“The Shawshank Redemption” was released in 1994 to good but not great reviews — however, over the last two decades, the Frank Darabont-directed movie has aged like fine wine. Not only is it now one of the most heralded movies in history, having topped the IMDb’s list of highest-rated films for more than a decade now, but it is also a selection in the Library of Congress. That’s how important ‘Shawshank’ is.
Looking back at the movie, 25 years since its release, one cannot fathom such a smartly executed adult drama ever being greenlit by a major studio today. Speaking with IndieWire’s Chris Lindahl, Darabont seems to be in agreement, today’s big movie studios are too obsessed with sequels, prequels, reboots and comic book movies to ever think of green-lighting a movie like“The Shawshank Redemption”:
“I absolutely have thought of this many times. I am absolutely certain that I could not make that movie today. I don’t think I could get “Green Mile” made today. I don’t think I could get “The Majestic” made today. I can’t even begin to imagine the studio meddling that would have happened with a movie like “Shawshank,” if not for Castle Rock (which produced it). Castle Rock was — it was the magic kingdom. They were an extraordinary place founded by a filmmaker who understood the creative autonomy that a filmmaker needs to do their best work. It was a tremendously respectful, filmmaker-friendly place. I don’t know if there’s room in our business today for a company like Castle Rock, which is a darn shame.”
As for the current crop of releases invading multiplexes today, Darabont does admit that there are still great movies being made:
“I do see people doing some really sensational work. I do see some personal soul-making still happening. “Hateful Eight” is a great example. I see a guy like Danny Boyle going back time and time again, making one great movie after another. It’s not all the franchise stuff, but that there’s some really good movies that come out of that, too.”
“I love “Doctor Strange.” I’m not necessarily a superhero kinda kind of moviegoer, but there are some examples. Benedict Cumberbatch (the lead) is like my favorite actor these days, I just adore him. That was done very, very well, and I really enjoyed it. That’s one of those you want to get the 4K Blu-ray when it comes out.”
Darabont hasn’t released a movie since 2007’s “The Mist.” It’s not like he’s been inactive, he is the creator of “The Walking Dead” even though the series was taken away from him after its original season had aired (lawsuits between the director and AMC are still ongoing). Darabont admitted in the interview that he has a few projects he’d like to have come into fruition but that there is a lack of interest from producers and studios to finance these scripts.
I wouldn't call this film great — it stops short of that because of how neatly it resolves itself — but I'll give Rock his due here: this is much better than his previous directorial effort, "Top Five."