‘The Shawshank Redemption’ returns to the big screen

‘The Shawshank Redemption’ returns to the big screen

From left, Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins in a scene from the film. Photo courtesy of Fathom Events

“You can get busy living … or get busy dying.”

It’s been 25 years since “The Shawshank Redemption” was first released. To celebrate the momentous anniversary, the classic film will return to more than 600 select theaters nationwide on Sept. 22, 24 and 25, courtesy of Warner Bros., Turner Classic Movies and Fathom Events.

Written and directed by Frank Darabont, with a wonderful score by Thomas Newman, the film, based on the 1982 Stephen King short story, “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” from his 1982 collection “Different Seasons,” was not a blockbuster when it was released on Sept. 24, 1994. It grossed $28.3 million on a $25 million budget. However, it received seven Oscar nominations and went on to become one of the most-celebrated films in history when released on video.

In 2015 the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, calling it “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant,” and it has been the number 1 film on IMDb’s user-generated Top 250 since 2008, when it surpassed “The Godfather.”

The film tells a story of human kindness in the most unkind place: prison, specifically Shawshank State Penitentiary. Both serving a life sentence, inmates, Ellis “Red” Redding (Morgan Freeman) and Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), a mild-mannered banker wrongly convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, forge an unlikely bond that will span more than 20 years. Together they discover hope as the ultimate means of survival.

The film also stars Bob Gunton (Warden Norton), William Sadler (Heywood), Clancy Brown (Captain Hadley), Gil Bellows (Tommy) and James Whitmore as Brooks.

In a recent interview with Chris Lindahl of IndieWire, Darabont said, “I think people want to believe that there is goodness and a moral compass in the world. And I think that’s why ‘Shawshank’ has [such an] effect on people.”

The special screening includes exclusive insight from TCM Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz.

Participating theaters in our neck of the woods include AMC Loews Stony Brook 17, 2196 Nesconset Highway, Stony Brook on Sept. 22 at 4 and 7 p.m. and Sept. 24 and 25 at 7 p.m.; Farmingdale Multiplex Cinemas, 1001 Broadhollow Road, Farmingdale on Sept. 25 at 7 p.m.; and Island 16 Cinema de Lux, 185 Morris Ave., Holtsville on Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. To purchase your ticket in advance, visit www.fathomevents.com.