tearjerker director

Chapter 1487 A First Exploration of Shawshank

"The Shawshank Redemption" had relatively few filming locations, and most of the scenes were filmed in the "Shawshank" prison.

This can actually save Li Yi a lot of time.

The style of a movie actually sometimes also affects the atmosphere of the crew.

For example, for a funny movie, unless the director is like Mr. Xingye, the filming process is usually quite joyful.

Another example is that when "Mom Love Me Again" was filmed, no one in the entire crew didn't cry.

Even more depressing movies will also affect the atmosphere of the crew when filming.

"The Shawshank Redemption" is a rather strange movie. Although the protagonist Andy was wrongfully imprisoned, in fact, the movie is not depressing at all.

Therefore, the shooting was much smoother. Li Yi's original three-month shooting plan was completed ahead of schedule in just over two months. This was the result of Li Yi's continuous improvement.

Of course, the main reason is that the original version of this movie is classic enough, so Li Yi made almost no changes. Everything was shot according to the script, so naturally, there will be no temporary changes or ideas.

This saves a lot of time.

Many people say that the speed of Hong Kong Island, which only takes a week to shoot a movie, is unbelievable, but in fact, in Hollywood, the speed is really not bad.

No, in order to be able to strike while the iron is hot and reap the dividends of the news, several companies have started related new projects, and the shooting speed is extremely fast.

It's just a pity that there is no polished script after all, so the film produced can only be said to be lackluster.

For this reason, when "The Shawshank Redemption" began to be promoted, many people actually did not have high expectations for the movie "The Shawshank Redemption" because they were influenced by the previous shoddy and popular related films.

This is especially true for film critics and media.

After all, it doesn't matter if other viewers and movie fans were deceived once, but almost all of them, including film critics and media people, have watched it, and naturally they are also a little inexplicably disgusted with this type of movie.

In this regard, Dean Pictures initially considered whether to postpone the release, because current public opinion, affected by the previous films, naturally has no favorable impression of related films of this type.

Of course they are also afraid of repercussions.

However, in the end, the promotion was carried out step by step.

In fact, for this movie, both Dean Pictures and Li Yi are not so optimistic about the box office on the big screen.

Li Yi didn't have much confidence mainly because he remembered the movie's failed performance on the big screen, while Dean Films purely based on the movie itself.

However, they are very optimistic about the film's streaming on-demand and offline DVD markets.

In this case, it is natural not to worry about being affected, and Li Yi naturally has great confidence in this movie. Even if it cannot reach the height in his memory, it can at least be called a movie. A classic.

For this reason, when "The Shawshank Redemption" began to invite the media and film critics to attend the first screening.

Many film critics and media people are unanimously not optimistic about it.

"Another popular work! China's miracle director is so disappointing this time!"

"Yeah, those movies of the same type in the first half of the year were really rough!"

"But don't you think the title of this movie is weird? "The Shawshank Redemption". Who is Shawshank? Who is being redeemed?"

"You'll know after watching it. I think it might be different this time, because I heard that this movie mainly tells the story inside the prison, which is different from the previous movies."

"Hopefully!"

The media and film critics present chatted one after another.

Most people feel that Li Yi made a hasty movie this time. Although it was later than other movies, those previous movies were really disappointing.

The movie started quickly.

Although everyone is not so optimistic about this movie, they are all professionals after all, so they still have this quality.

The noise in the theater gradually stopped, and everyone's eyes began to focus on the big screen.

The movie "The Shawshank Redemption" opens with the male protagonist Andy, played by Anthony Robin, sitting in a car and taking out a pistol, bullets, and wine from the car.

It then moved to the courtroom through a sound montage.

The prosecutor asked Andy: "Mr. Dufresne, please describe what you did on the night your wife was killed?"

The opening paragraph is not outstanding, and it can even be said that many film critics and media people couldn't help but shake their heads.

Because the past few movies almost always started with a court scene.

In their opinion, the same is true for "The Shawshank Redemption."

They could even guess that the male protagonist would be imprisoned after being wronged.

Sure enough, the next plot was just as they guessed. Andy's questioning of the prosecutor contained too many coincidences for him to refute.

His wife cheated on her and wanted to divorce him, and he did think about shooting her. Although he didn't, his wife and her lover died in bed together the next day.

"boom!"

After a shot is fired, the scene cuts to the prison.

Everything was as they had guessed, and he was imprisoned unjustly again.

What they didn't expect was that the person who appeared in front of everyone was not Andy, but the old black prisoner, Red!

Red attends his parole hearing, where he has been sentenced to life in prison, having been in prison for twenty years.

When he was asked: "Have you changed your mind?", he seemed a little submissive and humbly said that he had changed his mind.

But the result was still that the parole application was rejected.

After that, they left the hearing site and returned to the prison, where Reid's narration sounded.

"There are people like me in every prison in America. I can get everything. Cigarettes, brandy, posters, whatever you want, there's almost no problem."

"That's right, I'm like a department store!"

Through his narration, he also explained what kind of person Red is. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and has been in prison for twenty years. Moreover, he is a figure in prison because he can get a lot of things.

Such a person undoubtedly has a high status in prison.

At this time, the prison's piercing alarm sounded.

Rhett's voice continued: "So when Andy Dufresne came to me in 1949 and asked if I could get a poster of a sexy actress in, I told him 'Sure!' ""

At this point in time, the film critics and media people in the cinema looked at each other, because this was indeed a bit beyond their expectations. They did not expect that the story of "The Shawshank Redemption" happened so early, which was different from what they had guessed before. completely different.

This also made them curious about the movie. The camera zoomed outside, a white car drove slowly, and then showed a panoramic close-up of "Shawshank Prison".

Shawshank Prison, a Gothic castle-like prison, can be said to be full of a sense of the times.

The camera shot from the air, gradually crossing the high wall and entering the prison. The prisoners were asked to gather at the gate like ants one by one.

There was nothing wrong with the car, and Andy was sitting in it.

Reid's story continues. Andy was sentenced to prison for murdering his wife and his wife's lover in 1947. He was originally the vice president of a large bank.

A typical young talent!

Red and the prisoners all came to the gate to welcome the new prisoners.

As the prisoners shouted loudly and watched, the new prisoners lined up and came in from the middle one by one.

Andy is so unique among all the prisoners.

Although he seemed a little timid when facing the shouts and screams of the prisoners, he still gave people a completely different feeling.

The prisoners shouted that new people had arrived, and they had some fun again.

Red and a few old prisoners even used them to gamble.

Rhett looked at the new prisoner and continued to narrate in voice-over: "I admit that when I first met Andy, I didn't have any special feeling. He looked like the wind, and he would fall down as soon as he blew. This is the first time he left me. An impression.”

But Rhett still chose Andy.

The camera shows Andy looking up before entering the prison cell. The camera follows his line of sight. That is the highest wall in the entire Shawshank Prison!

The film critics and media people in the theater were extremely quiet at this moment, and they began to have a strong curiosity about this movie.

Because everything is different from the movies they watched before.

After Andy and the other new prisoners entered the prison, they lined up to follow the guards. There was a yellow line drawn on the ground, and each of them walked along that line.

The warden wore glasses and looked very gentle. His voice was also very gentle. He introduced himself and the prison captain to the new "guests".

He started talking about the rules here.

“Article 1: No blasphemy is allowed, no misuse of God’s name is allowed.”

"You will know the other rules gradually. Are there any questions?"

At this moment, a prisoner asked: "When will dinner be served?"

As a result, Warden Norton gave Captain Hadley a look, and Hadley immediately walked up to the prisoner.

He scolded angrily: "You eat when you are told to eat, you poop when asked to poop, and you pee when asked to pee. Do you understand? You are a scumbag!"

Saying that, Hadley hit the prisoner hard with his baton!

"Put your faith in God and leave your life to me! Welcome to Shawshank Prison!"

With the words of Warden Norton, the audience also understood that it is not who is called Shawshank, but this prison is called Shawshank Prison.

Next comes the cleaning after being imprisoned. Everyone must be thoroughly cleaned from head to toe, top to bottom, with a high-pressure water gun.

Then, naked and holding his prison clothes, he was assigned to prisoners one by one.

"The first night is always the hardest, entering the cage naked, just like when you were born. When they rush you into the cell and lock the door, you realize that this is not a joke! In the blink of an eye, your whole life will be over. Destroyed, leaving only endless regret!" Rhett stood behind the cell and watched the new prisoners passing by.

"Many new people almost went crazy on the first night, and some even burst into tears without exception! The only thing we cared about was, who would break down first?"

At this time, the audience also understood what Rhett and the others were betting on just now.

Everything has clear rules and regulations here.

When the first night came, the prison guard turned off the lights and plunged into darkness.

"I still remember my first night, it feels like a very distant thing!" Rhett was lying in the cell.

There are old prisoners teasing the new "rookies".

"They always like to tease rookies until they make them cry." Red stood up and, like other prisoners, came to the iron bars and looked outside.

A new fat man was crying in the cell, but a prisoner next door used words to stimulate him, causing him to cry loudly and shout that he did not belong here.

But the result was that the other prisoners in the prison booed loudly.

"I want to go home, I miss my mother." The prisoners clapped their hands and called "Rookie" in unison, which immediately made the fat man collapse.

As a result, the noise aroused the guard captain Hadley, who pulled the fat man out and beat him half to death.

Suddenly the whole prison fell into silence.

And Andy remained silent on this first night, causing Red to lose several packs of cigarettes.

Everything here is a rule. All prisoners must walk out of their cells the next morning and stand there to be called.

Then he obeyed the order and left the cell and lined up.

All of this gives people a very depressing and restrictive feeling.

In fact, the failure of "The Shawshank Redemption" on the big screen is not without reason, because from the beginning to the present, the entire tone of the movie is bleak, giving people a sense of depression.

The movie-watching experience won’t be great.

When it was meal time, Andy found a bug in the meal, and thus met the first person in prison, Brooks, who actually raised a bird.

He told Andy: "I will take care of it until it can fly on its own!"

And through the conversation between Heywood, the prisoner in the cell next to the fat man, and another prisoner who was helping in the infirmary, Andy also felt the horror of this place. The fat man who cried last night was dead!

"What's his name?" Andy asked proactively.

Heywood was a little surprised: "What did you say?"

"I just want to know if anyone knows his name?" Andy said.

"Does this matter have anything to do with you? Rookie!" Heywood glared at Andy.

"He's already dead, and you still care about his damn name?"

"At first, Andy kept people away. I think he must have a lot of things on his mind. He was trying to adapt to the life in this cage. It wasn't until a month later that he spoke and started talking to people. Obviously, that person was me!" Rhett's narration sounded again.

The first time Andy took the initiative to talk to someone, it was Rhett.

(End of this chapter)