So I'm reading the screenplay to Shawshank Redemption when I decide to check my facts on IMDb. Until recently, I referred to IMDb as the Internet Movie Database. Upon calling it this in front of a co-worker, I was told that I was uncool and that I should call it IMDb. She didn't even know what I was talking about when I used the site's full name. This was perceived as a mistake that I made. So now it is IMDb. She would have me capitalize the "B," I'm sure, but that is a concession I will not make. A concession I cannot make. But the folly of youth is not my point here. If you are so inclined to check out the Top 250 movies rated on IMDb, you will see that The Shawshank Redemption is #1, barely edging out The Godfather. I feel like I might be somewhat qualified to comment on this absurdity. I minored in film studies in college, which is to say I fulfilled the requirements for a minor in film studies but never actually filled out the paperwork to get a piece of paper that confirmed that I did indeed minor in film studies. Such a piece of paper seemed worthless to me, just slightly less valuable than a piece of paper saying that I majored in American Studies, to pick an example at random.
Citizen Kane is the greatest movie of all time. Do I believe that? Eh. Do I have a problem with it? Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Not really. For what that's worth. It's problematic though. The problem with Citizen Kane is that people don't watch it. It is an intellectually dense work that is rewarding to experience in the right context. Shawshank, or "The 'Shank," as it's commonly known, is not these things. It is a workingman's intellectual movie. If someone said that about a movie I loved, I would assume it to be an insult, and in this case I would be right. This type of movie makes you think enough to say things like, "This movie is deep. It has themes and stuff." If you felt this way, congratulations, you get a cookie. You may be dismissed now while the grownups talk.
Shawshank is based on "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" by Stephen King, in case you didn't know. The source material is some of King's best. You'll find it in his book Different Seasons along with three other novellas. From the four novellas, three have become movies. Other than Shawshank, "Apt Pupil" was turned into Bryan Singer's fever dream, Gay Nazis Take a Shower. Although I think they might have changed that title back to Apt Pupil for DVD release. In a more recognizable form, "The Body" became Stand By Me, famously subtitled Rob Reiner Stops Eating Long Enough to Pretend He Can Direct. The last quarter of the book hasn't been filmed...yet. But the prophecy has foretold its coming.
So we have established the austere provenance of the source material. Not really, but go with me. This is a great novella. Now we arrive at Shawshank's director, Frank Darabont. If you don't know his career outside of Shawshank, please refer to The Green Mile, The Mist, Nightshift Collection...wait, aren't those all Stephen King works? Yes, they are. Is there a point in that? Wellllllll...okay, yes. There has to be. Stephen King is an excellent writer. Clearly Frank Darabont has King wrapped around his finger. Stephen King actually stated that he preferred the ending of The Mist film to the ending of his story. No. Bad Stephen! You are wrong and you should feel bad for saying so. But my point here is that if I got to pick and choose my screenplay ideas from the collected works of Stephen King, I think I could come up with a couple solid stories.
You may be familiar with Darabont as the creator of the Walking Dead television series. He was fired after the first season for unknown reasons. If you like the Walking Dead, you probably have cancer. That's science and you can't fight it.
The notion that Frank Darabont created wholesale a world as rewarding as Shawshank is laughable. And he probably actually filled in a couple feet of that pool in order to make it more accessible as the "I don't read" crowd. He can't compete with the mind of Orson Welles. Citizen Kane is #63 on the list, by the way. Behind The Prestige. I will "No Comment" the shit out of that one.
Now we arrive at my point. And I might not have one. Film criticism is dying. Pauline Kael is dead, Siskel & Ebert are dead. Why are we basing lists on what the public at large have to say. No dominant figures are shaping the way we watch movies. In the long run, box office figures are given higher billing than film quality. If enough people see something, it must be good, right? This depresses me. The art of film is suffocating under the weight of the public consuming it. They don't push themselves to understand the art they are watching. They like 'splosions and think Thor is interesting. Forgotten is the power of the message. And this is where Shawshank falls short. Well made? Yes. Inspiring? Perhaps. Thought provoking? Not original thought. By allowing Shawshank to stand atop any list, we lower the bar on the ideal. There are always fewer athletes competing in the high jump than the limbo. Let's hold up a few masterpieces and see who they inspire to even loftier heights. Talk about Citizen Kane. You don't have to watch it, just do me a favor and pretend like you did. Set an example and see where it leads.
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