The Shawshank Redemption Quotes
Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency.
1967 Parole Hearings Man: Ellis Boyd Redding, your files say you've served 40 years of a life sentence. Do you feel you've been rehabilitated?
Red: Rehabilitated? Well, now let me see. You know, I don't have any idea what that means.
1967 Parole Hearings Man: Well, it means that you're ready to rejoin society...
Red: I know what you think it means, sonny. To me, it's just a made up word. A politician's word, so young fellas like yourself can wear a suit and a tie, and have a job. What do you really want to know? Am I sorry for what I did?
1967 Parole Hearings Man: Well, are you?
Red: There's not a day goes by I don't feel regret. Not because I'm in here, because you think I should. I look back on the way I was then: a young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try to talk some sense to him, tell him the way things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone, and this old man is all that's left. I got to live with that. Rehabilitated? It's just a bullshit word. So you go on and stamp your form, sonny, and stop wasting my time. Because to tell you the truth, I don't give a shit.
Red: Rehabilitated? Well, now let me see. You know, I don't have any idea what that means.
1967 Parole Hearings Man: Well, it means that you're ready to rejoin society...
Red: I know what you think it means, sonny. To me, it's just a made up word. A politician's word, so young fellas like yourself can wear a suit and a tie, and have a job. What do you really want to know? Am I sorry for what I did?
1967 Parole Hearings Man: Well, are you?
Red: There's not a day goes by I don't feel regret. Not because I'm in here, because you think I should. I look back on the way I was then: a young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try to talk some sense to him, tell him the way things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone, and this old man is all that's left. I got to live with that. Rehabilitated? It's just a bullshit word. So you go on and stamp your form, sonny, and stop wasting my time. Because to tell you the truth, I don't give a shit.
Red: [narrating] Sometimes it makes me sad, though... Andy being gone. I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up DOES rejoice. But still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend.
Andy Dufresne: If they ever try to trace any of those accounts, they're gonna end up chasing a figment of my imagination.
Red: Well, I'll be damned. Did I say you were good? Shit, you're a Rembrandt!
Andy Dufresne: Yeah. The funny thing is - on the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook.
Red: Well, I'll be damned. Did I say you were good? Shit, you're a Rembrandt!
Andy Dufresne: Yeah. The funny thing is - on the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook.
[last lines]
Red: [narrating] I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.
Red: [narrating] I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.
Red: [narrating] I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.
Andy Dufresne: Red. If you ever get out of here, do me a favor.
Red: Sure, Andy. Anything.
Andy Dufresne: There's a big hayfield up near Buxton. You know where Buxton is?
Red: Well, there's... there's a lot of hayfields up there.
Andy Dufresne: One in particular. It's got a long rock wall with a big oak tree at the north end. It's like something out of a Robert Frost poem. It's where I asked my wife to marry me. We went there for a picnic and made love under that oak and I asked and she said yes. Promise me, Red. If you ever get out... find that spot. At the base of that wall, you'll find a rock that has no earthly business in a Maine hayfield. Piece of black, volcanic glass. There's something buried under it I want you to have.
Red: What, Andy? What's buried under there?
Andy Dufresne: [turns to walk away] You'll have to pry it up... to see.
Red: Sure, Andy. Anything.
Andy Dufresne: There's a big hayfield up near Buxton. You know where Buxton is?
Red: Well, there's... there's a lot of hayfields up there.
Andy Dufresne: One in particular. It's got a long rock wall with a big oak tree at the north end. It's like something out of a Robert Frost poem. It's where I asked my wife to marry me. We went there for a picnic and made love under that oak and I asked and she said yes. Promise me, Red. If you ever get out... find that spot. At the base of that wall, you'll find a rock that has no earthly business in a Maine hayfield. Piece of black, volcanic glass. There's something buried under it I want you to have.
Red: What, Andy? What's buried under there?
Andy Dufresne: [turns to walk away] You'll have to pry it up... to see.
Red: [narrating] In 1966, Andy Dufresne escaped from Shawshank prison. All they found of him was a muddy set of prison clothes, a bar of soap, and an old rock hammer, damn near worn down to the nub. I remember thinking it would take a man six hundred years to tunnel through the wall with it. Old Andy did it in less than twenty. Oh, Andy loved geology. I imagine it appealed to his meticulous nature. An ice age here, million years of mountain building there. Geology is the study of pressure and time. That's all it takes really, pressure, and time. That, and a big goddamn poster. Like I said, in prison a man will do most anything to keep his mind occupied. Turns out Andy's favorite hobby was totin' his wall out into the exercise yard, a handful at a time. I guess after Tommy was killed, Andy decided he'd been here just about long enough. Andy did like he was told, buffed those shoes to a high mirror shine. The guards simply didn't notice. Neither did I... I mean, seriously, how often do you really look at a mans shoes? Andy crawled to freedom through five hundred yards of shit smelling foulness I can't even imagine, or maybe I just don't want to. Five hundred yards... that's the length of five football fields, just shy of half a mile.
Red: These walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That's institutionalized.
Heywood: Shit. I could never get like that.
Ernie: Oh yeah? Say that when you been here as long as Brooks has.
Red: Goddamn right. They send you here for life, and that's exactly what they take. The part that counts, anyway.
Heywood: Shit. I could never get like that.
Ernie: Oh yeah? Say that when you been here as long as Brooks has.
Red: Goddamn right. They send you here for life, and that's exactly what they take. The part that counts, anyway.
Andy Dufresne: That's the beauty of music. They can't get that from you... Haven't you ever felt that way about music?
Red: I played a mean harmonica as a younger man. Lost interest in it though. Didn't make much sense in here.
Andy Dufresne: Here's where it makes the most sense. You need it so you don't forget.
Red: Forget?
Andy Dufresne: Forget that... there are places in this world that aren't made out of stone. That there's something inside... that they can't get to, that they can't touch. That's yours.
Red: What're you talking about?
Andy Dufresne: Hope.
Red: I played a mean harmonica as a younger man. Lost interest in it though. Didn't make much sense in here.
Andy Dufresne: Here's where it makes the most sense. You need it so you don't forget.
Red: Forget?
Andy Dufresne: Forget that... there are places in this world that aren't made out of stone. That there's something inside... that they can't get to, that they can't touch. That's yours.
Red: What're you talking about?
Andy Dufresne: Hope.
Andy Dufresne: [in a letter to Red] Dear Red. If you're reading this, you've gotten out. And if you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a little further. You remember the name of the town, don't you?
Red: Zihuatanejo.
Andy Dufresne: I could use a good man to help me get my project on wheels. I'll keep an eye out for you and the chessboard ready. Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. I will be hoping that this letter finds you, and finds you well. Your friend. Andy.
Red: Zihuatanejo.
Andy Dufresne: I could use a good man to help me get my project on wheels. I'll keep an eye out for you and the chessboard ready. Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. I will be hoping that this letter finds you, and finds you well. Your friend. Andy.
Red: [narrating] We sat and drank with the sun on our shoulders and felt like free men. Hell, we could have been tarring the roof of one of our own houses. We were the lords of all creation. As for Andy - he spent that break hunkered in the shade, a strange little smile on his face, watching us drink his beer.
Red: [narrating] Not long after the warden deprived us of his company, I got a postcard in the mail. It was blank, but the postmark said Fort Hancock, Texas. Fort Hancock... right on the border. That's where Andy crossed. When I picture him heading south in his own car with the top down, it always makes me laugh. Andy Dufresne... who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side. Andy Dufresne... headed for the Pacific.
Warden Samuel Norton: [after Andy escapes] Well?
Red: Well what?
Warden Samuel Norton: I see you two all the time, you're thick as thieves, you are. He musta said *something*.
Red: Honest, Warden, not a word.
Warden Samuel Norton: [frustrated] Lord, it's a miracle! Man up and vanished like a fart in the wind! Nothing left but some damn rocks on the windowsill. And that cupcake on the wall! Let's ask her, maybe she knows.
Warden Samuel Norton: [to poster] What say you there, fuzzy-britches? Feel like talking? Aw, guess not. Why should she be any different?
[hefting one of Andy's rocks]
Warden Samuel Norton: This is a conspiracy, that's what it is.
[throwing rocks]
Warden Samuel Norton: One... big... damn conspiracy! And everyone's in on it, including *her*!
[Throws a rock at the poster, the rock goes right through it and they hear it clattering. Norton puts his arm through the torn poster and rips it away from the wall, revealing Andy's escape tunnel]
Red: Well what?
Warden Samuel Norton: I see you two all the time, you're thick as thieves, you are. He musta said *something*.
Red: Honest, Warden, not a word.
Warden Samuel Norton: [frustrated] Lord, it's a miracle! Man up and vanished like a fart in the wind! Nothing left but some damn rocks on the windowsill. And that cupcake on the wall! Let's ask her, maybe she knows.
Warden Samuel Norton: [to poster] What say you there, fuzzy-britches? Feel like talking? Aw, guess not. Why should she be any different?
[hefting one of Andy's rocks]
Warden Samuel Norton: This is a conspiracy, that's what it is.
[throwing rocks]
Warden Samuel Norton: One... big... damn conspiracy! And everyone's in on it, including *her*!
[Throws a rock at the poster, the rock goes right through it and they hear it clattering. Norton puts his arm through the torn poster and rips it away from the wall, revealing Andy's escape tunnel]
[after Tommy told the story of how he got arrested]
Andy Dufresne: Maybe it's time for you to switch careers.
Tommy Williams: Huh?
Andy Dufresne: What I mean is, you don't seem to be a very good thief, maybe you should try something else.
Tommy Williams: Yeah, well, what the hell do you know about it Capone? What are you in for?
Andy Dufresne: Me? My lawyer fucked me. Everybody's innocent in here. Didn't you know that?
Andy Dufresne: Maybe it's time for you to switch careers.
Tommy Williams: Huh?
Andy Dufresne: What I mean is, you don't seem to be a very good thief, maybe you should try something else.
Tommy Williams: Yeah, well, what the hell do you know about it Capone? What are you in for?
Andy Dufresne: Me? My lawyer fucked me. Everybody's innocent in here. Didn't you know that?
Boggs: Now, I'm gonna open my fly and you're gonna swallow what I give ya to swallow. And after you swallow mine you're gonna swallow Rooster's cause ya done broke his nose and I think he oughta have something to show for it.
Andy Dufresne: Anything you put in my mouth you're gonna lose.
Boggs: Naw, you don't understand. You do that and I'll put all eight inches of steel in your ear.
Andy Dufresne: All right. But you should know that sudden serious brain injury causes the victim to bite down hard. In fact, I hear the bite reflex is so strong they have to pry the victims jaws open with a crowbar.
Boggs: Where do you get this shit?
Andy Dufresne: I read it. You know how to read, you ignorant fuck?
Andy Dufresne: Anything you put in my mouth you're gonna lose.
Boggs: Naw, you don't understand. You do that and I'll put all eight inches of steel in your ear.
Andy Dufresne: All right. But you should know that sudden serious brain injury causes the victim to bite down hard. In fact, I hear the bite reflex is so strong they have to pry the victims jaws open with a crowbar.
Boggs: Where do you get this shit?
Andy Dufresne: I read it. You know how to read, you ignorant fuck?
Red: [narrating] The first night's the toughest, no doubt about it. They march you in naked as the day you were born, skin burning and half blind from that delousing shit they throw on you, and when they put you in that cell... and those bars slam home... that's when you know it's for real. A whole life blown away in the blink of an eye. Nothing left but all the time in the world to think about it.
Red: I find I'm so excited that I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel. A free man at a start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.
Andy Dufresne: I have no enemies here.
Red: Yeah? Wait a while. Word gets around. The Sisters have taken quite a likin' to you. Especially Boggs.
Andy Dufresne: I don't suppose it would help if I told them that I'm not homosexual.
Red: Neither are they. You have to be human first. They don't qualify.
Red: Yeah? Wait a while. Word gets around. The Sisters have taken quite a likin' to you. Especially Boggs.
Andy Dufresne: I don't suppose it would help if I told them that I'm not homosexual.
Red: Neither are they. You have to be human first. They don't qualify.
Red: I could see why some of the boys took him for snobby. He had a quiet way about him, a walk and a talk that just wasn't normal around here. He strolled, like a man in a park without a care or a worry in the world, like he had on an invisible coat that would shield him from this place. Yeah, I think it would be fair to say... I liked Andy from the start.
Red: [narrating] There's a harsh truth to face. No way I'm gonna make it on the outside. All I do anymore is think of ways to break my parole, so maybe they'd send me back. Terrible thing, to live in fear. Brooks Hatlen knew it. Knew it all too well. All I want is to be back where things make sense. Where I won't have to be afraid all the time. Only one thing stops me. A promise I made to Andy.
Warden Samuel Norton: I have to say that's the most amazing story I've ever heard. What amazes me most is that you were taken in by it.
Andy Dufresne: Sir?
Warden Samuel Norton: Well, it's obvious this fellow Williams is impressed with you. He hears your tale of woe and, quite naturally, wants to cheer you up. He's young, not terribly bright. It's not surprising he wouldn't know what a state he put you in.
Andy Dufresne: Sir, he's telling the truth.
Warden Samuel Norton: Well, let's say for the moment this Blatch does exist. You think he'd just fall to his knees and cry: "Yes, I did it, I confess! Oh, and by the way, add a life term to my sentence."
Andy Dufresne: You know that wouldn't matter. With Tommy's testimony I can get a new trial.
Warden Samuel Norton: That's assuming Blatch is still there. Chances are excellent he'd be released by now.
Andy Dufresne: Well they'd have his last known address, names of relatives. It's a *chance*, isn't it.
[Norton shakes his head]
Andy Dufresne: How can you be so obtuse?
Warden Samuel Norton: What? What did you call me?
Andy Dufresne: Obtuse. Is it deliberate?
Warden Samuel Norton: Son, you're forgetting yourself.
Andy Dufresne: The country club will have his old time cards. Records, W-2s with his name on them.
Warden Samuel Norton: Dufresne, if you wanna indulge in this fantasy, that's your business. Don't make it mine. This meeting is over.
Andy Dufresne: Sir, if I ever get out, I'd never mention what happens here. I'd be just as indictable as you for laundering that money.
Warden Samuel Norton: [slaps the table] Don't you ever mention money to me again, you sorry son of a bitch! Not in this office, not anywhere!
Andy Dufresne: Sir?
Warden Samuel Norton: Well, it's obvious this fellow Williams is impressed with you. He hears your tale of woe and, quite naturally, wants to cheer you up. He's young, not terribly bright. It's not surprising he wouldn't know what a state he put you in.
Andy Dufresne: Sir, he's telling the truth.
Warden Samuel Norton: Well, let's say for the moment this Blatch does exist. You think he'd just fall to his knees and cry: "Yes, I did it, I confess! Oh, and by the way, add a life term to my sentence."
Andy Dufresne: You know that wouldn't matter. With Tommy's testimony I can get a new trial.
Warden Samuel Norton: That's assuming Blatch is still there. Chances are excellent he'd be released by now.
Andy Dufresne: Well they'd have his last known address, names of relatives. It's a *chance*, isn't it.
[Norton shakes his head]
Andy Dufresne: How can you be so obtuse?
Warden Samuel Norton: What? What did you call me?
Andy Dufresne: Obtuse. Is it deliberate?
Warden Samuel Norton: Son, you're forgetting yourself.
Andy Dufresne: The country club will have his old time cards. Records, W-2s with his name on them.
Warden Samuel Norton: Dufresne, if you wanna indulge in this fantasy, that's your business. Don't make it mine. This meeting is over.
Andy Dufresne: Sir, if I ever get out, I'd never mention what happens here. I'd be just as indictable as you for laundering that money.
Warden Samuel Norton: [slaps the table] Don't you ever mention money to me again, you sorry son of a bitch! Not in this office, not anywhere!
Captain Hadley: Dufresne!
[to Dekins]
Captain Hadley: That's him. That's the one.
Guard Dekins: I'm Dekins. I was thinking about setting up some kind of trust fund for my kids educations.
Andy Dufresne: Oh, I see. Well, why don't we have a seat and talk it over. Brooks, do you have a piece of paper and a pencil? Thanks. So, Mr. Dekins...
Brooks: [at lunchtime to the other prisoners] And then Andy says, "Mr. Dekins, do you want your sons to go to Harvard... or Yale?"
Floyd: He didn't say that!
Brooks: God is my witness! Dekins just looked at him a second and then he laughed himself silly and afterwards he actually shook Andy's hand.
Heywood: My ass.
Brooks: Shook his hand! I near soiled myself, I mean all Andy needed was a suit and a tie and a little jiggly hula gal on his desk and he woulda been *Mister* Dufresne, if you please.
Red: Making a few friends, huh Andy?
Andy Dufresne: I wouldn't say friends. I'm a convicted murderer who provides sound financial planning - it's a wonderful pet to have.
[to Dekins]
Captain Hadley: That's him. That's the one.
Guard Dekins: I'm Dekins. I was thinking about setting up some kind of trust fund for my kids educations.
Andy Dufresne: Oh, I see. Well, why don't we have a seat and talk it over. Brooks, do you have a piece of paper and a pencil? Thanks. So, Mr. Dekins...
Brooks: [at lunchtime to the other prisoners] And then Andy says, "Mr. Dekins, do you want your sons to go to Harvard... or Yale?"
Floyd: He didn't say that!
Brooks: God is my witness! Dekins just looked at him a second and then he laughed himself silly and afterwards he actually shook Andy's hand.
Heywood: My ass.
Brooks: Shook his hand! I near soiled myself, I mean all Andy needed was a suit and a tie and a little jiggly hula gal on his desk and he woulda been *Mister* Dufresne, if you please.
Red: Making a few friends, huh Andy?
Andy Dufresne: I wouldn't say friends. I'm a convicted murderer who provides sound financial planning - it's a wonderful pet to have.
Andy Dufresne: ...or come to think of it, I suppose I could set it up for you. That would save you some money. I'll write down the forms you need, you can pick them up, and I'll prepare them for your signature... nearly free of charge... I'd only ask three beers apiece for my co-workers, if that seems fair. I think a man working outdoors feels more like a man if he can have a bottle of suds. That's only my opinion.
[Warden Norton visits Andy in solitary]
Warden Samuel Norton: I'm sure by now you've heard. Terrible thing. Man that young, less than a year to go, trying to escape... Broke Captain Hadley's heart to shoot him, truly it did. We just have to put it behind us... move on.
Andy Dufresne: I'm done. Everything stops. Get someone else to run your scams.
Warden Samuel Norton: [icy] Nothing stops. Nothing... or you will do the hardest time there is. No more protection from the guards. I'll pull you out of that one-bunk Hilton and cast you down with the Sodomites. You'll think you've been fucked by a train! And the library? Gone... sealed off, brick-by-brick. We'll have us a little book barbecue in the yard. They'll see the flames for miles. We'll dance around it like wild Injuns! You understand me? Catching my drift?... Or am I being obtuse?
[beat]
Warden Samuel Norton: [to Hadley] Give him another month to think about it.
Warden Samuel Norton: I'm sure by now you've heard. Terrible thing. Man that young, less than a year to go, trying to escape... Broke Captain Hadley's heart to shoot him, truly it did. We just have to put it behind us... move on.
Andy Dufresne: I'm done. Everything stops. Get someone else to run your scams.
Warden Samuel Norton: [icy] Nothing stops. Nothing... or you will do the hardest time there is. No more protection from the guards. I'll pull you out of that one-bunk Hilton and cast you down with the Sodomites. You'll think you've been fucked by a train! And the library? Gone... sealed off, brick-by-brick. We'll have us a little book barbecue in the yard. They'll see the flames for miles. We'll dance around it like wild Injuns! You understand me? Catching my drift?... Or am I being obtuse?
[beat]
Warden Samuel Norton: [to Hadley] Give him another month to think about it.
Red: Ever bother you?
Andy Dufresne: I don't run the scams Red, I just process the profits. Fine line, maybe, but I also built that library and used it to help a dozen guys get their high school diploma. Why do you think the warden lets me do all that?
Red: To keep you happy and doing the laundry. Money instead of sheets.
Andy Dufresne: I don't run the scams Red, I just process the profits. Fine line, maybe, but I also built that library and used it to help a dozen guys get their high school diploma. Why do you think the warden lets me do all that?
Red: To keep you happy and doing the laundry. Money instead of sheets.
[after Brooks held a knife to Heywood's throat]
Andy Dufresne: I just don't understand what happened in there.
Heywood: Old man's crazy as a rat in a tin shithouse, is what.
Red: Oh Heywood, that's enough out of you!
Ernie: I heard he had you shittin' in your pants!
Heywood: Fuck you!
Red: Would you knock it off? Brooks ain't no bug. He's just... just institutionalized.
Heywood: Institutionalized, my ass.
Red: The man's been in here fifty years, Heywood. Fifty years! This is all he knows. In here, he's an important man. He's an educated man. Outside, he's nothin'! Just a used up con with arthritis in both hands.
Andy Dufresne: I just don't understand what happened in there.
Heywood: Old man's crazy as a rat in a tin shithouse, is what.
Red: Oh Heywood, that's enough out of you!
Ernie: I heard he had you shittin' in your pants!
Heywood: Fuck you!
Red: Would you knock it off? Brooks ain't no bug. He's just... just institutionalized.
Heywood: Institutionalized, my ass.
Red: The man's been in here fifty years, Heywood. Fifty years! This is all he knows. In here, he's an important man. He's an educated man. Outside, he's nothin'! Just a used up con with arthritis in both hands.
[Warden Norton finds the bible in his safe after Andy escapes and finds the message Andy left for him]
Andy Dufresne: Dear Warden, You were right. Salvation lay within
[Norton flips through a couple of pages to find the outline of the rock hammer that was hidden in the Book of Exodus within the Bible, and then drops it on the floor in shock]
Andy Dufresne: Dear Warden, You were right. Salvation lay within
[Norton flips through a couple of pages to find the outline of the rock hammer that was hidden in the Book of Exodus within the Bible, and then drops it on the floor in shock]
Red: [narrating] I wish I could tell you that Andy fought the good fight, and the Sisters let him be. I wish I could tell you that - but prison is no fairy-tale world. He never said who did it, but we all knew. Things went on like that for awhile - prison life consists of routine, and then more routine. Every so often, Andy would show up with fresh bruises. The Sisters kept at him - sometimes he was able to fight 'em off, sometimes not. And that's how it went for Andy - that was his routine. I do believe those first two years were the worst for him, and I also believe that if things had gone on that way, this place would have got the best of him.
Heywood: Hey, Fat Ass. Fat Ass! Talk to me boy! I know you're there I can hear you breathin'. Don't you listen to these nitwits you hear me? This place ain't so bad. Tell you what, I'll introduce you around, make you feel right at home. I know a couple of big old bull queers that'd just love to make you're acquaintance. Especially that big, white, mushy butt of yours.
Fat Ass: God! I don't belong here! I want to go home!
Inmates: We have a winner!
Heywood: And it's Fat Ass by a nose!
Fat Ass: God! I don't belong here! I want to go home!
Inmates: We have a winner!
Heywood: And it's Fat Ass by a nose!
Warden Samuel Norton: [as Mozart music is playing on the phonograph, the Warden comes to bang on the door] Open the door. Open it up! Dufresne, open this door! Turn that off!
[Andy acts like he is going to do as he says]
Warden Samuel Norton: I am warning you Dufresne, TURN THAT OFF!
[Andy turns up the volume instead, so Hadley comes to the door]
Captain Hadley: Dufresne...
[taps on the door with the club]
Captain Hadley: ... come on down.
[Andy does nothing, so Hadley smashes the screen on the door, unlocks it, and comes in the room]
Red: [narrating] Andy got two weeks in the hole for that little stunt.
Captain Hadley: [turns off the phonograph] On your feet.
[Andy acts like he is going to do as he says]
Warden Samuel Norton: I am warning you Dufresne, TURN THAT OFF!
[Andy turns up the volume instead, so Hadley comes to the door]
Captain Hadley: Dufresne...
[taps on the door with the club]
Captain Hadley: ... come on down.
[Andy does nothing, so Hadley smashes the screen on the door, unlocks it, and comes in the room]
Red: [narrating] Andy got two weeks in the hole for that little stunt.
Captain Hadley: [turns off the phonograph] On your feet.
Tommy Williams: So I'm backing out the door, right, and I got the TV, like this; it was a big old thing, I couldn't see shit; suddenly I hear this voice, "Police, kid, hands in the air." You know, I was standing there, holdin' on to that TV, so finally the voice says, "You hear what I said, boy?" And I say, "Yes sir, I sure did, but if I drop this fucking thing you got me on destruction of property too."
Red: [narrating] The following April Andy did tax returns for half the guards at Shawshank. Year after that he did them all including the warden's. Year after that they rescheduled the start of the intra-mural season to coincide with tax season. The guards on the opposing teams all remembered to bring their W2s.
Andy Dufresne: So Moresby prison issued you your gun but you actually had to pay for it.
Moresby Batter: Damn right. The holster too.
Andy Dufresne: You see that's tax deductible, you can write that off.
Andy Dufresne: So Moresby prison issued you your gun but you actually had to pay for it.
Moresby Batter: Damn right. The holster too.
Andy Dufresne: You see that's tax deductible, you can write that off.
Andy Dufresne: I want to know, how the score comes out.
Tommy Williams: I'll show you, how the score comes out
[crumbles test paper]
Tommy Williams: . TWO POINTS! THERE'S YOUR GODDAMN SCORE! Cats crawling on trees, five time five is twenty-five.
[shouts]
Tommy Williams: FUCK THIS PLACE! FUCK IT!
[Smacks book off the library table, and stormed out]
Tommy Williams: I'll show you, how the score comes out
[crumbles test paper]
Tommy Williams: . TWO POINTS! THERE'S YOUR GODDAMN SCORE! Cats crawling on trees, five time five is twenty-five.
[shouts]
Tommy Williams: FUCK THIS PLACE! FUCK IT!
[Smacks book off the library table, and stormed out]
Red: [narrating] Tommy Williams came to Shawshank in 1965 on a two-year stretch for B&E. That's breaking & entering to you. Cops caught him sneaking TV sets out the back door of a JC Penney. Young punk. Mr. Rock and Roll. Cocky as hell.
Tommy Williams: Hey, c'mon, old boys! You're movin' like molasses! Makin' me look bad!
Red: [narrating] We liked him immediately.
Tommy Williams: Hey, c'mon, old boys! You're movin' like molasses! Makin' me look bad!
Red: [narrating] We liked him immediately.
Head Bull Haig: Dufresne? Get your ass out here boy, you're holding up the show!
[no answer]
Head Bull Haig: Don't make me come down there or I'll thump your skull for you!
[Still no answer. Glaring, Haig stalks down the tier, clipboard in hand. His men fall in behind]
Head Bull Haig: Damn it, Dufresne, you're putting me behind! I got a schedule to keep! You better be sick or dead in there, I shit you not! You hear me?
[They arrive at bars. Their faces go slack. Stunned. Softly]
Head Bull Haig: Oh my Holy God.
[the guards find the cell empty]
[no answer]
Head Bull Haig: Don't make me come down there or I'll thump your skull for you!
[Still no answer. Glaring, Haig stalks down the tier, clipboard in hand. His men fall in behind]
Head Bull Haig: Damn it, Dufresne, you're putting me behind! I got a schedule to keep! You better be sick or dead in there, I shit you not! You hear me?
[They arrive at bars. Their faces go slack. Stunned. Softly]
Head Bull Haig: Oh my Holy God.
[the guards find the cell empty]
Red: [narrating] But then, in the spring of 1949, the powers that be decided that...
Warden Samuel Norton: The roof of the license-plate factory needs resurfacing. I need a dozen volunteers for a week's work. As you know, special detail carries with it special privileges.
Red: [narrating] It was outdoor detail - and May is one damn fine month to be working outdoors.
Warden Samuel Norton: The roof of the license-plate factory needs resurfacing. I need a dozen volunteers for a week's work. As you know, special detail carries with it special privileges.
Red: [narrating] It was outdoor detail - and May is one damn fine month to be working outdoors.
Red: [narrating] And that's how it came to pass that on the second-to-last day of the job, the convict crew that tarred the plate factory roof in the spring of forty-nine wound up sitting in a row at ten o'clock in the morning drinking icy cold, Bohemia-style beer, courtesy of the hardest screw that ever walked a turn at Shawshank State Prison.
Captain Hadley: Drink up while it's cold, ladies.
Red: [narrating] The colossal prick even managed to sound magnanimous.
Captain Hadley: Drink up while it's cold, ladies.
Red: [narrating] The colossal prick even managed to sound magnanimous.
Heywood: [talking about Fat Ass] Hey Tyrell. You pulling infirmary duty this week?
Tyrell: [nods] Yep.
Heywood: How's that winning horse of mine doing?
Tyrell: Dead. Hadley busted up his head pretty good. Doc went home for the night. Poor bastard laid there till this morning. By then, there was nothing we could do.
Tyrell: [nods] Yep.
Heywood: How's that winning horse of mine doing?
Tyrell: Dead. Hadley busted up his head pretty good. Doc went home for the night. Poor bastard laid there till this morning. By then, there was nothing we could do.
Floyd: Takin' bets today, Red?
Red: Smokes or coins, better's choice.
Floyd: Smokes. Put me down for two.
Red: All right, who's your horse?
Floyd: That little sack o' shit. Eighth, eighth from the front. He'll be first.
Heywood: Aw, bullshit. I'll call that action. You out some smokes, son, let me tell you!
Floyd: Well, Heywood, you so smart, you call it!
Heywood: I'll take the chubby fat-ass there. Fifth from the front. Put me down for a quarter deck.
Red: Smokes or coins, better's choice.
Floyd: Smokes. Put me down for two.
Red: All right, who's your horse?
Floyd: That little sack o' shit. Eighth, eighth from the front. He'll be first.
Heywood: Aw, bullshit. I'll call that action. You out some smokes, son, let me tell you!
Floyd: Well, Heywood, you so smart, you call it!
Heywood: I'll take the chubby fat-ass there. Fifth from the front. Put me down for a quarter deck.
Heywood: It's a fine morning, ain't it? You know why it's a fine morning, don't ya? Come on, set 'em down. I want 'em all lined up, just like a pretty little chorus line.
[the cons pull out cigarettes and hand them over to Heywood, who lines them up in front of him. He takes a long whiff]
Heywood: Ah, yes. Richmond, Virginia.
Floyd: Smell my ass.
[the cons pull out cigarettes and hand them over to Heywood, who lines them up in front of him. He takes a long whiff]
Heywood: Ah, yes. Richmond, Virginia.
Floyd: Smell my ass.
Captain Hadley: So this big shot lawyer calls me long distance from Texas. I say "Yeah?" He says, "Sorry to inform you, but your brother just died."
Guard Mert: Oh damn, Byron, I'm sorry to hear that.
Captain Hadley: I'm not, he was an asshole. Ran off years ago. Figured him dead for anyway. So anyway this lawyer fellow says to me: "Your brother died a rich man." Oil wells and shit. Close to a million bucks.
[$9,670,083 in 2014 dollars]
Guard Mert: A million bucks?
Captain Hadley: Yeah, fuckin' incredible how lucky some assholes get.
Guard Mert: Gees louise, you gonna see any of that?
Captain Hadley: Thirty-five thousand.
[$338,453 in 2014]
Captain Hadley: That's what he left me.
Guard Mert: Holy shit, that's great! That's like winning the sweepstakes.
[Hadley gives him a look]
Guard Mert: Isn't it?
Captain Hadley: Dumb shit, what do you think the government's gonna do to me? Take a big wet bite out of my ass is what.
Guard Mert: Oh damn, Byron, I'm sorry to hear that.
Captain Hadley: I'm not, he was an asshole. Ran off years ago. Figured him dead for anyway. So anyway this lawyer fellow says to me: "Your brother died a rich man." Oil wells and shit. Close to a million bucks.
[$9,670,083 in 2014 dollars]
Guard Mert: A million bucks?
Captain Hadley: Yeah, fuckin' incredible how lucky some assholes get.
Guard Mert: Gees louise, you gonna see any of that?
Captain Hadley: Thirty-five thousand.
[$338,453 in 2014]
Captain Hadley: That's what he left me.
Guard Mert: Holy shit, that's great! That's like winning the sweepstakes.
[Hadley gives him a look]
Guard Mert: Isn't it?
Captain Hadley: Dumb shit, what do you think the government's gonna do to me? Take a big wet bite out of my ass is what.
Andy Dufresne: Not me. I didn't shoot my wife, and I didn't shoot her lover. Whatever mistakes I made, I've paid for them and then some. That hotel, that boat... I don't think that's too much to ask.
Red: You shouldn't be doing this to yourself. This is just shitty pipe dreams. Mexico is way down there and you're in here... and that's the way it is
Red: You shouldn't be doing this to yourself. This is just shitty pipe dreams. Mexico is way down there and you're in here... and that's the way it is
Andy Dufresne: I wonder if you might get me a rock hammer
Red: What is it? And why?
Andy Dufresne: A rock hammer is about six or seven inches long looks like a miniature Pickaxe
Red: Pickaxe?
Andy Dufresne: For rocks.
Red: For rocks?
Andy Dufresne: I'm from a rock hound at least I was in my old life I'd like to be again on a limited basis
Red: Or maybe you'd like to sink your into somebody's skull
Andy Dufresne: No I have no enemies here
Red: No? Wait a while word gets around full queers take by force that's all they want or understand if I were you I'd grow eyes in the back of my head
Andy Dufresne: Thanks for the advice
Red: That's free, you understand my concern?
Andy Dufresne: If there's any trouble I won't use the rock hammer
Red: I guess you'd want to escape? Tunnel under the wall
[Andy starts laughing]
Red: did I miss something? What's so funny?
Andy Dufresne: You'll understand when you see the rock hammer
Red: What's an item like this usually go for?
Andy Dufresne: Seven dollars in any rock and gem shop
Red: My normal marker is twenty percent but this is a specialty item risk goes up price goes up let's make it an even ten bucks
Andy Dufresne: Ten it is
Red: Waste of money if you ask me
Andy Dufresne: Why's that?
Red: Folks around this joint love surprise inspections if they find you're going to lose it, if they do catch you with it you don't know me, you mention my name we never do business again not for a shoe lace or a stick of gum you got that?
Andy Dufresne: I understand thank you Mr.?
Red: "Red", my name's Red
Red: What is it? And why?
Andy Dufresne: A rock hammer is about six or seven inches long looks like a miniature Pickaxe
Red: Pickaxe?
Andy Dufresne: For rocks.
Red: For rocks?
Andy Dufresne: I'm from a rock hound at least I was in my old life I'd like to be again on a limited basis
Red: Or maybe you'd like to sink your into somebody's skull
Andy Dufresne: No I have no enemies here
Red: No? Wait a while word gets around full queers take by force that's all they want or understand if I were you I'd grow eyes in the back of my head
Andy Dufresne: Thanks for the advice
Red: That's free, you understand my concern?
Andy Dufresne: If there's any trouble I won't use the rock hammer
Red: I guess you'd want to escape? Tunnel under the wall
[Andy starts laughing]
Red: did I miss something? What's so funny?
Andy Dufresne: You'll understand when you see the rock hammer
Red: What's an item like this usually go for?
Andy Dufresne: Seven dollars in any rock and gem shop
Red: My normal marker is twenty percent but this is a specialty item risk goes up price goes up let's make it an even ten bucks
Andy Dufresne: Ten it is
Red: Waste of money if you ask me
Andy Dufresne: Why's that?
Red: Folks around this joint love surprise inspections if they find you're going to lose it, if they do catch you with it you don't know me, you mention my name we never do business again not for a shoe lace or a stick of gum you got that?
Andy Dufresne: I understand thank you Mr.?
Red: "Red", my name's Red
Warden Samuel Norton: [Referring to The Bible] Pleased to see you reading this, any favorite passages?
Andy Dufresne: "Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh."
Warden Samuel Norton: Mark 13:35, I've always liked that one but I prefer "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
Andy Dufresne: John 8:12
Andy Dufresne: "Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh."
Warden Samuel Norton: Mark 13:35, I've always liked that one but I prefer "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
Andy Dufresne: John 8:12
