The 20 most memorable quotes from 'The Shawshank Redemption' (2024)

Table of Contents
“I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living, or get busy dying.” “Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.” “Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” “The funny thing is, on the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook.” “Sometimes it makes me sad, though...Andy being gone. I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright.” “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 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?” “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.” “Same old shıt, different day.” “That's "Cristo" you dumb shıt.” “No hard feelings. Brooks.” “I'd like to think that the last thing that went through his head, other than that bullet, was to wonder how the hell Andy Dufresne ever got the best of him.” “Only guilty man in Shawshank.” “Zihuatanejo.” “They say it has no memory. That's where I want to live the rest of my life. A warm place with no memory.” “I believe in two things: discipline and the Bible. Here you'll receive both. Put your trust in the Lord; your āss belongs to me. Welcome to Shawshank.” “How can you be so obtuse?” “Bad luck, I guess. It floats around. It's got to land on somebody. It was my turn, that's all. I was in the path of the tornado. I just didn't expect the storm would last as long as it has.” “Andy Dufresne…who crawled through a river of shıt and came out clean on the other side.” “I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.” References

The Turner Broadcasting Corporation helped turn “The Shawshank Redemption” into an iconic film. While the movie was nominated for Best Picture in 1994, it wasn’t a huge hit and came and went. Then, it became a cable TV staple. You could seemingly watch “Shawshank” on some channel any given day of the week. Now? A lot of people consider it one of the best movies ever. It used to be the highest-rated film on IMDb. Adapted from a Stephen King novel, the dialogue is part of what helped it stand out. Here are the most memorable quotes from “The Shawshank Redemption.”

1 of 20

“I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living, or get busy dying.”

The 20 most memorable quotes from 'The Shawshank Redemption' (1)

Columbia

While “The Shawshank Redemption” is not a two-hander between Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, the characters of Andy and Red dominate on the memorable quote front. Andy’s refrain of “Get busy living, or get busy dying” is arguably the most-quoted line from the film.

2 of 20

“Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.”

The 20 most memorable quotes from 'The Shawshank Redemption' (2)

Columbia

Red is a mentor to Andy, having been in prison for many years. He offers this as a warning to Andy, a bit of hard-earned cynicism from his own personal prison experience.

3 of 20

“Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

The 20 most memorable quotes from 'The Shawshank Redemption' (3)

Columbia

Andy, of course, does not necessarily agree with Red. Instead, he has his own feelings on hope, the kind that helped him on his journey to escaping from Shawshank.

4 of 20

“The funny thing is, on the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook.”

The 20 most memorable quotes from 'The Shawshank Redemption' (4)

Columbia

Andy Dufresne is in prison for a murder he did not commit. While in prison, he uses his acumen with numbers to curry some favor by doing the books for the prison. That includes some, um, creative accounting, which is part of what inspired this line from Andy.

5 of 20

“Sometimes it makes me sad, though...Andy being gone. I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright.”

The 20 most memorable quotes from 'The Shawshank Redemption' (5)

Columbia

Red does a lot of narrating in “Shawshank Redemption,” which is what you do when you cast Morgan Freeman (in a role that in the book is a white Irish guy). After Andy’s escape, Red is left to reflect on his complex emotions. This bit of narration ends somberly, if sweetly, with Red saying, “I guess I just miss my friend.”

6 of 20

“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.

The 20 most memorable quotes from 'The Shawshank Redemption' (6)

Columbia

Here’s another Red line. The prisoners are given a bit of entertainment, some “high art” to try and teach them some culture, perhaps. Red is able to enjoy it, even if he can’t understand the language. He understands the emotion, though.

7 of 20

“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?”

The 20 most memorable quotes from 'The Shawshank Redemption' (7)

Columbia

Red says this at his parole hearing. He’s asked if he’s been “rehabilitated” and when he says he isn’t sure what that means, the man running the parole hearing starts to define it, before Red cuts him off to say this.

8 of 20

“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.”

The 20 most memorable quotes from 'The Shawshank Redemption' (8)

Columbia

This is part of a tete-a-tete about music between Andy and Red. Andy expounds on the beauty of music, and Red says he used to play harmonica before he was in prison, figuring it didn’t make sense anymore. Andy disagrees, saying music makes more sense than ever in prison, so that you don’t forget, well, what he says in this quote.

9 of 20

“Same old shıt, different day.”

The 20 most memorable quotes from 'The Shawshank Redemption' (9)

Columbia

This is a phrase used commonly and not as a movie quote. It cuts to the heart of the matter, that’s for sure. Red says it after he is denied parole, which is what he expected to happen.

10 of 20

“That's "Cristo" you dumb shıt.”

The 20 most memorable quotes from 'The Shawshank Redemption' (10)

Columbia

Hey, a quote from somebody who isn’t Andy or Red! It’s Floyd, one of the other prisoners who says it. He’s talking to Heywood, who calls the book “The Count of Monte Cristo” the “Count of Monte Crisco.” File that one under “Educational.”

11 of 20

“No hard feelings. Brooks.”

The 20 most memorable quotes from 'The Shawshank Redemption' (11)

Columbia

Brooks offers a brief, somber aside for the prisoners of Shawshank. He’s been in prison for ages, so much so that in his letter he is floored by there being cars everywhere. Alas, Brooks is unable to make it on the outside, unable to adjust to life and get his legs under him in a world without a place for this old crook. This is how he ends his letter. By the time the prisoner get it, Brooks has already killed himself.

12 of 20

“I'd like to think that the last thing that went through his head, other than that bullet, was to wonder how the hell Andy Dufresne ever got the best of him.”

The 20 most memorable quotes from 'The Shawshank Redemption' (12)

Columbia

It’s a little morbid to have these two quotes back-to-back but, well, this is a film about a prison, so it’s not exactly a cheerful tale. The crooked warden has been bested, with Andy free and aware of all the criminality the warden has been involved with. Unable to face the penalty for his crimes, the warden opts to end his life instead. Red, reasonably given the way the warden treated the prisoners, is not feeling too solemn on the occasion.

13 of 20

“Only guilty man in Shawshank.”

The 20 most memorable quotes from 'The Shawshank Redemption' (13)

Columbia

It’s a joke in Shawshank that nobody is actually guilty. That is, save for Red. When he tells Andy what he’s in for, Andy replies with “Innocent?” Red, shaking his head, offers this up.

14 of 20

“Zihuatanejo.”

The 20 most memorable quotes from 'The Shawshank Redemption' (14)

Columbia

It’s the town in Mexico that Andy dreams of. It’s where he plans to escape to. He tells Red about it. Andy escapes, and when Red gets out, he has a letter from him. Andy asks, in the letter, of Red remembers the town's name. Then, we get to hear Freeman say, “Zihuatanejo.”

15 of 20

“They say it has no memory. That's where I want to live the rest of my life. A warm place with no memory.”

The 20 most memorable quotes from 'The Shawshank Redemption' (15)

Columbia

More Zihuatanejo talk. Or, more specifically, the Pacific Ocean. This is what Andy says Mexicans say about the Pacific, and it is what Andy dreams of.

16 of 20

“I believe in two things: discipline and the Bible. Here you'll receive both. Put your trust in the Lord; your āss belongs to me. Welcome to Shawshank.”

The 20 most memorable quotes from 'The Shawshank Redemption' (16)

Columbia

Warden Norton, as we noted, is not a kind man. He does not mince words, clearly. This is how he introduces himself to the new inmates, and it doesn’t get any nicer from there.

17 of 20

“How can you be so obtuse?”

The 20 most memorable quotes from 'The Shawshank Redemption' (17)

Columbia

Andy says this incredulously to the warden, and probably introduced many people to the word “obtuse” in the process. He’s right to be incredulous, of course. The warden effectively keeps Andy from getting a retrial that could have him released from prison. Obtuse is the least of it.

18 of 20

“Bad luck, I guess. It floats around. It's got to land on somebody. It was my turn, that's all. I was in the path of the tornado. I just didn't expect the storm would last as long as it has.”

The 20 most memorable quotes from 'The Shawshank Redemption' (18)

Columbia

Andy is more hopeful than many of the inmates at Shawshank. Even he gets drained on occasion, though. As the protagonist of the film, it’s not surprising that Andy has to really go through some serious struggles and dark moments before he can rise toward triumph. This memorable line helps elaborate on that.

19 of 20

“Andy Dufresne…who crawled through a river of shıt and came out clean on the other side.”

The 20 most memorable quotes from 'The Shawshank Redemption' (19)

Columbia

We started with Andy’s most-quoted line, and this is Red’s. This is Red summing up, eloquently, what Andy has done in his escape from prison. It’s a moment of triumph not just for Andy, but for all the inmates at Shawshank, particularly his friend Red.

20 of 20

“I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.”

The 20 most memorable quotes from 'The Shawshank Redemption' (20)

Columbia

These are the final lines of the film. Red is narrating one last time. He’s free, and he’s on his way to see Andy. It is fitting that the final line is “I hope.” Red had once found hope to be a dangerous thing. Now, he happily has it.

Chris Morgan is a Detroit-based culture writer who has somehow managed to justify getting his BA in Film Studies. He has written about sports and entertainment across various internet platforms for years and is also the author of three books about '90s television.

The 20 most memorable quotes from 'The Shawshank Redemption' (2024)

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