Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has been digging deep into their exquisite well and bringing some of their most popular and revered titles to the best of the best audio-wise and video, 4K. The latest is a classic, The Shawshank Redemption.
Based on the Stephen King short story, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, the shortened title Shawshank Redemption—starring Tim Robbins and Samuel L. Jackson—arrived in theaters to little fanfare in 1994. It arrived on screen and didn’t dud, but it failed to catch fire either. What happened is what occurs to many a film title… it takes time and usually involves years of pay-TV like HBO and rental sites like Blockbuster and then Netflix. Now, it is considered a revered classic and one of the best movies ever made. Period.
Then for what we are about to tell you, tens of millions of folks should desire to do the jig. The Shawshank Redemption has arrived on the crème de the crème of the home video market, 4K. Frankly, it’s about time.
The thing that works for Shawshank is that it is insanely re-watchable—whether stumbling upon it on TV or popping in your own VHS, DVD, or Blu-Ray. It is one of those films that will stop you in your tracks if you are just “channel surfing” on some random weekend. If you do not own the film, now is the perfect time to add this indelible classic to the home video collection. If you already own one of the best King cinematic adaptations, you haven’t seen or heard it like you can with this 4K restoration that takes an already stunning movie event experience and sends it through the roof of must-sees and expectations.
Now, the Blu-ray disc that is (always) included in 4K releases contains both the 2008 “Digibook” edition, as well as the 2020 Blu-ray. What is fascinating about this transfer is that it never loses the “graininess” of the original, which would have been tempting to “iron” out. Instead, the “feel” of the film remains intact and that is supremely important. You do not want to mess with perfection. Yet, at the same time, visually and audio-wise, this is a huge improvement in both departments and as such, further sucks you into the Robbins as Andy Dufresne and Freeman as Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding tale.
The two of them find themselves incarcerated in a Maine correctional institution with little hope on the horizon on a myriad of levels. The mesmerizing and emotionally pushing film is at its heart the story of two men who meet in 1947 under the unique circumstances of prison life. They build a camaraderie that runs deep and through the performances of these two titans of thespians, it develops at a pace that will warm your heart and simultaneously get you thinking about the treatment of our prison population.
Robbins and Jackson are phenomenal. The film would earn seven Oscar nominations—including Best Picture, Best Director Frank c, Best Actor (Freeman), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography (Roger Deakins!), Best Sound, Best Editing, and Best Original Score. It would go home empty-handed, but its lore in the Hollywood cog was merely just beginning. Having people watch and experience your movie is infinitely more important than any awards and let’s just say that it is safe that The Shawshank Redemption is much more adored by more people and has stood the test of time better than the film that did win (Forrest Gump).
How good of a choice was Darabont to helm Shawshank, it was the first time in movie history that a filmmaker scored a Best Picture nod for his first two films—Shawshank and 1999’s The Green Mile. Yes, both King, but when you get what the master is going for, it’s a match made in heaven that you do not want to tinker within= the least. Darabont also penned the screenplay (as he also did with Green Mile). He gets King and looking back of Hollywood’s long history with the horror master, there truly are few that do understand the literary majesty of one of our greatest authors.
When it comes to the audio upgrade, WB used the same mix they utilized on the Blu-ray releases over the years, i.e., Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix. But with the 4K experience, it is louder, clearer, and works much better than it ever did in Blu-ray form.
The video transfer utilized a 2160p HDR transfer and to call it pristine is an understatement. Just as WB has done with many of its updated 4K classics, from Full Metal Jacket, My Fair Lady, to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (that’s just the beginning!), it all works concurrently elegantly and electrically.
The other aspect that is such a cinephile’s joy is that the work of Deakins comes through better than one could even dream with the 4K upgrade. Exactly what he was going for has always been mind-blowing, in 4K it is a genius realized. The film itself was shot on two different stocks of film and instead of it being a challenge, the 4K transfer allows the director’s dream and vision to truly find the light of day.
It’s not only Oscar nominations and decades of fanaticism that have kept Shawshank Redemption on the tip of our collective tongues for decades now. In 1995, the United States Library of Congress selected the film and added it to the National Film Registry. It cited its astounding cultural, historical, and aesthetic achievement.
There is only one “new” bonus feature, but it’s a doozy. Darabont added a commentary track that is not to be missed. I’ve always said that the feature commentary track is like the film school of the 21st century, but I never knew how much impact one it could have until the Commentary by Frank Darabont for Shawshank Redemption arrived.
The remainder of the bonus features is identical to those on the 2008 Blu-ray release. Including:
Hope Springs Eternal: A surprisingly sentimental journey through time to the making of the film that clocks in at about a half-hour. Its highlight has to be how everyone’s reaction to the box office disappointment morphs into utter delight as its subsequent success is how the conversation goes.
Redemption is a huge concept in cinema. That is front and center for the featurette Shawshank: The Redeeming Feature. The almost hour-long bonus is hosted by British film aficionado Mark Kermode and takes a fascinating look at the concept and how Shawshank was able to thread that needle.
Showing that all involved have one heck of a sense of humor, there’s a parody, The Sharktank Redemption. No spoilers here, but this featurette must be seen!
Also included is The Charlie Rose Show with Frank Darabont, Tim Robbins, and Morgan Freeman which found the big three marking the 10th anniversary of the classic with an over 45-minute tribute that is everything one would expect and so, so much more.
Film Grade: A+
Bonus Features: A