Did you KNOW

Did you KNOW???

Remember how the DVD for this movie finally got released? Did you know that a VCD version of The Shawshank Redemption also exists? (For those of you who aren't familiar with VCD's, it's a low quality mpeg format video CD's that can be played on computers; widely available in Asia). The guys in Hong Kong who made this bootleg version were so sloppy that on the back of the CD, it lists the director as "Fraik" Darabont and starring "Tin" Robbins. Here's a PICTURE of that VCD.

Remember at the end of the movie it says "In memory of Allen Greene"? Did you know that Allen Greene was Frank Darabont's agent and a close personal friend? He unfortunately died just before the completion of Shawshank Redemption due to AIDS complications. Here's a PICTURE of that scene.

Remember the black man that was taunting the new fishes when they first got out of the bus? Did you know that, the man was Morgan Freeman's son? Here's a PICTURE of him.

Remember when Hadley's first encounter with Andy and he almost pushed him off the roof? Did you know that they were being held by a safety cable so they REALLY wouldn't fall off the roof?? Here the PICTURE of that scene with the safety cable showing.

Remember when Andy was driving his red convertible along the side of the mountain in Mexico? Did you know that the car was actually a 1969 Pontiac GTO, when the actual setting was supposed to be 1966? They were supposed to get a '65 Mustang, but the owner of the car flaked out in the last minute!! Here's a PICTURE of the car.

Remember when Bogs was being transported by that old ambulance car (after he got beaten up by Hadley)? Did you know that the ambulance car broke down (cause it was such an old car) and the filming crew actually were pushing the car during filming (to give the illusion that the car was actually running)!! Morgan Freeman must've had a tough time keeping a straight face during his dialog in this scene!! Here's a PICTURE of that ambulance.

Remember during the first night at Shawshank, the guys were trying to scare the new fish by taunting them and making noises at night? Did you know that they ran out of extras and some of the voices were actually of the guards!! Here's a PICTURE of that scene.

Remember when Andy was in his car during the night of the murder? Did you know that when they showed his hands loading the gun, it was not really Tim Robbins, but of Frank Darabont!! This was because it was decided to be added after the shooting was over. Here's a PICTURE of that scene.

Remember when Andy and Red first met on the field (while Red was playing catch)? Did you know that scene took an entire day to shoot? There were numerous takes of that scene and as a result Morgan Freeman ended up playing catch the whole day non-stop!! It didn't occur to the director until later how sore Morgan's arm would be!! Here is a PICTURE of the director talking things over with Morgan during the scene.

Remember the unforgettable cellblock that the prisoners were in? Did you know that the whole cellblock was built from scratch?? They didn't film it in a real prison, but rather the entire interior of the prison was built from the ground up in an old warehouse not far from the original Shawshank prison. Here is a PICTURE of the filming crew in action inside the cellblock.

Remember when Andy was walking in the snow (with the bruise to his eye)? Did you know the snow was actually potatoes flakes? Here's a PICTURE of that scene.

Remember that beautiful long wall made of stone that Andy told Red to goto? Did you know that stone wall was also built from scratch?? (You just don't "find" a long stone wall somewhere, as the director said) Here's a PICTURE of that wall.

Remember Floyd? Did you know the actor who plays Floyd (Brian Libb) was in ALL of the films that Frank Darabont has directed? (kind of like a good luck charm, he says) Here is a PICTURE of Floyd.

Remember the guard who says "Lights Out!" in the beginning of the film? Did you know that he is actually a prison guard in real life at a prison down the road in Ohio? Here is a PICTURE of that guard.

Remember the black man sitting next to Tommy in the bus as he was heading to Shawshank? Did you know that man is actually the REAL warden of the Ohio State Reformatory down the road? Here is a PICTURE of that man.

Remember when Andy was breaking open that pipe (as he was trying to escape through it) with that big rock? Did you know that they first shot it using his rock hammer instead of that huge rock? It was too dinky so they re-shot it using that big rock. Here's a PICTURE of that scene.

Remember when Andy was crawling in the sewer pipe? Did you know that he was really crawling through CHOCOLATE syrup? A fan emailed me that on his visit to Mansfield, they had a piece of that tunnel and it STILL smells like chocolate! Here is a PICTURE of that scene.

Remember the phrase "Some birds aren't meant to be caged." ?? Did you know that there was supposed to be a scene where Jake (Brook's crow) was supposed to have returned to Shawshank and found dead by Andy and Red. (In order to symbolize that Jake was a bird MEANT to be caged and couldn't survive on the outside just like Brooks) There was supposed to be a scene where the gang holds a funeral of Jake out on the field in memory of Brooks. Here is a PICTURE of Jake being released.

Finally, Remember the ending of the beautiful scene where they show Red finding Andy at the beach and they hug? Did you know that shot was not originally supposed to be in the film because it wasn't in the original King novel? The director didn't want to shoot the scene but his associates convinced him to. Even AFTER shooting the scene he was going to cut if from the FILM!! However, the test audience loved it and he finally gave in and decided to leave it in the film. (THANK GOD he did!! That's like my favorite scene in the entire movie...almost brought tears to my eyes!!) Here is a PICTURE of the last day of shooting at the beach.

There are more Did You Know's along with the ones here explained in more detail for you to read in the Analysis Section of this page!!!

Goofs and Trivia (from the IMDB site)

The role of Tommy Williams was intended for Brad Pitt.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals monitored the filming of scenes involving Brooks' crow. During the scene where he fed it a maggot, the ASPCA objected on the grounds that it was cruel to the maggot, and required that they use a maggot that had died from natural causes. One was found, and the scene was filmed.
The mug shots on Red's (Morgan Freeman's) parole papers are actually pictures of Freeman's son, who also supplied one of the voices for the "fresh fishes" scene.
In Stephen King's original story, Red was written as an Irishman. In the movie, they left the line "Maybe it's 'cause I'm Irish" in the movie even after they cast Morgan Freeman as Red.
Continuity: Red catches the ball twice without throwing it back.
Anachronisms: Beer bottles did not have twist-off tops in 1949.
Anachronisms: Federal Income Taxes were due on March 15th, not April 15th as they are today.
Continuity: The "A" that Andy scratches on the wall changes in the flashback.
Factual errors: Andy is said to crawl through a sewer of length 500-600 yards - "just shy of half a mile." Half a mile is 880 yards.
Continuity: Movie takes place over several decades, yet nobody appears to age.
Plot holes: We are led to believe that Andy is wearing one of Warden Norton's suit's. However, Andy is almost a foot taller than the warden, yet the suit seems to fit perfectly