Transcript The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank
Redemption
Introduction to the prison setting
► Red’s
First Parole Hearing
► Sound of iron prison bars opening. Close up
of the bars sliding open. We feel a great
sense of imprisonment.
► Point of view long shot shows a row of five
sombre, grey looking older men sitting at a
table.
► Medium shot of Red fiddling with his hat. He
seems nervous – but what is he nervous of:
leaving or staying? Red doesn’t know how
to conduct himself.
► Red is in the light – foreshadows that he
may have hope
“I learnt my lesson. I can honestly say
I’m a changed man. No longer a threat to
society. That’s the
►
God’s honest truth” – Sounds rehearsed,
he’s said this before, telling them what they
want to hear.
►
► Sound
of the stamp with a close up of the word
‘Rejected’.
► Red walks out of the parole hearing and there is a
level medium close up of Red. The walls have
some light on them – they don’t appear so
daunting; this can be contrasted with Andy
entering the Shawshank. The light is focused on
the prison – this is where Red feels safe/ at home.
► “There must be a con like me in every prison in
America” – Red is a ‘big man’ in the prison. He has
respect from the others. A businessman/
entrepreneur. People rely on him.
Andy Entering Shawshank
► Sweeping overhead shot of the prison shows
gothic buildings – the prison seems threatening
and all encompassing, lifeless (drains prisoners of
hope and freedom). Music is sombre and slow
moving – like time in prison. There is dull lighting
and everything, including the prison uniform is
grey. The prisoners seem helpless.
► The sweeping overhead shot allows us to get a
sense of the atmosphere of the prison –
foreboding, daunting, draws the life out of you.
► Voice over – Red is the voice of authority and
knowledge on Andy. This voiceover allows us to
learn details about Andy and his background that
are an integral part of the film
►
“Andy came to prison in early
► Zoom in to a medium close up of
1947”
Andy shows that
he still appears to be devoid of emotion. He is not
giving anything away.
► A series of point of view shots shows what the
prison has in store for the new prisoners – The
black-cloaked guards waiting for them and the
prisoners lined up like caged animals banging and
shaking the wire fence. They are threatening ‘Fish’
‘Bitch’
► Low angle point of view shot of Andy walking into
the prison show the great grey walls suffocating
and enveloping him. It is a threatening place that
swallows you whole – also we get the idea that it
is impossible to escape.
Power and Corruption
► Introduced to the Warden Norton and Hedley
► Medium close up reveals that they are dressed in dark
colours and are both framed by dark/ shaded
background light. Contrast with the prisoners. Straight
away we get the hypocrisy and corruption of the
authorities:
►
“Put your faith in the Lord; your ass belongs to
me”
► He talks about religion and God, respecting these
things and then stands by and allows Hedley to beat a
prisoner.
► Lighting contrast between the ‘corrupt’ screws and
prisoners
► Shadow-like long shot of Hedley beating up the new
prisoner – they look almost demonic
►
“I swear by God and sunny Jesus” – blasphemy,
hypocrisy