The Shawshank Redemption

[Anghammarad]

The strange ranking of the movie at IMDB just goes on and on. At the moment 521618 have collectively ranked it as the Best. Movie. Ever. Made. Ahead of The Godfather, 12 Angry men, One flew over the cuckoo's nest and miles ahed of Citizen Cane.

The obvious question is of course: Why?

It is an OK albeit simple movie. Directing is above average, acting is good, script is OK. But all in all it's certainly far from being spectacular. It's just an OK feel good movie, no better, or worse, than Amélie or Forrest Gump. Reading professional critics on Rotten Tomatoes gives about the same answer, there's nothing wrong with the movie but it certainly is no high point in cinematic history is the verdict.

What then makes this the highest ranked move of all time on IMDB?

 

[Kubalivre]

User ratings, that's why.

 

[astrosdude91]

Did we watch the same Shawshank Redemption? I'd say it's easily one of the best movies of all time!

 

[the Interceptor]

While I often can only shake my head when I read what people say and how they rate movies on IMDB, I must say I'd put the Shawshank Redemption up there as well. I personally wouldn't rate it as the best movie of all time, but definitely far above average of just "good".

 

[Anghammarad]

I personally wouldn't rate it as the best movie of all time, but definitely far above average of just "good".

Well that's more or less my point. It _is_ a good film. Just like Million dollar baby, Seven and Alien are good films (all three actually a bit better than Shawshank if you ask me). But it's certainly no everlasting classic. There is absolutely nothing in the movie that can touch The Godfather, Apocalypse Now or Seven Samurai.

Now I know that taste is something that cannot be discussed but I still fail to see what it is in the movie that is so great. To me at least half of all the movies on the IMDB top 250 are better than Shawshank Redemption. And the honest truth is that I am a sucker for feel good movies in general. What am I missing?

 

[Tedehur]

As Kubalivre said : user ratings. Subjective user ratings.
Pick up a decent movie, vote for it, ask your family and friends to vote for it, ask your buddies at the Planet to vote for it, create a Facebook group asking to vote for it, and let's see in a couple of months how your lobbying has affected the ranking.

 

[the Interceptor]

Now I know that taste is something that cannot be discussed but I still fail to see what it is in the movie that is so great. To me at least half of all the movies on the IMDB top 250 are better than Shawshank Redemption. And the honest truth is that I am a sucker for feel good movies in general. What am I missing?

I think you are incompatible to "The Shawshank Redemption". I have that too with other movies, and I suppose everyone has with some highly regarded flick. The movie just doesn't press your right buttons, which is why you don't rate it as high as other people.

 

[Joel]

 

[Archangel]

I agree with the original poster in that I also find the movie to be very overrated, by all means its a good movie, but I have never really understood why it is so highly ranked on IMDB.

 

[niky]

A critic is paid to review movies. He (or she) has very discerning tastes, and some critics do nothing but sit through movies and pick everything apart. (I'm guilty of this sometimes).

But a movie is about much more than technical sophistication, quality of acting and artsy-fartsy cinematography (although all of these in Shawshank are excellent)... it's about storytelling. IMHO, Shawshank is/was a very compelling story (yes, I liked it more than "The Godfather"). This is what makes it probably the best prison movie ever made (and among the top ten I've ever watched). I understand the frustration Stephen King must have felt in trying to outdo it with "The Green Mile" decades later.

It's not a big budget blockbuster, and wasn't a big success... (it was a flop) or a critical success (being released the same year as Forrest Gump)... but it really comes to life on the small screen, where many of the current users on IMDB are seeing it, and where I first watched it, myself.

 

[Kubalivre]

Did we watch the same Shawshank Redemption? I'd say it's easily one of the best movies of all time!

Don't get me wrong - it's actually one of my favourite movies. It pushes all of my buttons, as it has been said. It's definitely an everlasting classic, and its influence over the audience and the industry is felt.

However, I do realize that it isn't a technical masterpiece or groundbreaking. It's a very, very good movie. Top movie of all time? No.

 

[Syntax error]

As mentioned, it's subjective. I remember watching Shawshank Redemption and really enjoying it. I certainly rate it as a great move, but it's by no means even close to my top 10. I wouldn’t even rate it the best prison movie. I would have thought movies such as The Great Escape or Midnight Express would rate higher in the genre let alone as an overall movie, but then again this is my own personal opinion. The latter two movies I mentioned really left lasting impressions on me, Shawshank Redemption did not.

 

[TB]

I watched it for the first time a few months ago and have no intentions of watching it again for, at a minimum, at least a few years, if ever.

6/10.

 

[TheToad263]

I would vote to put Shawshank as the best movie ever... Its been my personal fave forever... The Godfather is good and all but there is just something about that story and the acting that makes it so great. Such an uplifting feeling at the end. I never get tired of watching it.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

It's just an OK feel good movie, no better, or worse, than Amélie or Forrest Gump.

That's my impression of it. It's easily the most overrated movie of all time.

 

[blaaah]

I watched it once and wouldn't choose to watch it again. It wouldn't offer me anything twice.
I just watched "Withnail and I" yet again and It's still a joy to watch and always will be to me.
The characters in Shawshank are not interesting.

 

[MarkWebber]

People who think Shawshank Redemption is boring, or not as good as what IMDB rates it as, generally have poor values in life and aren't inspired by the human spirit and our amazing ability to overcome adversity in the most trying of circumstances.

Thinking about it, I wouldn't really want anything to do with people like that, and that may sound a bit judgmental, but to me it paints a clear picture of a persons character, weather they like this movie or not.

 

[Clark]

For the whole prison film genre, I'd say The Green Mile is head and shoulders above this.

 

[niky]

"The Green Mile" was nice, but I liked Shawshank better.

 

[a6m5]

Surprisingly really good film, but yeah, I wouldn't consider it the best. I think this film might be the biggest "word of mouth" film I know though.

 

[Leo Messi]

It's worse than i have remembered after seeing it lately. Not even in the top ten I must say.

 

[Toronto122]

"The Green Mile" was nice, but I liked Shawshank better.

Well, opinions may vary, but I loved Shawshank...Stephen King's best work if you ask me...

Another great prison flick: "The Last Castle"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0272020/

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

I just watched this movie about a month ago for the first time and I thought it was great!

 

[Anghammarad]

Never mind

 

[cheocaidh]

Hey,
thought this ltd edition Shawshank print may interest some of you as fans of the movie?

http://www.donaldsmithgraphicdesign...-Shawshank-Redemption-Ltd-Edition-Poster.html