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Earlier this week, the cast of The Shawshank Redemption reunited in Hollywood for a 20th anniversary screening of the film.

A box office flop when it was first released in 1994, Shawshank has since earned its place on the short list of true modern cinematic classics.

Life-affirming but never cloying; heart-wrenching without being manipulative, Shawshank is one of those rare films whose appeal transcends generational boundaries and the demographic niches that usually determine a film’s success.

No small feat for a film that features a murder and a rape scene in its first 20 minutes.

Yes, unlike other films that have survived as sentimental favorites, Shawshank is no family-friendly romp.

A tale of brutality and injustice of the highest order, Shawshank – like its protagonist in the film’s thrilling climax – takes the hard road to an unexpectedly satisfying conclusion.

In that sense, it’s a film that proves one of the most vital truths of storytelling – a happy ending is only as moving as the struggles that preceded it.

1994 was a banner year for American movies, with Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction also vying for Academy Awards honors.  

And yet somehow despite the boomer-years nostalgia of Gump and the violently audacious thrills of Fiction, Shawshank might be the year’s most enduringly beloved offering.

And for a film that was widely dismissed by audiences twenty years ago, there can surely be no greater redemption.

Check out our update on Shawshank’s principal players in the gallery above.