Go Behind-The-Scenes Of Shawshank Redemption

Some birds aren’t meant to be caged. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of The Shawshank Redemption, The Plain Dealer’s TV and movie critic Mark Dawidziak debuts his new book The Shawshank Redemption Revealed this month, highlighting behind-the-scenes moments from the movie.

Ahead of his appearance at the Cuyahoga County Public Library’s Middleburg Heights branch Sept. 28, Dawidziak gives us some insights.

Animal Parts: The pigeons, rats, dogs and raven from the movie were all professional actors. “The pigeons Andy feeds in the park aren’t just regular birds; they were trained and brought in by an expert,” he says. “They knew how to act on cue and could repeat their parts for the feeding scenes.”

Real Redemption: The Ohio State Reformatory was slated for demolition in 1993 and wrecking crews arrived before the film crew. So Gov. George Voinovich had to sign off on the filming. “They saved this place we now know as a historical landmark from being destroyed,” Dawidziak says.

Cell Block Tango: Scenes with characters in their cells were actually filmed inside a constructed cellblock that was built in a downtown Mansfield warehouse. “They wanted cellblocks that faced each other,” says Dawidziak, “but the ones at the reformatory didn’t, and you also couldn’t control sound or lighting whatsoever in the real cellblocks.”