Shawshank Redemption re-release: 14 quotes from the film about friendship, freedom, hope and life
Shawshank Redemption is getting a re-release. Here are 14 quotes from the film that are all about hope, friendship and more, because that’s what kept Andy and Red close.
1994, an interesting year for Hollywood when films that went on to become cult hits released and still remain ultimate favourites. In 2019, it’ll be 25 years, a quarter of a century since the audience was first exposed to brilliantly written scripts such as Shawshank Redemption and Forrest Gump. For those who have enjoyed the live-action feature of the animated classic Lion King, might recall that it too released in the same year as the aforementioned films.
So what makes Shawshank Redemption, based on Stephen King’s novella titled Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, part-heartwarming, part-heartwrenching classic that continues to move its most loyal audience? The real answer is that there can never be one answer to this question. From the writing that inspires to the friendship that Andy and Red shared to the supporting characters and their struggles to the silent undercurrent of wanting to escape the confines of prison... the movie’s story speaks about it all. Interestingly, the first few times I watched the film, Andy’s banking skills being put to good use made me want to learn how to do my tax filing on my own too. So you see, there is a lot of relevant teachings one gets from the material.
In the 25th year since its release the film is touted to return to screens as a re-release. That’ll surely be a walk down memory lane for the followers of great storytelling to begin with. Here are a few of our most favourite quotes from the film that’s bound to give you a mental picture of the moment the quote is from. Read on.
1. I have to remind myself that some birds aren’t meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice. — Red
2. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope. - Red
3. Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. — Andy Dufresne
4. I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living or get busy dying. — Andy Dufresne
5. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane. — Red
6. Andy Dufresne - who crawled through a river of s*** and came out clean on the other side. – Red
7. A whole life blown away in the blink of an eye. Nothing left but all the time in the world to think about it. - Red
8. I remember thinking it would take a man 600 years to tunnel through the wall with it. Andy did it in less than 20. - Red
9. I wish I could tell you Andy fought the good fight. I wish I could tell you that... But prison is no fairy tale world. - Red
10. I find I’m so excited that I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it’s the excitement only a free man can feel. A free man at a start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. - Red
11. They send you here for life, that’s exactly what they’re taking. - Red
12. I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don’t want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I like to think they were singing about something so beautiful it can’t be expressed in words and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away. And for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free. - Red
13. Andy: You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific?
Red: No.
Andy: They say it has no memory. That’s where I want to live the rest of my life. A warm place with no memory. We sat and drank with the sun on our shoulders and felt like free men.
14. Heywood: Count of Monte Crisco.
Floyd: It’s Cristo, you dumb s***.
Heywood: By Alexan-dree Dumm-ass. Dum*ass?
Andy: Dumm-ass? Dumas. You know what that’s about? You’ll like that, it’s about a prison break.
Red: We ought to file that under educational too, oughtn’t we?
