There is no reason for this to happen, but I tend to forget how good The Shawshank Redemption is. It’s just so, damn, good. The story, the setting, and the characters coalesce into a gripping amalgam so intense that you feel the same rush of freedom Andy Dufresne felt after taking shit for years before crawling through it to get outside the walls of Shawshank Penitentiary. This is a film that, out of the gate, saddles you with relating to carrying the weight of a life sentence for a crime to which innocence is claimed. It is a terrifying perspective that only worsens as the prison bus brings Andy to his new home of cold stone and faces. He would have been best served to abandon his humanity with his belongings. But, who truly wants to take that step to sever whatever strands of hope exist and instead harden the soul, erasing all identity of the person who once was? It is not an insignificant act to hold onto that identify in the face of a bleak, meaningless existence. In the end, hope and humanity will be the only things that can withstand even the darkest of events and provide any chance of moving forward into a future with potential. That is a slice of what Shawshank has the viewer contemplate as they journey along with Andy Dufresne and watch as he survives, finds purpose, and builds vital relationships as year after year sheds from his life.

As number 72 on the AFI Top 100, Shawshank Redemption feels as though it could be higher on the list. There is a richness to the film created by the complementary interaction between the score, cinematography, and acting, which is not something too many films have had on the AFI list thus far. The score is themed-based with the appropriate crescendos and subtleties to be vital to the movie without taking over. Paired with the cinematographic creativity that is a masterclass in emphasizing the emotion of the moment, the score allows the story to flow and the actors to fully utilize the palette they were given.

Speaking of the actors, it is impossible to picture anyone other than Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne or Morgan Freeman as Red. For Robbins, it’s the boyish naïveté hiding intelligent cunning that makes the character iconic. Morgan Freemen is, simply, Morgan effing Freeman, and besides having one of the most iconic voices in cinema, nobody plays a better mentor character. While I know Freeman had other defining roles prior to Shawshank, this is the first movie where I truly remembered his character. Shawshank was my introduction to Morgan Freeman, and my cinematic appreciation is better for it. Top to bottom, there are memorable faces and characters. They all received their focused screen time, because they all had important roles during Andy’s time in prison; they shaped the man he became. There is some introspective quality there, as we can all examine those in our life and how they shape the people we become (hopefully without as extreme an experience).

The Shawshank Redemption, without question, belongs on the AFI Top 100. While it is more of a modern classic (if the 90’s can still be considered ‘modern’), that should not discredit it from being higher than 72. I am excited to watch the 71 movies considered “better” than Shawshank, because that means I am in for quite a treat. If you have watched this film, I hope it carved out a place of appreciation that you can go back to time and again. If you have yet to see Shawshank, then I cannot recommend enough that you find a way to make it happen. Do yourself that favor.