1) The Shawshank Redemption
The internet has decided that The Shawshank Redemption is the best movie of all time. Or at least, IMDb users have voted it as their favorite. And yet, it couldn’t even get enough votes from the Academy to win a single award, most notably the Best Picture award which went to Forrest Gump. Needless to say, Shawshank has done pretty well for itself, partially because Ted Turner bought its rights for ridiculously cheap and so it played endlessly on his TV channels, but also in large part because it’s just an excellent movie.
Forrest Gump is a fine film in itself, with some pretty seamless and impressive technological work, and a fantastical style that is a lot of fun and packs an emotional punch. Tom Hanks has a tendency to do that. I don’t know many people who would argue it’s better than Shawshank though, or Pulp Fiction for that matter. The friendship of Andy and Red is the driving force behind the affection people have for Shawshank, the patriarchal gentleness of Morgan Freeman combined with the quiet menace of Tim Robbins providing a memorable dynamic that you can’t help but root for. Forrest may still have legs, but Shawshank has outpaced it in the race for the hearts and minds of the public since losing out at the Oscars.
