemption was actually a Stephen King book before it was a movie, and here are the big differences from page to screen.
"Get busy living, or get busy dying" became one of The Shawshank Redemption's best quotes and encapsulates the movie's hopefulness that has allowed it to stand the test of time. It is a rare movie that feels complete and satisfying on its own, has aged well, and only gets better as time goes on, which is an accomplishment that many movies in 1994 and in many other years cannot achieve. It is tonally different from most other King adaptations, but it remains a beloved take on the prolific author's work.
Our Take On The Shawshank Redemption Winning The Fan Poll
The Movie Has An Unparalleled Legacy
The Shawshank Redemption is a deserving winner in a year when many impressive movies were released. The incredible legacy it has shaped is proof that box office performance is not the only important metric of a movie's success. This latest accolade may just be a fan poll, but it is reflective of the movie's far-reaching and enduring acclaim in an uplifting and empowering story that builds to The Shawshank Redemption's deeply satisfying ending.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes
The Shawshank Redemption
- Release Date
- October 14, 1994
- Runtime
- 142 minutes
- Director
- Frank Darabont
Cast
Tim Robbins
WHERE TO WATCH
Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman star in Frank Darabont's 1994 adaptation of Stephen King's novella Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. After being sentenced to life in prison for the alleged murder of his wife, Robbins' Andy Dufresne learns the value of hope, persistence, and true friendship as he befriends kindhearted convicts like Freeman's "Red" Redding and uses his wits to expose the secret crimes of Bob Gunton's cruel penitentiary warden Samuel Norton.
- Writers
- Stephen King, Frank Darabont
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