The Movie: If you have never seen this movie before, you absolutely must. Based on a Stephen King story, Shawshank Redemption is a powerful story of the tenacity of the human spirit. Only a person with a heart of ice could make it through this movie and not want to cry at the end. This film conveys the confinement, the helplessness, the corruption, and yet the hope that exists inside, as told by the masterful script, wonderful cinematography, and hauntingly beautiful musical score... along with excellent performances by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman.

Definitely one of my favorite films of all time, and I highly, highly recommend you see it.

The DVD: The 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen film transfer is crisp, but slightly grainy, with some occasional dirt, dust and spots. The 5.1 remastered soundtrack uses the surround channels quite sparingly, but the soundstage is set full and wide among the front three channels.

Special features include an anamorphic widescreen trailer (with a shoddy transfer), production stills (oddly enough, also in anamorphic widescreen format!), cast bios and a list of awards won.