The Shawshank Redemption Quotes
Andy Dufresne: She was beautiful. God I loved her. I just didn't know how to show it, that's all. I killed her, Red. I didn't pull the trigger, but I drove her away. And that's why she died, because of me.
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Fat Ass: You don't understand! I'm not supposed to be here!
Inmates: Me neither! They run this place like a ****ing prison!
Inmates: Me neither! They run this place like a ****ing prison!
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Red: [narrating] In 1966, Andy Dufresne escaped from Shawshank prison. All they found of him was a muddy set of prison clothes, a bar of soap, and an old rock hammer, damn near worn down to the nub. I remember thinking it would take a man six hundred years to tunnel through the wall with it. Old Andy did it in less than twenty. Oh, Andy loved geology. I imagine it appealed to his meticulous nature. An ice age here, million years of mountain building there. Geology is the study of pressure and time. That's all it takes really, pressure, and time. That, and a big goddamn poster. Like I said, in prison a man will do most anything to keep his mind occupied. Turns out Andy's favorite hobby was totin' his wall out into the exercise yard, a handful at a time. I guess after Tommy was killed, Andy decided he'd been here just about long enough. Andy did like he was told, buffed those shoes to a high mirror shine. The guards simply didn't notice. Neither did I... I mean, seriously, how often do you really look at a mans shoes? Andy crawled to freedom through five hundred yards of shit smelling foulness I can't even imagine, or maybe I just don't want to. Five hundred yards... that's the length of five football fields, just shy of half a mile.
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Red: [narrating] I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
[Boggs sizes Andy up]
Boggs: Hey, anybody come at you yet? Anybody get to you yet? [Andy looks at him in puzzlement]
Boggs: Hey, we all need friends in here. I could be a friend to you. [Andy walks away]
Boggs: Hey... Hard to get. I like that...
Boggs: Hey, anybody come at you yet? Anybody get to you yet? [Andy looks at him in puzzlement]
Boggs: Hey, we all need friends in here. I could be a friend to you. [Andy walks away]
Boggs: Hey... Hard to get. I like that...
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
[ Red places his bet on Andy ]
Red : That tall drink of water with the silver spoon up his ass.
Red : That tall drink of water with the silver spoon up his ass.
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Red : [ narrating ] I wish I could tell you that Andy fought the good fight, and the Sisters let him be. I wish I could tell you that - but prison is no fairy-tale world. He never said who did it, but we all knew. Things went on like that for awhile - prison life consists of routine, and then more routine. Every so often, Andy would show up with fresh bruises. The Sisters kept at him - sometimes he was able to fight 'em off, sometimes not. And that's how it went for Andy - that was his routine. I do believe those first two years were the worst for him, and I also believe that if things had gone on that way, this place would have got the best of him.
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Warden Samuel Norton : Do you enjoy working in the laundry?
Andy Dufresne : No sir, not especially.
Andy Dufresne : No sir, not especially.
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Andy Dufresne : You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific?
Red : No.
Andy Dufresne : They say it has no memory. That's where I want to live the rest of my life. A warm place with no memory.
Red : No.
Andy Dufresne : They say it has no memory. That's where I want to live the rest of my life. A warm place with no memory.
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
[ Boggs sizes Andy up ]
Boggs : Hey, anybody come at you yet? Anybody get to you yet? [ Andy looks at him in puzzlement ]
Boggs : Hey, we all need friends in here. I could be a friend to you. [ Andy walks away ]
Boggs : Hey... Hard to get. I like that...
Boggs : Hey, anybody come at you yet? Anybody get to you yet? [ Andy looks at him in puzzlement ]
Boggs : Hey, we all need friends in here. I could be a friend to you. [ Andy walks away ]
Boggs : Hey... Hard to get. I like that...
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Red : [ narrating ] But then, in the spring of 1949, the powers that be decided that...
Warden Samuel Norton : The roof of the license-plate factory needs resurfacing. I need a dozen volunteers for a week's work. As you know, special detail carries with it special privledges.
Red : [ narrating ] It was outdoor detail - and May is one damn fine month to be working outdoors.
Warden Samuel Norton : The roof of the license-plate factory needs resurfacing. I need a dozen volunteers for a week's work. As you know, special detail carries with it special privledges.
Red : [ narrating ] It was outdoor detail - and May is one damn fine month to be working outdoors.
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
[ Andy after Warden Norton refuse to appeal his case ]
Andy Dufresne : It's my life. Don't you understand? IT'S MY LIFE!
Andy Dufresne : It's my life. Don't you understand? IT'S MY LIFE!
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
1967 Parole Hearings Man : Ellis Boyd Redding, your files say you've served 40 years of a life sentence. Do you feel you've been rehabilitated?
Red : Rehabilitated? Well, now let me see. You know, I don't have any idea what that means.
1967 Parole Hearings Man : Well, it means that you're ready to rejoin society...
Red : I know what *you* think it means, sonny. To me it's just a made up word. A politician's word, so young fellas like yourself can wear a suit and a tie, and have a job. What do you really want to know? Am I sorry for what I did?
1967 Parole Hearings Man : Well, are you?
Red : There's not a day goes by I don't feel regret. Not because I'm in here, or because you think I should. I look back on the way I was then: a young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try and talk some sense to him, tell him the way things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone and this old man is all that's left. I got to live with that. Rehabilitated? It's just a bullshit word. So you go on and stamp your form, sonny, and stop wasting my time. Because to tell you the truth, I don't give a shit.
Red : Rehabilitated? Well, now let me see. You know, I don't have any idea what that means.
1967 Parole Hearings Man : Well, it means that you're ready to rejoin society...
Red : I know what *you* think it means, sonny. To me it's just a made up word. A politician's word, so young fellas like yourself can wear a suit and a tie, and have a job. What do you really want to know? Am I sorry for what I did?
1967 Parole Hearings Man : Well, are you?
Red : There's not a day goes by I don't feel regret. Not because I'm in here, or because you think I should. I look back on the way I was then: a young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try and talk some sense to him, tell him the way things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone and this old man is all that's left. I got to live with that. Rehabilitated? It's just a bullshit word. So you go on and stamp your form, sonny, and stop wasting my time. Because to tell you the truth, I don't give a shit.
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Warden Samuel Norton : I have to say that's the most amazing story I've ever heard. What amazes me most is that you were taken in by it.
Andy Dufresne : Sir?
Warden Samuel Norton : It's obvious this fellow Williams is impressed with you, he hears your tale of woe and naturally wants to cheer you up. He's young, not terribly bright, it's not surprising he wouldn't know what a state he put you in.
Andy Dufresne : Sir, he's telling the truth.
Warden Samuel Norton : Let's say for the moment this Blatch does exist. You think he'd just fall to his knees and cry: "Yes, I did it, I confess! Oh, and by the way, add a life term to my sentence."
Andy Dufresne : You know that wouldn't matter. With Tommy's testimony I can get a new trial.
Warden Samuel Norton : That's assuming Blatch is still there. Chances are excellent he'd be released by now.
Andy Dufresne : Well they'd have his last known address, names of relatives. It's a *chance*, isn't it. [ Norton shakes his head ]
Andy Dufresne : How can you be so obtuse?
Warden Samuel Norton : What? What did you call me?
Andy Dufresne : Obtuse. Is it deliberate?
Warden Samuel Norton : Son, you're forgetting yourself.
Andy Dufresne : The country club will have his old time cards. Records, W-2s with his name on them. Sir, if I ever get out, I'd never mention what happens here. I'd be just as indictable as you for laundering that money. [ Norton slaps the table ]
Warden Samuel Norton : Don't you ever mention money to me again, you sorry son of a bitch! Not in this office, not anywhere!
Andy Dufresne : Sir?
Warden Samuel Norton : It's obvious this fellow Williams is impressed with you, he hears your tale of woe and naturally wants to cheer you up. He's young, not terribly bright, it's not surprising he wouldn't know what a state he put you in.
Andy Dufresne : Sir, he's telling the truth.
Warden Samuel Norton : Let's say for the moment this Blatch does exist. You think he'd just fall to his knees and cry: "Yes, I did it, I confess! Oh, and by the way, add a life term to my sentence."
Andy Dufresne : You know that wouldn't matter. With Tommy's testimony I can get a new trial.
Warden Samuel Norton : That's assuming Blatch is still there. Chances are excellent he'd be released by now.
Andy Dufresne : Well they'd have his last known address, names of relatives. It's a *chance*, isn't it. [ Norton shakes his head ]
Andy Dufresne : How can you be so obtuse?
Warden Samuel Norton : What? What did you call me?
Andy Dufresne : Obtuse. Is it deliberate?
Warden Samuel Norton : Son, you're forgetting yourself.
Andy Dufresne : The country club will have his old time cards. Records, W-2s with his name on them. Sir, if I ever get out, I'd never mention what happens here. I'd be just as indictable as you for laundering that money. [ Norton slaps the table ]
Warden Samuel Norton : Don't you ever mention money to me again, you sorry son of a bitch! Not in this office, not anywhere!
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Brooks : [ to Andy ] Son, six wardens have been through here in my tenure, and I've learned one immutable, universal truth: Not one of them born whose asshole wouldn't pucker up tighter than a snare drum when you ask them for funds.
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Warden Samuel Norton : I believe in two things: discipline and the Bible. Here you'll receive both. Put your trust in the Lord; your ass belongs to me. Welcome to Shawshank.
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Red : [ narrating ] I must admit I didn't think much of Andy first time I laid eyes on him; looked like a stiff breeze would blow him over. That was my first impression of the man.
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Captain Hadley : If I hear so much as a mouse fart in here the rest of the night I swear by God and sonny Jesus you will all visit the infirmary. Every last motherfucker in here.
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
District Attorney : And that also is very convenient, isn't it, Mr. Dufresne?
Andy Dufresne : Since I am innocent of this crime, sir, I find it decidedly *inconvenient* that the gun was never found.
Andy Dufresne : Since I am innocent of this crime, sir, I find it decidedly *inconvenient* that the gun was never found.
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Captain Hadley : Uncle Sam. Reaching into your shirt and squeezing your tit till it's purple.
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Captain Hadley : What is your malfunction, you fat barrel of monkey spunk?
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Red : Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Red : [ narrating ] The first night's the toughest, no doubt about it. They march you in naked as the day you were born, skin burning and half blind from that delousing shit they throw on you, and when they put you in that cell... and those bars slam home... that's when you know it's for real. A whole life blown away in the blink of an eye. Nothing left but all the time in the world to think about it.
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Red : These walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That's institutionalized.
Heywood : Shit. I could never get like that.
Prisoner : Oh yeah? Say that when you been here as long as Brooks has.
Red : Goddamn right. They send you here for life, and that's exactly what they take. The part that counts, anyway.
Heywood : Shit. I could never get like that.
Prisoner : Oh yeah? Say that when you been here as long as Brooks has.
Red : Goddamn right. They send you here for life, and that's exactly what they take. The part that counts, anyway.
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Red : [ narrating ] His first night in the joint, Andy Dufresne cost me two packs of cigarettes. He never made a sound.
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Red : [ narrating ] I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Andy Dufresne : That's the beauty of music. They can't get that from you... Haven't you ever felt that way about music?
Red : I played a mean harmonica as a younger man. Lost interest in it though. Didn't make much sense in here.
Andy Dufresne : Here's where it makes the most sense. You need it so you don't forget.
Red : Forget?
Andy Dufresne : Forget that... there are places in this world that aren't made out of stone. That there's something inside... that they can't get to, that they can't touch. That's yours.
Red : What're you talking about?
Andy Dufresne : Hope.
Red : I played a mean harmonica as a younger man. Lost interest in it though. Didn't make much sense in here.
Andy Dufresne : Here's where it makes the most sense. You need it so you don't forget.
Red : Forget?
Andy Dufresne : Forget that... there are places in this world that aren't made out of stone. That there's something inside... that they can't get to, that they can't touch. That's yours.
Red : What're you talking about?
Andy Dufresne : Hope.
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption