What's in a name? Well, if you name your movie badly it can be the difference between success and failure. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) had trouble.
"How many people came up to me on the street and said, 'I really liked that shinkshanks thing'," laughs star Tim Robbins in the
extra disc which comes with the special edition two-disc DVD release of The Shawshank Redemption.
Despite good press it did poorly in cinemas ("It landed with a hollow thud at the box office," says director Frank Darabont.)
"It was the quietest seven Academy nominations I'd heard of," says actor Gil Bellows, who played Tommy in the film.
But it won none - it was up against Forrest Gump - although the following year it was the top rental on video.
Time has been kind to The Shawshank Redemption, a morality tale based on a Stephen King novella and much adapted for the cinema.
The additional features on this edition include interviews with the actors and the director, and enhance the movie rather than talk it to death. If you haven't seen it, or remember it fondly, this is a good package. Ask for it by name.
And now for something completely different. With Deadwood's cowboys and misfits winning a loyal following and Sky featuring westerns on Wednesday, here are a couple out at midprice: The Bravados with Gregory Peck and Joan Collins (1958) andBandolero! with Jimmy Stewart, Dean Martin and, boasting the biggest hair in Tex-Mex territory, Raquel Welch (1968).
Both have a similar story: bad guys to be hung are busted out by a colleague posing as the hangman and they escape with a woman hostage (Collins, Welch).
There is a pursuit into Mexico and great scenery (which looks like the Painted Desert and various bits of impressive Arizona in each). Peck was always terrific in cowboy flicks (The Gunfighter of 1950 is up there with High Noon) and in The Bravados he plays a man determined to avenge the rape and murder of his wife by those who have escaped the hangman.
A tip: don't read the synopsis on the box but let the ending be a surprise. It's worth it.
Interesting, too, is the supporting cast where characters play against type: Lee Van Cleef (the bad in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, and one of the gang in High Noon) here plays a snivelling coward, and Henry Silva who is most often a cold killer might be a bad guy but is also a warm family man.
Stephen Boyd (usually a handsome leading man) is one of the killers.
Bandolero! also has actors in unexpected roles: Martin and Stewart are outlaw brothers (both slightly miscast), and loveable Will Geer (Grandpa Walton) is one of the gang. Welch is a Mexican.
These aren't up there with 3.10 to Yuma, The Posse or From Hell to Texas, but they don't disgrace the genre. Enjoy, pardner.
Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins in The Shawshank Redemption, a video-rental favourite.
What's in a name? Well, if you name your movie badly it can be the difference between success and failure. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) had trouble.
"How many people came up to me on the street and said, 'I really liked that shinkshanks thing'," laughs star Tim Robbins in the
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