Is “The Shawshank Redemption” the best film ever made?

[Bears01]

Released in one of the greatest years for movies in Hollywood history, “The Shawshank Redemption” went from a movie that the general public entirely ignored on initial release, into a beloved and massively acclaimed classic. The movie flopped at the box office, and received zero academy awards, but then became one of the most rented movies of the 90’s, and a staple on cable television, since then, it’s legacy has exploded: 

 

-#1 rated movie on IMDb.com by users 

 

-in a 2015 YouGuv poll in the U.K., Uk citizens rated it as the best movie ever made 

 

-in 2016 a similar poll in New Zealand rated it the best movie ever 

 

-many all time rankings from multiple media outlets

 

The movie is a powerful reminder about overcoming the hardships of life, friendship, loyalty, and redemption. 
 

Is the best movie ever? If not, what is?

[Antisocialites]

no

[roso]

not if you've seen other movies

[loliza]

One of, it always makes me cry

[Digitalism]

I'm not a straight cis male so no

[Bears01]

4 minutes ago, roso said:

not if you've seen other movies

I’ve seen plenty of others, but few have came close. What movies would you say are better? 

[vale9001]

If Hannah Montana the movie Is the only other film someone as seen yes. 

[Abracadabra]

It’s certainly one of the best films

[Eóghan]

Nope. 

But it's definitely the most universal of all time. By that I mean you won't find a single person who will hate on this movie, there's something for everyone in it.

And injustice is a primeval, cathartic theme that every human has experienced in their life.

 

 

It's kind of funny how the movie was mildly received by critics back then and flopped at the box office. Now the movie is officially a legend of cinema, it's a beautiful revenge.

 

 

[vale9001]

12 minutes ago, Bears01 said:

I’ve seen plenty of others, but few have came close. What movies would you say are better? 

well there are definitely most important and relevant movies, this basically has not real critic or film academic consideration cause he doesn't have anything new to offer.

If you like this kind of movies i would say the green mile, rain man. a beautiful mind, forrest gump, one flew over the cuckoo's next, good will hunting are movies you could really like it. 

Edited February 6, 2023 by vale9001

[Eóghan]

Also it didn't receive a single Oscar.  

Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction completely overshadowed it that year but now it's on top on every geepee list by popular demand.

[Bears01]

Just now, vale9001 said:

well there are definitely most important and relevant movies, this basically has not real critic or film academic consideration cause he doesn't have anything new to offer.

If you like this kind of movies i would say the green mile, forrest gump, one flew over the cuckoo's next, good will hunting are movies you could really like it. 

Nelson Mandela himself said “the Shawshank Redemption” got him through the toughest period of his life. I’d say that’s pretty important. 
 

Forest Gump and The Green Mile are excellent movies, but they are not as good as the aforementioned film. 
 

I would say “pulp fiction” would actually be a worthy comparison (both released the same year) 

[X~MoviePoP]

John q is a great film also

[brokee]

One of the best film

[ninasayers]

Not at all, but it's definitely a great movie.

[PMKARDASHIAN]

One of the best, absolutely. I’d say among the top 20 easily 

[Wicked]

By what metrics? It's a widely seen, and generally liked film.

 

It's not the most critically acclaimed, it's not the most revered by other filmmakers and it's not the most successful. So...

[PennywiseTheClown]

That's so hard to say. I think you can objectively make points for 2001 or The Godfather as well, among other films. It's definitely one of the contenders though. 

[enchanted0]

No

[Beyonnaise]

Film snobs will obviously call it overrated but it's a really good film with high replay value, there's clearly a reason why it resonates with so many people globally. I'd say among the set of films widely beloved by large numbers of people, it's in the top 5 for sure.

[Oktober Knight]

No, it is soooo overrated 

[TanjiroKamado]

I know like 10 movies which stomp on it

[Totami Legend]

1 hour ago, Digitalism said:

I'm not a straight cis male so no

 

titanic is 

[Mobility Mary]

If anything, one of the worst movies ever made. The reason why it's so highly regarded is that it's the perfect feel good movie for straight bros which are the largest cinema audience. It has no redeeming qualities

[EnigmaticAndroid]

It's absolutely a classic, and a very great movie, but I wouldn't say it's the hands-down best of all-time