So I got this ‘bucket list’, scratch of 100 movies’ chart for my birthday – you can get them from Moonpig.com. The first one on there is "The Shawshank Redemption" starring Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne, wrongfully convicted of killing his wife, her lover and serving two life terms, and Morgan Freeman as fellow lifer “Red” Redding, who narrates the film.
Described by Stephen Spielberg as his ‘chewing gum’ movie. Meaning once you step on it you can’t get it off your shoe and so you have to watch it to the end. The 96 page novella by Stephen King became the two hours and twenty minutes flop of 1994.
So why is it the first on this bucket list ?
My thoughts are that the the 90s were full of brilliant films like the follow ups to Die Hard, by the way claimed not to be a Christmas movie - of course it is ! Forest Gump , ‘life’s a box of Chocolates’ or those Tarantino movies, “A Royale With Cheese.” People who watched movies in the 90s liked 'car chase' films, like Speed, (alright it was a bus), but there was Keanu and Sandra's chemistry rather than Thelma and Louise, going over that cliff!
Everyone oohed over Leonardo and Kate in 1997 in that ship that sank in 1912 whilst singing their hearts out with Celine and we all remember Mel Shouting ‘Freedom’ in his blue woad and kilt - dont we?
Of course anything Spielberg would put out on the big screen was just always going to win something right?
But as for Shawshank or Shimshunk - (people couldn’t remember the title and of which people sometimes even couldn't pronounce the title at all and what has it to do with Rita Hayworth, could anyone in the 90s even remember the film they watched - before Andy is attacked by Boggs and his gang?) ; it had a cast which had to compete against the likes of Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Kevin Costner and Brad Pitt for Oscars. All these actors, by the way, passed on being offered parts in the Shawshank movie.
It was a movie about “pressure and time” as Andy explains to Red in his explanation of why he wants a ‘Rock Hammer’ . So he gets busy living refusing to give in despite some harrowing experiences over nineteen years kept inside a corrupt institution. He's not going to get busy dying.
So I watched it again for the fifth or sixth time in my life. I wondered, if anyone watches films more than once anymore? I think probably, of course most people do. But there are some who don’t - preferring not to waste time over stuff they have seen once and don't ever go over such things again.
Why do we do this – Men's Health says “It’s likely a comfort thing—you get reassurance out of the predictability you see on screen. So it might be, as my wife says most times, its a man thing!
Sure Shawshank is a “Guy Cry” movie. Any movie I replay makes me happy, it provides me a time when I can cry and laugh; you should try it once in a while – when you know that, if your on your own you can let it all out and you’ll experience the emotion and the reward of actually feeling it. Rather than trying to hold back the bottom lip blubber sounds which raises the odd eyebrow in the room.
Although, I haven’t actually read the novella and apparently it appears in King’s book of short sorties called ‘different seasons’ . There are other 'shorts' of note and which have also been converted to films. I wonder if you can name them from the stories within King's work for that you might have to read or re-read the work?
And so, my girls are always asking what to get me, come birthdays and Christmas time -so, I will put Mr King's book to my 'wish list', not 'bucket list. I guess I would like to discover if Red gets to that beach at Zihuatanejo when he finally gets released after his 50 years to be rehabilitated.
Now it’s time to get busy as the days just keep flying by as this was yesterday.
Poem
Moments, Films and Memories
Many times in life, we all think about
everything we had in moments that we now are without.
But that was yesterday.
Your'e getting in the car, driving off to work.
You arrive at the office in your nicely ironed shirt.
But that was yesterday.
If you stay, and don’t hide, sometimes life will provide
A meaning that will often come through.
To the forefront of memory you cherish inside,
things you saw and you think, well that's new?
Now you don’t go out at all, you simply work from home,
waiting for the 'ping' and the text on the phone
I did that yesterday.
Switching on the laptop, your password’s it's in,
you lay back on your mattress, watch the timer in spin.
It did that again yesterday.
Your caught in a bubble, right now
You listen to the hoover and the cats’ long meow
Alone in the bedroom, each day, as you zoom off, on your camera to play,
praying for a change from these days, to regain all your wits and ease the day's malaise.
Umpteen, films have been screened,
when you laughed, maybe screamed.
Now scratch off that old film you watched yesterday.
Many times in life, we all think about,
everything we had in moments that we now can’t live without.
But that was yesterday.
#“I Have To Remind Myself That Some Birds Aren’t Meant To Be Caged.” ― Ellis Boy “Red” Redding, Shawshank Redemption.