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Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption (1994), based on Stephen King’s novella, is a prison drama that is about hope, resilience, and the human spirit. The dialogue is filled with wisdom, wit, and emotional depth, which is why so many lines have become timeless.

1. “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” – Andy Dufresne
2. “Get busy living, or get busy dying.” – Andy Dufresne
3. “Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.” – Narration
4. “Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.” – Red
5. “That’s the beauty of music. They can’t get that from you.” – Andy
6. “Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things.” – Andy
7. “Every man’s got a breaking point.” – Red
8. “That’s it! Step aside, Mert, this fucker’s havin’ hisself an accident.” – Captain Hadley (dark humor about power)
9. “It comes down to a simple choice.” – Andy
10. “Some birds aren’t meant to be caged.” – Red

11. “These walls are funny. First you hate them, then you get used to them. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them.” – Red
12. “Prison life consists of routine, and then more routine.” – Red
13. “I had to remind myself that some birds aren’t meant to be caged.” – Red
14. “I guess it comes down to a simple choice: get busy living, or get busy dying.” – Andy
15. “Hope is what keeps you going.” – Andy
16. “Salvation lies within.” – Warden Norton
17. “In prison, a man will do most anything to keep his mind occupied.” – Red
18. “They send you here for life, and that’s exactly what they take.” – Red
19. “Geology is the study of pressure and time. That’s all it takes really, pressure and time.” – Andy
20. “The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry.” – Brooks

21. “I have to remind myself that some birds aren’t meant to be caged.” – Red
22. “Andy Dufresne – who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side.” – Red
23. “He strolled, like a man in a park without a care or a worry.” – Red describing Andy
24. “That’s all it takes, really. Pressure and time.” – Andy
25. “Andy made the rest of us feel free.” – Red
26. “That’s the thing about Andy – he always knew how to live.” – Red
27. “Andy’s the kind of man who can make you feel like you’re worth something.” – Red
28. “I like to think the last thing that went through his head… was to wonder how the hell Andy Dufresne ever got the best of him.” – Red
29. “Andy was right. Hope is a good thing.” – Red
30. “I guess I just miss my friend.” – Red

31. “I believe in two things: discipline and the Bible.” – Warden Norton
32. “Lord, it’s a miracle! Man up and vanished like a fart in the wind!” – Warden Norton
33. “I’m the light of the world.” – Warden Norton
34. “Put your trust in the Lord; your ass belongs to me.” – Warden Norton
35. “That’s it! Step aside!” – Hadley
36. “Every man’s got a breaking point.” – Red
37. “The Sisters never laid a finger on Andy again.” – Red (after Hadley intervenes)
38. “Prison life consists of routine, and then more routine.” – Red
39. “You either get busy living or get busy dying.” – Andy (repeated emphasis)
40. “Some things are best left unsaid.” – Red

41. “That’s all it takes – pressure and time.” – Andy
42. “I find I’m so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head.” – Red
43. “I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams.” – Red
44. “I hope to see my friend and shake his hand.” – Red
45. “I hope I can make it across the border.” – Red
46. “I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope.” – Red
47. “That’s the thing about hope—it’s eternal.” – Red (paraphrase of his final monologue)
48. “I hope.” – Final line of the movie
49. “Andy Dufresne – the man who escaped Shawshank.” – Red
50. “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” – Repeated for closure

The Shawshank Redemption endures because of its message: hope, resilience, and friendship can outlast even the harshest of circumstances.