Teachers vote the Shawshank Redemption their top film of all time

22nd November 2013, 12:01am

Share

Teachers vote the Shawshank Redemption their top film of all time

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/teachers-vote-shawshank-redemption-their-top-film-all-time

Teachers have voted The Shawshank Redemption as their favourite film of all time in the TES teachers’ top 100 films list. 

The prison drama, which stars Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman and focuses on the friendship the two men forge behind bars, saw off stiff competition to claim the top spot. 

In second place was the first instalment of the Lord of the Rings franchise, The Fellowship of the Ring, which scooped dozens of awards when it was released back in 2001. 

Perhaps the most surprising inclusion in the list was the film that secured third place, Dirty Dancing, suggesting that much of the teaching workforce is either made up of women, or Patrick Swayze fans. 

Indeed, the top 10 films are dominated by Hollywood, aside from the eyebrow raising appearance of Love Actually at number seven and French favourite Amélie at number 10.

Kirsten Geekie, a film programmer at Filmclub, a UK charity that works with schools to get more young people learning about and through film, described the top 100 as an “honest” list. 

“I am not at all surprised that The Shawshank Redemption is number one,” Ms Geekie says. “It’s a strong film, with a great score. It’s always going to be a success.”

“I think it’s a reflection that teachers are just normal people. There’s a smattering of classics in there, and some American independent films, but it’s obviously come from a very personal point of view rather than a selection of films that they felt should go in. It’s a really honest list, which is nice,” she added. 

See below for the top 20. The full list of the Teachers Top 100 Films is published in today’s TES magazine. 

Teachers’ top 20 films: 

1. The Shawshank Redemption 

2. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

3. Dirty Dancing

4. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope 

5. Pulp Fiction

6. It’s a Wonderful Life

7. Love Actually

8. Forrest Gump 

9. Blade Runner 

10. Amélie 

11. Dead Poets Society 

12. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back 

13. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 

14. The Godfather

15. Gladiator 

16. Schindler’s List 

17. The Sound of Music 

18. The Green Mile 

19. Back to the Future 

20. Grease

Want to keep reading for free?

Register with Tes and you can read two free articles every month plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters.

Keep reading for just £1 per month

You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £1 per month for three months and get:

  • Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content
  • Exclusive subscriber-only stories
  • Award-winning email newsletters
Recent
Most read
Most shared