MovieChat Forums > The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Discussion > What if there hadn't been any lightning?...

What if there hadn't been any lightning?


When he was hitting the pipe with a rock.

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There wouldn’t have been those dramatic flashes, but thunder would have still drowned out the sound. But seriously, I think it’s assumed that he planned his escape on a night when a storm was forecast

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Yeah, I don't think it was a coincidence that it was storming when he escaped. I'm pretty sure he would have been waiting for that opportunity, and he took advantage of it when it came.

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In the novella, Red does some mental calculations and estimates that Andy's tunnels finished YEARS before he made his escape.

He speculates that Andy put off his escape attempt out of fear of the unknown and his familiarity with the prison life, sort of like Brooks in the film.

I do NOT think the film version of Andy was that indecisive, however.

Either way, though, it's pretty clear that Andy did have the tunnel ready for some time, and was just waiting for the right conditions.

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I would think the fear of the guards changing his cell would override the fear of the unknown. If they change his cell his tunnel is discovered and any chance of making another one is gone.

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its a miracle his cell wasnt changed in the 30 years he was there.
Not to mention the access to the handy "maze of crawlspace" that cells seem to have in the movies.

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Good points, both, and novella-Red speculates about them himself.

But he also points out that, once Andy starts doing everyone's taxes, he starts getting special treatment. And once he helps Norton with his money-laundering, he's effectively untouchable.

Still, the stress might've driven any normal guy crazy, especially knowing about that "special rock" hiding, presumably, stuff Andy'd prepared in case of release. Andy would have to live knowing anyone could stumble across his cache while he's in prison, but he set it up anyway.

Ultimately, novella-Red figures none of it matters. If Andy were to lose his tunnel, he'd find some other way to hold on to hope. That's how Andy kept himself from being broken while in prison, and it was an essential part of his character.

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What if there hadn't been any lightning?


Andy would have waited for a night where beans, Brussels sprouts or some other cruciferous vegetables was on the menu..


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Well they be eat’n prison grub so it probably sounded like a category 5 every night.

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This version of that scene actually provides a better scenario when Andy could have left on any given night and not a night with a violent thunderstorm:

https://youtu.be/cp0EI_oXjIc?t=17


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A weather report would predict a thunderstorm. Thunder follows lightning by a few seconds. I used to count them to see how far the storm was from me.

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