Some notable changes: (1) Andy serves a total of 27 years instead of 19 (2) Andy is not a tall, thin man like Tim Robbins, but is actually short and thin. A few minor changes were made to tighten up the story but it mostly stays very faithful to the source.

Actually, Andy does not tell Red where to find him. Andy could certainly afford to lose the money if someone else found it or it was destroyed it was worth that small risk to help Red. Since he was serving two life sentences for a double murder, Andy would be subject to extradition back to the States if he were caught. It's a much safer way of getting Red down to Mexico than sending money or a check (way too traceable) in the mail, if Andy could have located Red once he was paroled. It does not mention prison, escapes, the name of the Mexican town (or Mexico at all) or that Red knows how to 'get things.' It does discuss coming this far, a man of your abilities, 'my project,' and how hope is a good thing.

The letter with the money is to 'Red' (not 'Ellis Boyd Redding') from 'Andy' (with no last name). The postcard has no message or signature, just the Fort Hancock postmark. Andy is very careful with the postcard and the note. So only a year or so had passed before Red got paroled and probably only a couple weeks before he decided to find Andy, which isn't too risky overall. After Andy escapes, some time passes and Red goes for his 40-year parole hearing, upon which he is released. First, Andy obviously put it there after he escaped, not before he went to prison (how else would a note for Red be there?). Some people think that Andy leaving the tin with the money, and postcard telling Red where to find Andy was a bit risky because leaving it there for years, it could either be stumbled upon, or the area could have been urbanized and it would have been destroyed-the latter was a very real concern of Andy's in the novella.

Hard time pc become a warden