The Shawshank Redemption (BFI Film Classics)

This book has some very interesting insights into the screenplay of Shawshank Redemption, with the changes in the movie vs the actual written story. The author comes off as a bit snooty with saying like, "In the author's opinion..." blah blah blah. Basically, the author liked the book version more than the movie.

Great book

learn WHY you are a fan. This book discusses aspects of the movie that can easily be overlooked or forgotten. After reading this book, you will TRULY be a fan of the actors, the movie, as well as the meaning of the movie.

Fans: You will see Shawshank in a whole new light.Haters: You will learn to like Shawshank. Believe me.

A pleasure

Horrible i thought it was a actual book over priced for what it was could have givin a better description of what it was i sent it to a inmate in a woman prison so i couldnt get it back to return it

i am completely unsatisfied with this book. advertisement said it was the book and no indication was given that book is no longer in print.

The Shawshank Redemption had a number of things going against it at the time of its release: a clunky title, the depressing subject matter of an innocent man in prison for close to two decades, prison rape, suicide. Combine that with being released the same year as Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction and it is no surprise that the movie performed poorly at the time.What is surprising is the movie's history after it went to video. It has been wildly successful, currently ranking number 2 on the internet movie database's list of best movies, voted on not by the critics, but by the general public who actually watch the movies for enjoyment. But even that success is not the full story. The Shawshank Redemption is, for many people, more than just a great movie. It really seems to touch people's lives in a way that other great movies do not.Mark Kermode, the author of this BFI monograph, explores this phenomenon. He sees a great deal of The Shawshank Redemption's attraction in the religious metaphors interwoven throughout the movie. On a superficial level this may seem counterintuitive. After all, the most explicitly religious person in the movie, Warden Norton, is flat out evil. Moreover, he often uses religious icons to facilitate his misdeeds, such as using a framed woven biblical quotation to hide the books he has cooked while using Andy (the innocent man) to facilitate the scam.But underneath this surface is another viewing of the movie. Andy inspires hope of salvation in his fellow prisoners, reminding them that there is something in each of them that cannot be taken away by the stone walls of the prison or the brutality of the guards. In several key scenes, in fact, Andy's arms are spread out, reinforcing the idea of him as a Christ-like personality to his disciples. That Andy's presence lives on at Shawshank among those disciples even after Andy physically escapes and is no longer with them is further evidence still.Along with the main theme, Kermode introduces many lesser themes which also explore ideas of redemption, most of which hit the mark. These include movies themselves as providing a type of secular religion allowing us to escape the confines of our own lives, the music which Andy plays for his fellow inmates as demonstrating the beauty that exists within each of us (and Kermode is correct that the movie would have been better without this particular scene) and the inability of the old inmate Brooks to live without the identity he had formed after being set free.Kermode keeps this book free of the technical lingo that has unfortunately bogged down too many BFI publications. Whether one agrees with him or not, he presents his ideas in a way that is accessible to the lay reader unfamiliar with the details of film analysis. Although most of the BFI books have been at least pretty good, one wishes that more were like this.

While it's a very good analysis unfortunately if you have ever seen the documentary by the same author "The Shawshank Redemption The Redeeming Factor" (which I have several times) then you don't need to read this book because almost everything that is written in this book Mark the cast and crew cover in that documentary, almost word for word. Still a good addition to any collection.

Kermode is a critic that, despite that fact that you disagree with most of his judgments and some of what he says in full-toss ('between a prayer and an orgasm': what the fruck?), he is still worth reading nevertheless. Typical religious themes from MK.

Great book, came well packaged and on time. Would recommend this book to those interested in this sort of thing

I thought I ordered the Stephen king version of the book but that is my fault the book is following the movies story line

I love the BFI monograph series and this one certainly didn't disappoint. Kermode tackles the central issue of why this film is rated so highly - a mystery for me before I read this, now resolved.

Used this for my AS Film studies revision. It was recommend by my teacher, and I found it certainly to be useful. For film studies, there are 3 sections (A, B and C). This book was ideal for section C, as the book does a deep analysis on some of the contexts in the Shawshank redemption (my main case study). For section C, you need to do a micro analysis, and this book certainly helps with that, going over the cinematography, sound and mis-en-scene.Overall, I'd certainly recommend this for anyone studying Shawshank for AS film studies or media studies. This is a great book to get some ideas, which will hopefully get you some extra marks in the exam.

Excellent