Shawshank redemption filming locations
The 1994 prison drama The Shawshank Redemption is an atypical example of Hollywood production since it was not filmed in Hollywood.
The directors decided against filming in New York City or Toronto. The bulk of Shawshank was filmed on location in and around Mansfield, Ohio, which is situated in the Rust Belt and is about the midway between Columbus and Cleveland.
This summer, for our series “On Location,” we have traveled to the filming sites of some of the most renowned American films ever filmed. What we’ve discovered is that a film can frequently make a lasting influence on a community long after the team has departed and the cameras are put away.
Mansfield has had a significant economic fall during the last few decades. As a result of the collapse in heavy manufacturing in the United States, several firms in the city of Mansfield have closed, including Westinghouse, the Tappan Stove Company, Ohio Brass, and Mansfield Tire and Rubber.
About Shawshank redemption
Based on the 1982 Stephen King novel, The Shawshank Redemption was written and directed by Frank Darabont. It tells the story of banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), who, despite his innocence, is sentenced to life in Shawshank State Penitentiary.
Over the course of the following two decades, he encounters contraband smuggler Ellis “Red” Redding (Morgan Freeman) and assists the prison warden in money laundering (Bob Gunton). William Sadler, Clancy Brown, Gil Bellows, and James Whitmore are among the supporting performers.
Darabont acquired the film rights to King’s short story in 1987, but production would not begin for another five years. In under eight weeks, he wrote the script
. The pre-production process for The Shawshank Redemption started in January 1993, two weeks after Darabont submitted his script to Castle Rock Entertainment.
The film is set in Maine but was mostly shot in Mansfield, Ohio, with the Ohio State Reformatory serving as the prison. Andy was played by Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, and Kevin Costner. Composed by Thomas Newman.
Movie plot
Andy Dufresne, a banker from Maine, was convicted of murdering his wife and her lover in 1947 and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences at Shawshank State Prison
. Ellis “Red” Redding, a life-sentenced prisoner and contraband smuggler, becomes his friend while serving his sentence. Red gives Andy a photograph of Rita Hayworth and a rock hammer. Andy is often attacked by “The Sisters” and their leader, Bogs, while he is sent to work in the prison laundry.
Andy intervenes when he overhears Byron Hadley, a captain of the guards in 1949, complaining about having to pay taxes on inheritance and offers to help protect the money from the government’s hands.
Bogs is sent to a separate prison after Hadley beats and cripples him after the Sisters’ near-murder of Andy. Andy is never again molested. Andy is assigned to the prison library to evade other convicts, officers from other institutions, and the warden.
Released on
Shawshank Redemption was first made available to the public on September 22, 1994.
