The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

46 mistakes - chronological order

(58 votes)

Factual error: The sign for Buxton is horizontal with two poles. Signs for Maine towns are vertical and mounted on a single post.

Revealing mistake: In the scene where Warden Norton is loading his pistol, as he dumps out the bullets and loads them the primers are dimpled. Unfired bullets would not have the dimples from the gun's hammer (even if they were home made reloads, the primer would have been replaced).

Continuity mistake: When Hank Williams is singing "Lovesick Blues" the MGM label is from 1968. This is meant to be 1963.

Factual error: A single bar of prison-issued soap and a pool of cold, sewage-contaminated water would never be enough to wash the stench that Andy would have acquired from worming through 300 feet of waste.

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Suggested correction: Andy could have found an area of cleaner water (say a puddle, small pond, or other ditch) to do a basic cleaning before fully cleaning elsewhere, like a cheap motel.

LorgSkyegon

Suggested correction: First of all it was 500 yards, not 300 feet. Second, all Andy really has to do is go upstream to where the water is clean. I guess you must have also forgotten that has been raining.

Revealing mistake: When Brooks is carving his name, "dust" seemingly like plaster dust vs wood dust is shown falling on the table top, his shoes etc. When they cut to the view of Brooks looking at his work and closing his knife, there is no "dust" on his hand or knife. That much carving with that much dust falling on the table would have left his knife covered with dust. It was clean.

steven_frankel

Continuity mistake: The warden pulls out a box of Remington .38 Special cartridges to load his revolver prior to his suicide. The warden empties the cartridges on to his desk and loads the revolver with what are Winchester/Western cartridges.

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Trivia: There are many references to the number 237 in the movie. For instance, this is the number of Red's cell, and these digits are on Andy's prison I.D. This number makes appearances throughout Steven King stories, the most famous one being the room where the murders take place in "The Shining".

More trivia for The Shawshank Redemption

Chosen answer: In the original novella it is revealed that Andy smuggled $500 into the prison inside of his rectum. During an interview in 2004 Robbins incorrectly quoted the amount as being $100. The narration up until Red's release is provided as Red writes his account of the events while still in prison, and employs the same method to smuggle the story out. But since the issue of Andy smuggling in $500 into the prison isn't addressed in the movie, we should assume that he smuggled it in. In addition to this, the wardens scams are described as "near slave labor." From this we can assume that it is possible the inmates are getting paid (an incredibly small) wage. Perhaps Andy, with his financial knowledge, knows how to haggle, barter and stretch a dollar. One last (but not as likely) scenario is that Red allows some sort of lay by system to inmates.

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