Shawshank Redemption Star Credits One Person With Film’s Enduring Popularity

The Shawshank Redemption has become a ubiquitous fan-favorite, and star Tim Robbins thinks it is all thanks to Ted Turner. The movie was a box office flop when it first premiered in 1994, but it gradually became a classic when it was available on home video, and later when it aired on cable. In a new interview with The Guardian, Robbins took this as evidence that streaming algorithms can be harmful by showing people what they think they want and keeping great works from finding their audiences organically.

“We’re at 30 years now [on from] Shawshank Redemption. When it came out it got good reviews, it got nominated for Academy awards, but nobody saw it,” robbins recalled. “It was VHS and [Ted] Turner playing it on his television channel [Turner Classic Movies] that changed that. That is a beloved movie. It remains on top of IMDb as the most favored movie of all time. So I know that a quality movie, a quality television show, will last. Whether it’s a hit or not is irrelevant compared to what people are going to think about it in 10, 15, 20 years.”

When Robbins starred as Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption, he was a rising star thanks to works like Bull Durham and Jacob’s Ladder, but he was a relatively new face to many viewers. The Shawshank Redemption failed to recoup its production and distribution budget at the box office, but it was an instant critical success, earning seven Oscar nominations. The low earnings made it cheap for Turner’s cable networks to air in spite of its R-rating. When it began to play regularly on TNT in 1997, it broke ratings records.

Streaming Turnover

Robbins’ point is that many movies do not get that chance in the age of streaming. He said: “You go on Netflix right now, you see what films are coming out and you tell me that that’s the future of cinema? We’re in big trouble.” He also feels the fast turnover is bad for the film crews in Hollywood as well, saying: “Actors have it easy, they don’t work every day. When they finish their job they go to have some time off, do a different job. It is crews really that you’re talking about. What winds up happening is that you have people on these crews that are overworked, exhausted, and don’t have the emotional input that one needs to live a rounded life.”

[RELATED: Silo’s Cast Explain What Makes the Post-Apocalyptic Series So Relevant]

Robbins is currently appearing on Apple TV’s sci-fi drama Silo, playing the leader of the doomsday shelter, Bernard Holland. New episodes of the show drop on Fridays. Right now in the U.S., The Shawshank Redemption is not on any subscription-based streamers, but it is available to rent or purchase on PVOD stores.