The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

The Shawshank Redemption parents guide

It stays inside its R, with moderate sex and nudity, and strong violence.

Scare

Not scary

Jump scares

None noted

Gore

Light gore

Some blood or injury, briefly.

Violence

Strong violence

Violence is frequent or intense.

Sex and nudity

Moderate

Moderate means a sex scene or nudity on screen, even brief, or sexual violence that is described or implied but never shown.

Language

Strong

Frequent strong profanity or slurs.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

How gory is The Shawshank Redemption?

Light gore and strong violence.

What is The Shawshank Redemption rated, and is it OK for kids?

It is an R, with moderate sex and nudity, strong violence, and frequent strong language. Keep it for adults.

What is The Shawshank Redemption about?

Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.

Cast and crew

More like The Shawshank Redemption

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The Shawshank Redemption is on our Tearjerkers, Prison, Based on books, Comfort watches and Best Picture nominees lists.

More like this feeling

Prompts we typed into CouchRot, and the lists that share its tags.

• “a movie that will make me cry”
• “a thriller with a twist, no spoilers”
• “funny but not stupid, under two hours”