Happy 25 Shawshank Redemption!

Gonna sound like an old fart here.

But I don't really care.

Because the truth is...

...they just don't make movies like this anymore.

A movie about friendship in prison? That isn't Suicide Squad?

Wow.

And I know firsthand how special The Shawshank Redemption is.

Because I was at its Edmonton theatrical premiere at the downtown Eaton Centre Cinema on a Wednesday night in October 1994

When my buddy Ron Clark, then working at Edmonton's movie premiere powerhouse Power 92 FM, happened to mention in his introduction of the movie that it was based on a novella by Stephen King.

A woman two rows down from me yelled, "Oh my God! Oh my God! Is it gonna be scary?"

I assured her that I didn't think it was going to be.

And it truly wasn't.

Instead it was a deeply affecting story about a deep and lasting friendship that forms between Andy (Tim Robbins) and Red (Morgan Freeman) who meet while serving life sentences in prison.

Even sitting in the theater back then, I thought that movies such as Shawshank were made very rarely, if at all.

It opened in 12th place, according to Box Office Mojo.

A dud, by industry standards.

The People review even began, "No, this isn't the sequel to The Hudsucker Proxy..."

But here's what happened:

Thanks to word-of-mouth among people after its VHS and DVD release,  The Shawshank Redemption resonated over the years.

And let's not forget its repeated showings on TBS and other cable channels.

People discovered it slowly...and loved it!

The chemistry between Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman.

Their depiction of strong and true friendship.

And the very real sense of time passing very slowly, as it likely would in a prison.

And a life lived.

Two friends and soul mates.

Locked up, yet hopeful.

All in just over two-and-a-half hours.

Not every movie can achieve that, to be sure.

It is #1 on IMDb's list of Top 250 Movies.

So thank you Tim Robbins.

Thank you Morgan Freeman.

Thank you writer-director Frank Darabont.

Of course, thank you Stephen King!

Red and Andy forever!

Happy 25 Shawshank!

MTMG