Shawshank Redemption: How Old Andy Is & How Long He Was In Prison
The Shawshank Redemption is an iconic movie and one of the most successful adaptations of a Stephen King story, but there remains some confusion about the age of Andy Dufresne and exactly how long he spends in Shawshank prison. Famously, director Frank Darabont's movie was a box office flop on its initial theatrical run in 1994 before receiving seven Academy Award nominations without taking home a single Oscar. Nevertheless, the story of Red (Morgan Freeman) and Andy Dufresne’s (Tim Robbins) friendship within the walls of Shawshank prison is considered both a beloved classic and a brilliant book adaptation in contemporary culture.
Despite being based on Stephen King’s novella, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, Frank Darabont’s movie deviates significantly from the source material both in terms of story and casting. For example, The Shawshank Redemption removes Brooks Hatlen’s crimes entirely from the story, while the narrator, Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding, goes from being a white Irishman in the book to being played by Morgan Freeman's iteration of the character. Similarly, the novella describes Andy Dufresne as a “short, neat, little man,” making him strikingly different physically from the towering Tim Robbins.
Related: Shawshank Redemption: Why Morgan Freeman's Character Is Called Red
Despite these changes, working out the amount of time Andy spends in Shawshank prison is simple. According to Red, he first arrives in “early 1947,” while his remarkable escape takes place in 1966, meaning that he spends nineteen years in jail. However, since the movie never mentions his age, it is necessary to refer to the novella, in which Red claims that convicted murderer Andy Dufresne is thirty when he first arrives at Shawshank,
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