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life sentence and sent to Shawshank State Prison, he befriends Red (Morgan Freeman), an inmate with an uncanny knack of procuring luxury items, but finds himself at loggerheads with the corrupt governor and psychotic guards. Andy’s hobby is geology, where time and pressure create hardness and beauty; likewise, his imprisonment and the authoritarian regime strengthen his resolve and make his revenge on those who have wronged him all the sweeter. The film is certainly too long, and Darabont could have made a better effort at capturing Andy’s sense of confinement (a lot of the movie takes place in the prison yard rather than in the cells or the notorious solitary block); but every performance is perfectly pitched and the period detail takes the genre away from the usual drama-doc reality into the realm of an old-fashioned, almost apocryphal yarn that has been retold until Andy has reached legend-in-his-Iifetime status. It’s worth remembering that, as the title suggests, this is less a routine prison escape drama than the illustration of one man’s personal redemption and victory over injustice, and so the casting of Robbins, with his unshakeably sympathetic persona and skill at internalising — imprisoning — emotions, is more than enough to carry us through to the end. (Alan Morrison) The Shawshank Redemption (15) (Frank Darabont, US, 1994) Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton. 143 mins. From Fri 3. General release.
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
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The Shawshank Redemption: ‘old-fashioneo. almost apocryphal yam'
The best adaptations of a Stephen King work are not based on his prodigious horror output, but on two of the novellas in his Different Seasons collection, the writer’s first attempt to break out of his pigeon-hole. After Rob Reiner’s Stand By Me (based on ‘The Body’) comes a screen version of ‘Rita Hayworth And The Shawshank Redemption’, in which writer-director Frank Darabont captures the essence of King’s art as a great storyteller.
In the 1940s, soft-spoken banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is wrongly imprisoned for the murder of his wife and her lover. Given a double
[EITHE— FLESH AND BDNE
Flesh And Bone: “beautiful wastelands’ drama are great, especially with the arrival of Arlis’s father (played with circuitous venom by James Caan), who discovers the secret of his son’s new gal. Aided by a brooding, dislocating score by Thomas Newman and panoramic photography from Philippe Rousselot of Diva fame, Kloves depicts a vast landscape of emptiness and decay where redemption is not on the horizon.
Unfortunately, the atmosphere
created is so downbeat that the plot stagnates. Despite quirky playing by Ryan and the odd moment of deadpan comedy from a very subdued Guaid, the film smothers most of its dramatic punches in the beautiful wastelands and interiorised acting. (Simon Wardell) Flesh And Bone (15) (Steve Kloves, US, 1993) Dennis Duaid, Meg Ryan, James Can. 126 mins. From Sun 26-Thurs 2: Edinburgh Filmhouse.
From the director of The Fabulous Baker Boys, Steve Kloves, comes a family drama of more sombre hue, featuring the grinning duo Dennis Duaid and Meg Ryan in parts which call on them to exercise their facial muscles surprisingly, and mercifully, rarely.
In a gripping prologue, a young boy turns up at a Texan farmhouse one night and is taken in by the occupants. When they are asleep, he opens the door to let in his burglar father. By accident, they wake the family and shoot them down in odd blood, except for the baby girl. Thirty years later, the boy is an adult, an aimless vending machine stockist called Arlis (Duaid), living in motels and finding passing companionship with waitresses. Enter Kay (Ryan), a similarly roofless character whose family were murdered three decades ago.
The possibilities for powerful tragic
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CMIZ SHOWS
Fingers on bumrs to win 200 tickets for Quiz Show.
It’s 1958, and television is already the dominant entertainment medium in America. The small—screen stars are invited into ordinary people’s homes night after night and have special celebrity status. They’re out there in TV—land but they’re also here. in the living-room, just like trusted friends.
Understanding that is the key to realising the significance of the gameshow scandal on which Robert Redford’s excellent new film Quiz Show is based. Viewers saw for the first time a glimpse of the reality of mass-audience television — its sole purpose was to deliver eyeballs to advertisers. In the hit film, Ralph Fiennes plays unbeatable gameshow champion Charles van Doren whose apparently limitless knowledge makes him a national folk hero. But all along he was being fed the answers and a disgruntled contestant (John Turtturo) decides to expose the scam.
Now Quiz Show is released in Scotland and MGM cinemas are giving away 100 pairs of tickets to see the film at MGM Parkhead at the Forge on Sunday 12 March at 9.30pm.
To enter, tell us:
Who directed Quiz Show?
Send your answers, which must reach us by Friday 3 March, to: DUIZ SHDW DDMP, The List, 14 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1TE.
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The List 24 Feb-9 Mar 1995 21