The Shawshank Redemption: Movie Vs. Film

Many books have been used as the basis for motion pictures. According to John Harrington one third of all movies ever made were adapted from novels. The transition of any piece of literature into a film generates a lot of discussion, positive and negative, that provides a basis for comparison between these two media. Using the cliché 'the book is always better than the film ' prevents making meaningful comparisons because the cliché assumes that the 'language ' system of literature is deeper or more complex than that of film. However, both books and films narrate stories. Narratology is defined by Bal as “the ensemble of theories of narratives, narrative texts, images, spectacles, events; cultural artifacts that 'tell a story '” . Seymour Chatman argues that these elements underlie the common features of structure that characterize narrative regardless of the medium in which it is actualized.

Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption is one such book written by Stephen King and which was adapted for the big screen by director Frank Darabont. It is also an example of a story that became more famous because of its film adaptation. The novella was published in 1982 in King 's collection entitled Different Seasons. King writes the story of an inmate of Shawshank State Prison, Andy Dufresne, through the point of view of his fellow inmate Red. In 1994, the director Frank Darabont released the movie 'The Shawshank Redemption '. The film was a dud at the box office.