I always thought I have seen the most of the good It would have been understandable to have missed a few not-so-famous or not-so-heard of ones. But to have missed these two for such a long time, was unbelievable. I hate to admit here that my close buddy, a hard movie buff himself, did not enlighten me about atleast one of these movies from a long time in spite of having the knowledge of its beauty.
The movies I am referring to are 1] The Shawshank Redemption 2] The Great Escape (written in the order of my tryst with them)
The first, Shawshank, landed with me in the form of a VCD just by chance. My buddy suppi when leaving for a visit to Japan gave me few of his collection (actually only ONE!) to spend the weekends. I remember telling myself the only two names I recognized was MORGAN FREEMAN and DOLBY!! I played the movie with little or no anticipation of a great cinematic experience. The few minutes I told myself it’s just another prison story and maybe Kamal hassan would have lifted some scenes for him MAHANADI from this movie. I was wrong on both the assumptions. Neither was it ANOTHER prison movie, nor an inspiration for Kamal Hassan for his MAHANADI (wonder why ?!). The movie though seems to be a slow narrative, keeps u hooked till the end. Some scenes are unforgettable even days after u have watched it, like the one where old brook inscribes "BROOKS WAS HERE"....and the way red does the same inscription...but leaves on to take a different journey !
The Great Escape is one movie that I have heard about a lot from my grandfather. Thanks to him, I always knew it was a great movie. One more person who deserves my gratitude is Tejas, one other close buddy of mine, who gave me this DVD to watch.Here too I made an assumption, thankfully only one, that ended up wrong. By the feel of the first few moments of the film, I did think it’s gonna be the tale of a successful escape from the highly guarded prison with a humorous note all along the way. The film did keep on quizzing my thoughts of what was to happen next and how. Brilliant performances and a superb photography, it was a treat to watch this film.
Now, after having watched these two films, something struck me. I do not know if I am right or wrong, but somehow these two films seemed to be related. But the stories and the concept were opposites. Both have a warden, Shawshank - a bad one, Great escape - Not a good one, but a man with a nice heart. Shawshank - One man made his escape plan, did not include anyone, not even his close friend. Great Escape - The escape plan was chalked out to accommodate everyone and all. Shawshank - The escape plan is know to the audience only at the end. Great Escape - The plan is there from the start. Shawshank - Unexpected happy 'HOPEFUL' ending. Great escape - Unexpected but a tragic ending.
My recommendation, if you haven’t watched anyone of these two films, grab a DVD soon and watch it!
The movies I am referring to are 1] The Shawshank Redemption 2] The Great Escape (written in the order of my tryst with them)
The first, Shawshank, landed with me in the form of a VCD just by chance. My buddy suppi when leaving for a visit to Japan gave me few of his collection (actually only ONE!) to spend the weekends. I remember telling myself the only two names I recognized was MORGAN FREEMAN and DOLBY!! I played the movie with little or no anticipation of a great cinematic experience. The few minutes I told myself it’s just another prison story and maybe Kamal hassan would have lifted some scenes for him MAHANADI from this movie. I was wrong on both the assumptions. Neither was it ANOTHER prison movie, nor an inspiration for Kamal Hassan for his MAHANADI (wonder why ?!). The movie though seems to be a slow narrative, keeps u hooked till the end. Some scenes are unforgettable even days after u have watched it, like the one where old brook inscribes "BROOKS WAS HERE"....and the way red does the same inscription...but leaves on to take a different journey !
The Great Escape is one movie that I have heard about a lot from my grandfather. Thanks to him, I always knew it was a great movie. One more person who deserves my gratitude is Tejas, one other close buddy of mine, who gave me this DVD to watch.Here too I made an assumption, thankfully only one, that ended up wrong. By the feel of the first few moments of the film, I did think it’s gonna be the tale of a successful escape from the highly guarded prison with a humorous note all along the way. The film did keep on quizzing my thoughts of what was to happen next and how. Brilliant performances and a superb photography, it was a treat to watch this film.
Now, after having watched these two films, something struck me. I do not know if I am right or wrong, but somehow these two films seemed to be related. But the stories and the concept were opposites. Both have a warden, Shawshank - a bad one, Great escape - Not a good one, but a man with a nice heart. Shawshank - One man made his escape plan, did not include anyone, not even his close friend. Great Escape - The escape plan was chalked out to accommodate everyone and all. Shawshank - The escape plan is know to the audience only at the end. Great Escape - The plan is there from the start. Shawshank - Unexpected happy 'HOPEFUL' ending. Great escape - Unexpected but a tragic ending.
My recommendation, if you haven’t watched anyone of these two films, grab a DVD soon and watch it!
3 comments:
Hey there, nice blog. Must admit I haven't watched The Great Escape even though there's so much talk about it, but Shawshank is definitely one of my favourites.
Like your views on the water sharing thingy too- I personally think it's all just an excuse for rowdyism, nothing much more.
hey thanks for taking time to post ur comments.....i know....the world is in need of more tolerance among the ppl....
Wishes....Jai
hi
shawshank redemption- my favourite too....!!
Jo
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