There are three basic categories of sound in a film- dialogue, music, and sound effects. In Shawshank Redemption, all three are used at different points in the film. Dialogue between the characters is the main use of sound and is used throughout the film and at some points is quite intense in nature. For example when young Tommy re-accounts to Andy how Elmer Blach admitted to killing his wife and lover, which is the crime Andy is serving life for, his voice is thick with intensity and seriousness. Effective movie dialogue expands upon what you see on the screen but does not need to to be said in words (Goddykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). There are also many sound effects that attribute to the overall mood of the film, including the slamming of cell doors within the prison and other sounds that are frequently heard in a prison setting. The one sound effect that sticks out to me is the sound of Andy’s rock hammer hitting the wall as he tunnels his way out over a span of years. He does so after lights out when the prison is quiet and still so every scrap of the hammer is painfully loud though probably not so in real life. The sound effects are very haunting like you would find in a psychological thriller or drama genre, both of which Shawshank applies to.
There are six different musical pieces played in Shawshank but the most memorable by far is when Andy locks himself in the warden’s office and plays a Mozart song so that the prison can be subjected to a moment of beauty, no matter what the cost (clip shown below). He ends up in the hole for his shenanigan but he goes with a smile knowing that he had brought a ray of sunshine to an otherwise dark place, if only for three minutes. Overall, the film uses sound effectively and the dialogue is a crucial part of this film as it tells a story that leads up to the climax of the film, Andy’s escape. As he is escaping the sound effects of the storm, the thunder, as he emerges from the drain pipe leaves the audience with such a dramatic effect if the scene was without these sound effects, the shot would not make such an impact. I would characterize the effects in this film as realistic ones which really make the film come to life for the audience.
Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. This text is a Constellation™ course digital materials (CDM) title.
Qutrmoonshow (2011 May 4,). The Shawshank Redemption Opera Scene. Retrieved from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzuM2XTnpSA