Forrest Gump (1994)

Director:

Robert Zemeckis

Writers (WGA):

Winston Groom (novel)
Eric Roth (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 July 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The story of a lifetime.

Plot:

Forrest Gump, while not intelligent, has accidentally been present at many historic moments, but his true love, Jenny, eludes him.

Plot Keywords:

Legless Person | Throwing Stones | New Year's Eve | Loss Of Friend | Park Bench

Awards:

Won 6 Oscars. Another 32 wins & 38 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Aug. 2	1:35 PM	MAX
Thur. Aug. 7	5:35 PM	MAX

Cast

Tom Hanks	...	Forrest Gump
Robin Wright Penn	...	Jenny Curran (as Robin Wright)
Gary Sinise	...	Lt. Dan Taylor
Mykelti Williamson	...	Pvt. Benjamin Buford 'Bubba' Blue
Sally Field	...	Mrs. Gump
Rebecca Williams	...	Nurse at Park Bench
Michael Conner Humphreys	...	Young Forrest Gump
Harold G. Herthum	...	Doctor (as Harold Herthum)
George Kelly	...	Barber
Bob Penny	...	Crony
John Randall	...	Crony
Sam Anderson	...	Principal
Margo Moorer	...	Louise, Mrs. Gump's Housekeeper
Ione M. Telech	...	Elderly Woman
Christine Seabrook	...	Elderly Woman's Daughter

Also Known As:

Forrest Gump (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Forrest Gump (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Forrest Gump (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Форрест Гамп (Russia) [ru]
Forrest Gump (Czech Republic) [cs]
Forrest Gump (Slovenia) [sl]
Forrest Gump (Finland) [fi]
Forrest Gump (Greece) [el]
Forrest Gump (Slovakia) [sk]
Forrest Gump (Denmark) [da]
Forrest Gump (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Forrest Gump (Norway) [no]
Forrest Gump, o Contador de Histórias (Brazil) [pt]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for drug content, some sensuality and war violence.

Runtime:

142 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:K-12 (re-rating) | South Korea:15 (DVD rating) | New Zealand:M | Finland:K-14 (original rating) | Brazil:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:PG (TV rating) | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Germany:12 | Ireland:15 | Israel:PG | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Poland:15 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Robert Zemeckis decided to leave out several planned effects shots. One shot in particular involved Forrest running into Martin Luther King and his supporters. Forrest distracts several dogs trying to attack King and his supporters by playing fetch with them and rendering them harmless to King and himself as well as his supporters.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Jenny is playing guitar naked you can see the outline of a skin toned thong.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Forrest Gump: Hello. My name's Forrest, Forrest Gump. You want a chocolate?

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in To Die For (1995)

Soundtrack:

Hanky Panky

Hanks is astonishing in the ultimate feel-good treat - * * * * *

Forrest Gump is an innovative idea, it's a very well know movie thanks to many things that give it what it needs. The character of Forrest Gump has to be one of the most lovable characters in movie history. Which makes this such a classic, 1994 was a wonderful year for movies, we got Pulp Fiction, Ed Wood, Leon, Heavenly Creatures, Quiz Show, The Shawshank Redemption etc etc etc. But this is the movie that creates the successful year of 1994, Forrest Gump rightfully won Best Picture which puts it rightfully on the spec of film making for all time.

Robert Zemickis is the visual genius who directed Back to the Future, here he is back into the movies, returning into fashion with a rightfully won Best Director Oscar in hand, Zemickis is my favourite director and most of his movies have made it so, this is one of the movies that creates that vision, thanks in turn to the writers of the incredible comedy drama that uses the best conventions possible to create one of the most entertaining and spot-on movies of the 1990's.

Tom Hanks is an actor who I respect deeply, and is in my top list, here he gives the best male performance of the year, he creates Forrest Gump, and he creates the brilliant lovable character that makes this movie so brilliant in its own special way. Hanks captures some very well influenced character traits that shape up Forrest, his romance and chemistry shared with Robin Wright Penn (another sensational performance) is also brilliant, as is the touching screen time he shares with Sally Field, Hanks does his own character study while acting, he adapts this character so well, that he is acting out all impressions and traits that he would expect him to have.

The premises of the film is also very fun, Forrest seems to be present at some of the worlds most historic events without ever quite realising it, which is done by way of some incredible editing that make you believe what you are seeing on screen, the editing is worthy of its own Oscar, which it managed to win, very rightfully, but that is only one of the lots of reasons why this movie is such a triumph.

Gary Sinise is someone, who at the time of my first viewing of Forrest Gump, I had only seen in Apollo 13 and Of Mice and Men, he did very well in both, but this has to be his finest film, he plays a sabotaged character who I think is difficult to adapt to but once it is done, it can mesmerise and entertain the audience to the very core, I think the reason Sinise did the job so well, was because he read the fantastic script and acknowledged Hanks's method acting, he adopted the character and took him on board will working on this film and his superb efforts are up on that screen.

This is a film I hold very close to my heart, its about a very different individual who wants to belong, and who wants to honour the people he knows best, when in the war, Forrest saves many lives, while running, he encourages many lives, when being the captain of a shrimp boat he feeds many lives, but the scene where Forrest loses his mother, his just heartbreaking, which adds to Hanks's amazing years-best performance.

This is not just a popcorn movie, it shapes up the look of modern audiences in pint sized ways and is loved by all who watch because of its brilliantly constructed humour and heartbreakingly dramatic scenes, the movie with nearly every movie genre squeezed in, weather it be a comedy, or a drama, or a romance, or a war movie, or an epic, or a fantasy, or whatever, you don't have to be a fan of a particular genre to love this movie, I am a lover of all sorts of genres, from westerns to samurai movies, but this movie got to me mostly because I found it to be the best feel good movie I can remember, so when you are pinned with a choice of this movie against any other feel good classics, its hard to turn down Forrest Gump, which succeeds in areas where other comedy dramas have failed to ignite, but Forrest Gump doesn't just succeed in one area in particular, its succeeds on quite a few, and they are so noticeable in the final draft, that this is instantly re watchable.

All-in-all, Forrest Gump is not only a family movie of the highest grade, but also a feel good movie of the highest bench mark, a movie which takes those old movie conventions and tosses them right out the window; afterwards it creates new ones and polishes them up a bit, to make entirely sure that the audience can enjoy them to the highest mark, Forrest Gump is not only a life lesson for people who have always wanted to belong, but also a movie with endless entertainment, entertainment which can be enjoyed to the extent of when it ends, you might be confronted with a touching scene, which turns the movie on its head, and you along with it. Best feel good movie of all time, definitely suited for everyone's taste.

* * * * * out of * * * * * 10.0/10.0