Andy Dufresne quotes from The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Andy Dufresne

Mr. Hadley, do you trust your wife? [Hadley threatens to throw Andy off the roof] Because if you do trust her, there's no reason you can't keep that thirty-five thousand...If you want to keep all that money, give it to your wife. The IRS allows a one-time only gift to your spouse for up to sixty thousand dollars...tax-free...you do need someone to set up the tax-free gift for you, and it'll cost you, a lawyer for example...I suppose I could set it up for you. That would save you some money. You get the forms, I'll prepare them for you, nearly free of charge.

Andy Dufresne

All I ask is three beers a piece for each of my co-workers...I think a man workin' outdoors feels more like a man if he can have a bottle of suds. That's only my opinion.

Andy Dufresne

What you hear isn't half of it. He's got scams you haven't even dreamed of. Kickbacks on his kickbacks. There's a river of dirty money running through this place...I channel it, filter it, funnel it - Stocks, securities, tax-free municipals - I send that money out into the real world and when it comes back...by the time Norton retires, I will have made him a millionaire.

Andy Dufresne

He's a phantom, an apparition, second cousin to Harvey the rabbit. I conjured him out of thin air. He doesn't exist, except on paper...Mr. Stephens has a birth certificate, driver's license, social security number...

Andy Dufresne

The funny thing is, on the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook.

Andy Dufresne

Sir, if I were ever to get out, I would never mention what goes on in here. I'd be just as indictable as you for laundering that money.

Andy Dufresne

It's a little place on the Pacific Ocean. You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific? They say it has no memory. That's where I want to live the rest of my life. A warm place with no memory. Open up a little hotel right on the beach. Buy some worthless old boat and fix it up new. Take my guests out charter fishing...You know, in a place like that, I could use a man that knows how to get things.

Andy Dufresne

Dear Red, If you're reading this, you've gotten out. And if you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a little further. You remember the name of the town, don't you? I could use a good man to help me get my project on wheels. I'll keep an eye out for you and the chessboard ready. Remember, Red. Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things and no good thing ever dies. I will be hoping that this letter finds you, and finds you well. Your friend, Andy.

Andy Dufresne

No. I was sobering up. I got back in the car and I drove home to sleep it off. Along the way, I threw my gun into the Royal River. I've been very clear on this point.

Andy Dufresne

Since I am innocent of this crime, sir, I find it decidedly inconvenient that the gun was never found.

Andy Dufresne

It's perfectly legal, go ask the IRS, they'll say the same thing. Actually I feel stupid telling you this, I'm sure you would've investigated the matter yourself.

Andy Dufresne

"Dear Warden; You were right. Salvation lay within. Andy"

Mr. Dufresne, describe the confrontation you had with your wife the night that she was murdered.

Andy

It was very bitter. She said she was glad I knew, that she hated all the sneaking around. She said she wanted a divorce in Reno...I told her I would not grant one.

'I'll see you in Hell before I see you in Reno.' Those were the words you used, Mr. Dufresne, according to the testimony of your neighbors.

Red

Why'd you do it?

Andy

I didn't, since you ask.

Red

You're gonna fit right in. Everybody in (here) is innocent. Didn't you know that? (to Heywood) Hey Heywood, what you in for?

Heywood

Didn't do it. Lawyer **** me.

Red

Rumor has it you're a real cold fish. You think your shit smells sweeter than most. Is that right?

Andy

What do you think?

Red

I'll tell ya the truth. I haven't made up my mind.

Red

I'm known to locate certain things from time to time.

Andy

I wonder if you might get me a rock-hammer.

Red

...What is it and why?

Andy

What do you care?

Red

What if it was a toothbrush? I wouldn't ask questions. I'd just quote a price. But then, a toothbrush is a non-lethal object, isn't it?

Andy

Fair enough. A rock-hammer is about six or seven inches long. Looks like a miniature pick-axe.

Red

Pick-axe?

Andy

For rocks.

Red

Rocks. Quartz?

Andy

Quartz. Here's some mica, shale, limestone.

Red

So?

Andy

So I'm a rock-hound. At least I was, in my old life. I'd like to be again, on a limited basis.

Red

Or maybe you'd like to sink your toy into somebody's skull.

Andy

No, sir. I have no enemies here.

Red

No? Wait a while. Word gets around. The Sisters have taken quite a likin' to you, especially Bogs.

Andy

I don't suppose it would help any if I explained to them I'm not homosexual.

Red

Neither are they. You have to be human first. They don't qualify. Bull **** take by force. That's all they want or understand. If I were you, I'd grow eyes in the back of my head.

Andy

Thanks for the advice.

Red

That's free. You understand my concern.

Andy

Well, if there's any trouble, I won't use the rock-hammer. OK?

Red

Then I guess you wanna escape. Tunnel under the wall, maybe? [Andy laughs] Did I miss something here? What's funny?

Andy

You'll understand when you see the rock-hammer.

Andy

I had Mr. Mozart to keep me company...[He points and taps his head] It was in here. [And he gestures over his heart] And in here. That's the beauty of music. They can't get that from you. Haven't you ever felt that way about music?...Here's where it makes the most sense. You need it so we don't forget...that there are places in the world that aren't made out of stone, that there's, there's somethin' inside that they can't get to, that they can't touch. It's yours.

Red

What are you talkin' about?

Andy

Hope.

Red

Hope? Let me tell you something, my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane. It's got no use on the inside. You'd better get used to that idea.

Andy

Like Brooks did?

Andy

I'm done. Everything stops. Get someone else to run your scams.

Nothing stops! Nothing! Or you will do the hardest time there is. No more protection from the guards. I'll pull you out of that one-bunk Hilton and cast you down with the sodomites. You'll think you got **** by a train. And the library? Gone! Sealed off brick by brick! We'll have us a little book-barbecue in the yard. They'll see the flames for miles. We'll dance around it like wild Injuns. Do you understand me? Are you catching my drift? Or am I being obtuse? (to guard)Give him another month [in solitary] to think about it.

Andy

My wife used to say I'm a hard man to know. Like a closed book. Complained about it all the time. She was beautiful. God, I loved her. I just didn't know how to show it, that's all. I killed her, Red. I didn't pull the trigger, but I drove her away and that's why she died - because of me, the way I am.

Red

That don't make you a murderer. Bad husband, maybe. Feel bad about it if you want to, but you didn't pull the trigger.

Andy

No, I didn't. Somebody else did and I wound up in here. Bad luck, I guess.

Red

I don't think you ought to be doing this to yourself, Andy. This is just shitty pipedreams. I mean, Mexico is way the hell down there and you're in here, and that's the way it is.

Andy

Yeah, right. That's the way it is. It's down there and I'm in here. I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy livin' or get busy dyin'.

Now, I'm gonna open my fly and you're gonna swallow what I give ya to swallow. And after you swallow mine you're gonna swallow Rooster's cause ya done broke his nose and I think he oughta have something to show for it.

Andy

Anything you put in my mouth you're gonna lose.

Naw, you don't understand. You do that and I'll put all eight inches of steel in your ear.

Andy

All right. But you should know that sudden serious brain injury causes the victim to bite down hard. In fact, I hear the bite reflex is so strong they have to pry the victims jaws open with a crowbar.

Where do you get this shit?

Andy

I read it. You know how to read, you ignorant ****?

Mr. Dufresne, describe the confrontation you had with your wife the night she was murdered.

Andy Dufresne

It was very bitter. She said she was glad I knew, that she hated all the sneaking around. And she said that she wanted a divorce in Reno.

What was your response?

Andy Dufresne

I told her I would not grant one.

"I'll see you in Hell before I see you in Reno", those were the words you used, Mr. Dufresne, according to the testimony of your neighbors.

Andy Dufresne

If they say so. I really don't remember that I was upset.

What happened after you argued with your wife?

Andy Dufresne

She packed a bag...she packed a bag to go and stay with Mr. Quentin.

Glenn Quentin. Golf pro at the Snowden Hills Country Club. The man that you had recently discovered was your wife's lover. Did you follow her?

Andy Dufresne

I went to a few bars first. Later, I drove to his house to confront them, but they weren't home. So I parked in the turnout and waited.

With what intention?

Andy Dufresne

I'm not sure. I was confused...drunk. I think...mostly I wanted to scare them.

When they arrived, you went up to the house and murdered them.

Andy Dufresne

No. I was sobering up. I got back in the car and I drove home to sleep it off. Along the way, I stopped and I threw my gun into the Royal River. I've been very clear on this point.

Well, where I get hazy is when the cleaning woman shows up the following morning, and finds your wife in bed with her lover riddled with 38.caliber bullets. Now, does that strike you as a fantastic coincidence, Mr. Dufresne, or is it just me?

Andy Dufresne

Yes it does.

And yet, you still maintain that you threw your gun into the river before the murders took place. That's very convenient.

Andy Dufresne

It's the truth.

The police dragged that river for 3 days, and nary a gun was found. So, there could be no comparison made between your gun and the bullets taken from the blood-stained corpses of the victims. And that also...is very convenient. Isn't it, Mr. Dufresne?

Andy Dufresne

Since I am innocent of this crime, sir, I find it decidedly inconvenient that the gun was never found.

Ladies and gentlemen, you've heard all the evidence, you know all the facts. We have the accused at the scene of the crime, we have tire tracks, we have bullets strewn on the ground that bear his fingerprints. A broken bourbon bottle, likewise with fingerprints, and most of all, we have a beautiful young woman and her lover, lying dead in each other's arms. They had sinned. But was their crime so great as to merit a death sentence? Now while you think about that, consider this: a revolver holds six bullets, not eight. I submit that this was not a hot-blooded crime of passion; that at least could be understood if not condoned. No. This was revenge of a much more brutal, cold-blooded nature. Consider this: four bullets per victim. Not six shots fired, but eight. That means that he fired the gun empty, and then stopped to reload, so that he could shoot each of them again: an extra bullet per lover, right in the head.

Judge

You strike me as a particularly icy and remorseless man, Mr. Dufresne. It chills my blood to look at you. By the power vested in me by the State of Maine, I hereby order you to serve two life sentences back-to-back, one for each of your victims. So be it.

Ellis

Red. Name's Red.

Andy

Red. Why do they call you that?

Ellis

Maybe it's because I'm Irish.

Ellis

Andy, we're getting to be kind of friends, aren't we?

Andy

Yeah, I guess.

Ellis

Can I ask you something? Why'd you do it?

Andy

I'm innocent, Red. Just like everybody else here. What are you in here for?

Ellis

Murder. Same as you.

Andy

Innocent?

Ellis

Only guilty man in Shawshank.

Heywood

Was it worth it, two weeks in the hole?

Andy

Easiest time I ever did.

Skeet

Bullshit. No such thing as easy time in the hole.

Jigger

A week seems like a year.

Snooze

Damn straight.

Andy

I had Mr. Mozart to keep me company.

Floyd

So they let you tote that record player down there, huh?

Andy

It was in here. [gestures over his heart] And in here. That's the beauty of music. They can't get that from you. Haven't you ever felt that way about music?

Ellis

Well, I played a mean harmonica as a younger man. Lost interest in it, though. Didn't make too much sense in here.

Andy

Well, here's where it makes the most sense. You need it so you don't forget.

Ellis

Forget?

Andy

That there are places in the world that aren't made out of stone. That there's something inside that they can't get to. that they can't touch. It's yours.

Ellis

What are you talkin' about?

Andy

Hope.

Ellis

Hope? Let me tell you something, my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane. It's got no use on the inside. You'd better get used to that idea.

Andy

Like Brooks did?

Heywood

Treasure Island. Robert Louis...

Andy

Stevenson. Fiction, "Adventure". What's next?

Ellis

I got here Auto Repair and Soap Carving.

Andy

Trade skills and hobbies. Goes under "Educational", the stack right behind you.

Heywood

The Count of Monte Crisco.

Floyd

That's Cristo, you dumb shit.

Heywood

By Alexandree... Dum-ass. Dumbass?

Andy

Dumbass? [Heywood shows him the book] Dumas. You know what that's about?

Heywood

Uh-uh.

Andy

You'll like it. It's about a prison break.

Ellis

Well, we ought to file that under "Educational" too. Oughtn't we?

I have to say, that's the most amazing story I ever heard. What amazes me most is you were taken in by it.

Andy Dufresne

Sir?

Well, It's obvious this fellow Williams is impressed with you. He hears your tale of woe and quite naturally wants to cheer you up. He's young, not terribly bright. Not surprising he didn't know what a state he'd put you in.

Andy Dufresne

Sir, he's telling the truth.

Let's say for a moment this... Blatch does exist. You think he'd just fall to his knees and cry, "Yes, I did it! I confess! By all means, please add a life term to my sentence!"

Andy Dufresne

You know, that wouldn't matter. With Tommy's testimony, I can get a new trial.

That's assuming Blatch is even still there. Chances are excellent he'd be released by now.

Andy Dufresne

Well, they'd have his last known address. Names of relatives. It's a chance, isn't it? [Norton shakes his head] How can you be so obtuse?

What? What did you call me?

Andy Dufresne

Obtuse, is it deliberate?

Son, you are forgetting yourself.

Andy Dufresne

The country club will have his old time cards! W-2s with his name on them!

Dufresne, if you want to indulge this fantasy, that's your business. Don't make it mine. This meeting's over.

Andy Dufresne

Sir, if I were to ever get out, I would not mention what goes on in here. I'd be just as indictable as you for laundering that money.

Don't you ever mention money to me again, you sorry son of a bitch; not in this office, not anywhere! [presses buzzer on his desk] Get in here now!

Andy Dufresne

I was just trying to set your mind at ease, that's all. Sir, I didn't--

Solitary. A month!

Yes, sir. Come on!

Andy Dufresne

What's the matter with you?

Get him out of here.

Andy Dufresne

This is my chance to get out! Don't you see that? It's my life! Don't you understand? My life! NO!

Get him out! GET HIM OUT!

Andy

Think you'll ever get out of here?

Ellis

Me? Yeah, one day when I got a long, white beard and two or three marbles rolling around upstairs, they'll let me out.

Andy

I tell you where I'd go: Zihuatanejo.

Ellis

Say what?

Andy

Zihuatanejo. It's in Mexico. A little place on the Pacific Ocean. You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific?

Ellis

No.

Andy

They say it has no memory. That's where I want to live the rest of my life: a warm place with no memory. Open up a little hotel, right on the beach, buy some worthless old boat, and fix it up new. Take my guests out charter fishing.

Ellis

Zihuatanejo.

Andy

In a place like that, I could use a man that knows how to get things.

Ellis

I don't think I could make it on the outside, Andy. I been in here most of my life. I'm an institutional man now.

Ellis

In here, I'm the guy who can get things for you, sure, but outside all you need is the Yellow Pages. Hell, I wouldn't know where to begin. Pacific Ocean? Shit. Might scare me to death, something that big.

Andy

Not me. I didn't shoot my wife, and I didn't shoot her lover. Whatever mistakes I made, I've paid for them and then some. That hotel, that boat, I don't think that's too much to ask.

Ellis

I don't think you ought to be doing this to yourself, Andy. This is just shitty pipe dreams. I mean, Mexico is way the hell down there and you're in here, and that's the way it is.

Andy

Yeah, right. That's the way it is. It's down there and I'm in here. I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy livin' or get busy dyin'.