Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Shawshank Redemption 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

What, no collectible Rita Hayworth poster?

Reviewed by Randy Miller III September 9, 2021

Arriving more than a decade after its last two digital home video releases, a standard Blu-ray and an identical Digibook edition, Frank Darabont's monumental prison drama The Shawshank Redemption makes its long-awaited 4K UHD debut from Warner Bros. This now-beloved film famously rose from (relative) box office obscurity and seven fruitless Oscar nominations to steady cable TV airings in the late 1990s and, eventually, a perch atop IMDb's Top 250 list for the bulk of that site's existence, holding steady over all-time classics like The Godfather, Seven Samurai, and the less classic Forrest Gump (which beat Shawshank for Best Picture that year, along with two other more deserving films).

The Shawshank Redemption is a fine example of durable, timeless entertainment where all the pieces just fit, with the end result being an extremely rare case when critics, audiences, and the story's original author -- in this case, Stephen King -- embraced its charms. (The only others that come to mind are Stand by Me and The Dead Zone.) It's a reliably watchable and endlessly effective slice of tragedy and, yes, redemption, every bit at powerful now as it was almost 30 years ago. My favorite memory of Shawshank, though, was back in the mid-2000s when I had a relative over who championed it as her favorite movie... but had only seen the TV version, so that was an awkward afternoon.

For a synopsis and appreciation of the film, please see Casey Broadwater's review of the 2008 Digibook edition.

The Shawshank Redemption 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NOTE: The Blu-ray disc included with this release is identical to both the 2008 Digibook edition and the 2010 Blu-ray, so I chose to include 1080p SDR screenshots for this review that were downsampled from the 4K disc. Although they obviously do not represent the full potential of the 4K's 2160p HDR transfer, they at least provide a general idea of its different color grading, mostly better contrast levels, deeper blacks, and correct 1.85:1 framing. Additionally, the first five screenshots on this page are exact frame matches of the primary screenshots from Casey's review of the Digibook edition (linked above), which should offer rudimentary evidence of these differences in quality.

As implied above, Warner Bros.' 2160p HDR transfer of The Shawshank Redemption is much different than its older Blu-ray counterpart. Vaguely advertised as being sourced from a "previous 4K master", its visual features appear closer to a theatrical presentation than the overly bright and warm-tinted picture seen on older releases. Perhaps the most immediately obvious differences occur during most of the early prison scenes, which now take on a much cooler gray and blue cast than before; these color shifts emphasize Andy's isolation to a more literal degree and seem to be in line with cinematographer Roger Deakins' original intentions during shooting, which he spoke about in a 2017 article for American Cinematographer magazine. There are times, however, where the blue tint seems a bit overbearing, such as the prison's movie theater seen in screenshot #1. Still, color-wise this new transfer seems to offer a largely satisfying presentation, with better balance between individual shots and tasteful use of HDR grading that makes stronger colors stand out better against the blackness; specific scenes that come to mind are the opening shot with Andy outside the eventual crime scene, and Brooks solemnly leaving the darkened library before his fateful release.

Other visual elements show improvements as well, especially in the areas of fine detail and density. The Shawshank Redemption was filmed using at least two different stocks (both of them fine-grain), yielding a true film-like texture that's more apparent on this new transfer. In a static shot-for-shot comparison with the Blu-ray, however, the latter often looks "grainer"... but it's actually video noise more often than not, just as that older transfer's elevated contrast and brightness levels artificially boosted what should have been a more even-handed presentation. Close inspection of even the downsampled 4K captures in this review (explained above) reveal much more balanced highlights on the 4K presentation, as well as those stronger fine details that are clearly evident in wide shots and small background details alike, including the prison guard badges which are now very readable. But one area where this new transfer slightly struggles is black crush, as its ultra-deep black levels occasionally swallow the most subtle shadow details that were more evident in the older transfer. Was that another byproduct of the Blu-ray's boosted brightness? Possibly, but it seems more natural than some of the 4K's harshest transitions between dark values and true black.

While not perfect, this 4K transfer represents a very clear step in the right direction, easily beating a Blu-ray that, for most, was well above-average by 2008 standards -- you'll notice I still scored it a bit lower than our original review, because it obviously shows more than a few seams while still looking passable in most key areas. (Had WB bothered to include a remastered Blu-ray, the 4K and 2K video scores would likely be proportionately equal.) But with its better fine detail, more accurate colors, correct 1.85:1 framing, smoother highlights, and much denser film-like appearance (as well as a lack of very slight horizontal stretching, which I didn't even notice until I compared the two), this 4K transfer should largely please die-hand fans finally hoping to retire a disc almost as old as the format itself.

The Shawshank Redemption 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

It would be easy to write off the 4K disc's DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix as an identical to the older Blu-ray's TrueHD, but that's not quite the case here. The differences aren't massive when adjusted for volume... and on that note, I'll refer you to Casey's review of the 2008 Blu-ray for a basic overview of the surround mix's overall aesthetic. But for starters, this track registers a bit louder than the old one, so you may need to dial back your receiver a few decibels. Although not a bass-heavy film, LFE response is a bit more pronounced this time around: from the heavy thud of closing cell doors to the industrial backdrop of Shawshank's antique machinery and, of course, Thomas Newman's lingering score, lower frequencies enjoy a larger sonic share even after balancing volume levels with the Blu-ray. One drawback to its increased volume level, though, is that portions of dialogue sound uncharacteristically "hot" -- that is, sibilance becomes a bit too pronounced with slight crackling. It's evident from the very first courtroom scene during Andy's sentencing, and the issue returns intermittently when voices rise above normal speaking levels. While this distraction almost vanishes once volume levels are dialed back slightly (and may not even be detected by those not listening for it), this annoyance is enough to warrant at least a point deduction for an otherwise solid track.

The Shawshank Redemption 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This two-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with sinfully boring cover art, a matching slipcover, and a Digital Copy redemption code. The bonus features listed below are all recycled from the Blu-ray and can be found there... aside from the audio commentary by Frank Darabont, which is helpfully included on both discs. And since Casey's review of the 2008 Blu-ray does a fine job of summarizing each one, I'll list them below in name only.

• Audio Commentary by Director Frank Darabont

• Hope Springs Eternal: A Look Back at The Shawshank Redemption (31:01)

• Shawshank: The Redeeming Feature (48:17)

• The Sharktank Redemption (24:46)

• The Charlie Rose Show with Frank Darabont, Tim Robbins, and Morgan Freeman (42:21)

• Shawshank Stills (17:20)

• Theatrical Re-release Trailer (1:59)

The Shawshank Redemption 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Frank Darabont's monumental prison drama The Shawshank Redemption represents a high water mark for Stephen King adaptations and 1990s films in general: it's pretty much perfect in all key areas and plays just as well now as it did almost 30 years ago. Warner Bros.' long-awaited 4K disc proves to be a mostly satisfactory effort for a major-studio catalog release, correcting many of the old Blu-ray's color timing and brightness issues with a dense and durable 2160p transfer; it's not a perfect effort and there are one or two nitpicks with the beefier DTS-HD 5.1 track as well, but both offer exclusive improvements that die-hard fans should certainly appreciate. (In contrast, no new extras are included but its legacy content still covers the bases nicely.) Highly Recommended to pretty much everyone.