Factual error: Towards the end of the movie when Andy is escaping, he breaks open a sewage pipe and is covered with its contents. It is physically impossible for the sewage to shoot out of the break like it did. In order for that to happen there has to be pressure. But there is none there, because the end he crawls through is empty and the end is in the open air. (01:52:20)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Ending / spoiler
Directed by: Frank Darabont
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Clancy Brown, Tim Robbins, William Sadler, Bob Gunton, Gil Bellows
While laundering Warden Norton's (Bob Gunton) bribe money, Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) meets Tommy, a young punk who's in prison for theft; Tommy tells him and Red (Morgan Freeman) that he knew the real killer of Dufresne's wife and is willing to testify for Dufresne's innocence. When Norton realises that his money is at stake, he orders Cpt. Hedley (Clancey Brown) to shoot Tommy. Once Tommy is dead, Dufresne can never prove his innocence. One night, he enters his cell with fancy clothes and a rope; the next day, he's not there. Warden Norton Calls Red, his friend, and together they find out the truth... For 20 years, Andy has been digging his way out with a tiny rock hammer; the hole in the wall was right behind Rita Hayworth's poster all along. Once he swam the sewer pipe, he left the prison with fancy clothes. He entered the bank, took all of Norton's bribe money with the name he sat up for him and told the police about his deeds. Captain Hedley is arrested for murder and Norton kills himself. Red finally wins his parole after 40 years in prison; he finds money Andy has left for him under a rock in a field and sets off to the sunny coast of Zihuatanejo, Mexico, where he finds his old friend Andy, starting a business for boat-renting. The two men approach each other and hug.
More mistakes in The Shawshank Redemption
Red: Andy Dufresne - who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side.
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Chosen answer: In the original novella it is revealed that Andy smuggled $500 into the prison inside of his rectum. During an interview in 2004 Robbins incorrectly quoted the amount as being $100. The narration up until Red's release is provided as Red writes his account of the events while still in prison, and employs the same method to smuggle the story out. But since the issue of Andy smuggling in $500 into the prison isn't addressed in the movie, we should assume that he smuggled it in. In addition to this, the wardens scams are described as "near slave labor." From this we can assume that it is possible the inmates are getting paid (an incredibly small) wage. Perhaps Andy, with his financial knowledge, knows how to haggle, barter and stretch a dollar. One last (but not as likely) scenario is that Red allows some sort of lay by system to inmates.