All Topics  
Forrest Gump

 
Forrest Gump

   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link






 

Forrest Gump



 
 
Forrest Gump is a comedy-drama
Comedy-drama

Comedy-drama, also called dramedy, dramatic comedy, or seriocomedy, is a style of television and film in which there is an equal or nearly equal balance of humor and serious content....
 film based on the 1986 novel of the same name
Forrest Gump (novel)

Forrest Gump is a 1986 in literature novel by Winston Groom. The title character experiences adventures ranging from shrimp farming and chess championships to space flight and capture by elk....
 by Winston Groom
Winston Groom

Winston F. Groom is an United States novelist and non-fiction writer, best known for his book Forrest Gump , which was adapted into Forrest Gump in 1994....
. The film was a huge commercial success, earning US$
United States dollar

The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States and was defined by the Coinage Act of 1792 to be between 371 and 416 grains of silver ....
677 million worldwide during its theatrical run making it the top grossing film in North America released that year. The film garnered a total of thirteen Academy Award nominations, of which it won six, including Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture

The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the film industry....
, Best Visual Effects
Academy Award for Visual Effects

The Academy Award for Visual Effects is an Academy Awards given to one film each year that shows highest achievement in visual effects.The category was called Best Special Effects when it was created in 1939....
, Best Director (Robert Zemeckis
Robert Zemeckis

Robert Lee "Bob" Zemeckis is an Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning American film director, Film producer and screenwriter. Zemeckis first came to public attention in the 1980s as the director of the comedic time-travel Back to the Future trilogy films as well as the live-action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit , though in t...
), and Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry....
 (Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks

Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American film actor, film director, voice-over artist, writer and film producer. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving success as a dramatic actor portraying several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia , the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander J...
).

The film tells the story of a man and his epic journey through life meeting historical figures, influencing popular culture and experiencing first-hand historic events of the late 20th century while being largely unaware of their significance, due to his borderline intellectual disability.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Forrest Gump'
Start a new discussion about 'Forrest Gump'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Recent Posts









Quotations


Dear God, make me a bird, so I can fly far. Far far away from here.

He never actually said so, but I think he made his peace with God.

He was a very loving man. He was always kissing and touching her and her sisters.

His name's Forrest...I named him after his daddy.

I got to see a lot of countryside. We would take these real long walks.

Life is like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're gonna get.






Encyclopedia


Forrest Gump is a comedy-drama
Comedy-drama

Comedy-drama, also called dramedy, dramatic comedy, or seriocomedy, is a style of television and film in which there is an equal or nearly equal balance of humor and serious content....
 film based on the 1986 novel of the same name
Forrest Gump (novel)

Forrest Gump is a 1986 in literature novel by Winston Groom. The title character experiences adventures ranging from shrimp farming and chess championships to space flight and capture by elk....
 by Winston Groom
Winston Groom

Winston F. Groom is an United States novelist and non-fiction writer, best known for his book Forrest Gump , which was adapted into Forrest Gump in 1994....
. The film was a huge commercial success, earning US$
United States dollar

The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States and was defined by the Coinage Act of 1792 to be between 371 and 416 grains of silver ....
677 million worldwide during its theatrical run making it the top grossing film in North America released that year. The film garnered a total of thirteen Academy Award nominations, of which it won six, including Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture

The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the film industry....
, Best Visual Effects
Academy Award for Visual Effects

The Academy Award for Visual Effects is an Academy Awards given to one film each year that shows highest achievement in visual effects.The category was called Best Special Effects when it was created in 1939....
, Best Director (Robert Zemeckis
Robert Zemeckis

Robert Lee "Bob" Zemeckis is an Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning American film director, Film producer and screenwriter. Zemeckis first came to public attention in the 1980s as the director of the comedic time-travel Back to the Future trilogy films as well as the live-action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit , though in t...
), and Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry....
 (Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks

Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American film actor, film director, voice-over artist, writer and film producer. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving success as a dramatic actor portraying several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia , the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander J...
).

The film tells the story of a man and his epic journey through life meeting historical figures, influencing popular culture and experiencing first-hand historic events of the late 20th century while being largely unaware of their significance, due to his borderline intellectual disability. The film differs substantially from the book on which it was based.

Plot

The film begins in media res with a white feather falling to the feet of Forrest Gump, who is sitting at a bus stop in Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia

Savannah is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Chatham County, Georgia, Georgia , United States. Savannah was established in 1733 and was the first colonial and state capital of Georgia....
. Forrest picks up the feather and puts it in the book Curious George
Curious George

Curious George is the protagonist of a series of popular children's books by the same name, written by H.A. Rey and Margret Rey. The books feature a curious monkey named George, who is brought from his home in Africa by "The Man with The Yellow Hat" to live with him in a big city....
, then tells the story of his life to a woman seated next to him. The listeners at the bus stop change regularly throughout his narration, each showing a different reaction to his narration ranging from disbelief and indifference to rapt veneration.

His mother runs a boarding house in Alabama. One guest, a musician, picks up his own style of dancing from watching Forrest's shaky movements caused by his leg braces. He is later revealed to be Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was an United Statesn singer, actor, and musician. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as "Elvis", and is also sometimes referred to as "List of honorific titles in popular music" or "The King"....
. To get Forrest into a normal school, Forrest's mother bribes the school's Principal with sexual favors. On his first day of school, he meets a girl named Jenny Curran, a girl who is sexually abused by her father and who becomes his life's love. One day after school, Forrest is being threatened by a group of bullies. Jenny tells him to run, and so he does, losing his leg brace
Brace (orthopaedic)

A statistical study says that 79% of all females who have braces have the desire for rubber.An orthopaedic brace is a device used to:*immobilize a joint or body segment,...
s in the process. His fast running ability becomes his favored method of travel, and during his senior year in high school, threatened by the same group of bullies, he runs through a football field and gets himself into college on a football scholarship playing for Paul "Bear" Bryant
Bear Bryant

Paul William "Bear" Bryant was an United States college football coach . He was best known as the longtime head coach of the University of Alabama Alabama Crimson Tide football....
 at the University of Alabama
University of Alabama

The University of Alabama is a state university coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1831, UA is the flagship university of the University of Alabama System....
. He excels at football so much that he becomes an All-America
All-America

An All-American "team" is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players, those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position, who are referred to as All-America or, less precisely, All-American Sportspersons....
n, and meets President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States, serving from 1961 until John F....
.

After his college graduation, he enlists in the United States Army. In boot camp
Recruit training

Recruit training is the initial indoctrination and instruction given to new military personnel. It may be common to all recruits, officers being selected on the basis of competency shown during recruit training, or for the enlisted ranks only....
, Forrest makes friends with Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue (Mykelti Williamson
Mykelti Williamson

Mykelti Williamson is an United States actor....
), who convinces Forrest to go into the shrimping business with him when the war is over. Forrest excels in training, and after finishing boot camp, Bubba and Forrest are assigned to the same platoon in Vietnam
Vietnam

Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east....
. As soon as they arrive with their new platoon, they meet their new platoon leader, Lieutenant Dan Taylor (Gary Sinise
Gary Sinise

Gary Alan Sinise is an United States actor and film director. During his career, Sinise has won an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for Palme d'Or and an Academy Award....
). After some time in the field - during which Forrest writes regularly to Jenny -, Forrest's platoon is ambushed while on patrol. Though Forrest rescues many of the men, including Dan, whose legs were severely injured and are later amputated, Bubba is killed in action, dying in Forrest's arms. Forrest is awarded the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest Awards and decorations of the United States military awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed on a member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself "conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action...
 for his heroism during the ambush, is promoted to Sergeant, and meets President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States and List of Vice Presidents of the United States Vice President of the United States ....
 at his award ceremony.

After meeting Abbie Hoffman
Abbie Hoffman

Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman was a social and political activism in the United States who co-founded the Youth International Party . Later he became a fugitive from the law, living under an alias and working as an enviromentalist following a conviction for dealing cocaine....
 at an anti-war rally in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the Capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790....
, Forrest reunites with Jenny, who has been living a hippie
Hippie

The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the early 1960s and spread around the world. The word hippie derives from hipster , and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district....
 counterculture life. He also encounters Dan, who has become a bitter alcoholic, having felt that it was his destiny to die on the battlefield, as had all his ancestors. Forrest celebrates New Year's Eve with Dan, who is initially hostile and uses Forrest as a means of obtaining alcohol. When Forrest tells of his and Bubba's plan to buy a shrimping boat, Dan mocks Forrest and sarcastically promises that he will become first mate of the ship. However, Dan later finds empathy with the fact that Forrest has been discriminated against in the past because of his perceived low I.Q., likening it to his own experience of disability.

While Forrest is in recovery for a bullet wound in his "but-tox", he discovers his uncanny ability for ping-pong
Table tennis

Table tennis, also known as ping pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth with rackets ....
, eventually gaining popularity and rising to celebrity status and later playing ping-pong in China
Ping Pong Diplomacy

Ping Pong Diplomacy refers to the exchange of table tennis players of the United States and People's Republic of China in the 1970s. The event marked a thaw in Sino-American relations that paved the way to a 1972 Nixon visit to China....
. After meeting with President Richard M. Nixon, Forrest inadvertently triggers the Watergate scandal
Watergate scandal

The Watergate scandals were a series of United States political scandals during the President of the United States of Richard Nixon that resulted in the indictment of several of Nixon's closest advisors, and ultimately his resignation on August 9, 1974....
, is honorably discharged from the army and returns home to Alabama. He finds that his mother has endorsed a company that makes ping-pong paddles, earning himself $25,000, which, after getting a new hair cut, a new suit, fancy dinner for his mother, a bus ticket and three Dr Pepper
Dr Pepper

Dr Pepper is a soft drink sold in North America, South America, and Europe by Dr Pepper Snapple Group. It was invented by Charles Alderton. There is also a no-sugar version, Diet Dr Pepper, as well as a line of flavored versions, first introduced in the 2000s....
 soft drink
Soft drink

A soft drink is a beverage that does not contain alcohol. Carbonated soft drinks are commonly known as soda, soda pop, pop, coke or tonic in various parts of the United States, pop in Canada, fizzy drinks in the United Kingdom and Australia and sometimes minerals in Ireland....
s, he uses to buy a shrimping boat, fulfilling his promise to Bubba. Dan returns to fulfill his earlier promise and becomes first mate of the boat.

Forrest and Dan fail to pull in much shrimp at first, but during Hurricane Carmen
Hurricane Carmen

Hurricane Carmen was a Category 4 storm, the most intense hurricane of the 1974 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm lasted from August 29 to September 10, 1974....
, both men stay out in the middle of the ocean with the boat, which is the only shrimping boat in the area to survive. The lack of competition helps Dan and Forrest to catch huge amounts of shrimp. In the middle of the storm, Dan finally overcomes his personal demons and becomes one of Forrest's closest friends. As his business partner, Dan later invests the money in Apple Computer, and Forrest is financially secure for the rest of his life. Forrest names his company Bubba Gump
Bubba Gump Shrimp Company

The Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Restaurant and Market is a chain of seafood restaurants inspired by the 1994 film Forrest Gump. As of January 2009, 31 Bubba Gump's restaurants operate worldwide....
 (which has since inspired an actual shrimp restaurant), and gives half of the proceeds to Bubba's family.

One day, Forrest is told on the radio that his mother is ill. He returns home immediately and sits down beside her. She tells him that she is going to die (of terminal cancer) and consoles him by saying it was her destiny and that they all had one destiny. She subsequently expires.

One day, while Forrest is mowing the lawn, Jenny returns to visit him, and he proposes marriage to her. She declines, though feels obliged to prove her love to him by sleeping with him, then she leaves early the next morning. On a whim, Forrest elects to go for a run. Seemingly capriciously, he decides to keep running across the country several times for over three years, becoming famous in the process. During his run, Forrest unwittingly inspires two separate entrepreneurs to create Smiley Face
Smiley

A smiley, or happy face , is a stylized representation of a smiling human face, commonly represented as a yellow circle with two dots representing eyes and a half circle representing the mouth....
/"Have a Nice Day
Have a Nice Day

Have a nice day is a commonly spoken valediction, typically spoken by service employees or clerks to customers at the end of a transaction, particularly in North America....
" T-shirts and "Shit Happens
Shit happens

"Shit happens" is a common slang phrase, used as a simple existentialism observation that life is full of imperfections, or "C'est la vie". The phrase is an acknowledgment that bad things happen to people for no particular reason.One minced oath form is "stuff happens"....
" bumper stickers.

In the present, Forrest reveals that he is waiting at the bus stop because he had received a letter from Jenny, who, having seen him run on television, had asked him to visit her. Once he is reunited with Jenny, Forrest discovers that she has a young son, of whom Forrest is the father and who is exceptionally intelligent. Jenny tells Forrest she is suffering from an unknown illness
Urethral cancer

Urethral cancer is cancer originating from the urethra. Cancer in this location is rare, and the most common type is papillary transitional cell carcinoma....
. Together the three move back to Greenbow, Alabama
Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the Southern United States of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west....
. Jenny and Forrest finally marry, with a completely changed Dan arriving for the wedding (now able to walk with the use of prosthetic limbs
Prosthesis

In medicine, a prosthesis is an artificial extension that replaces a missing body part. It is part of the field of biomechatronics, the science of fusing mechanical devices with human muscle, skeleton, and nervous systems to assist or enhance motor control lost by trauma, disease, or defect....
 made of titanium alloy
Titanium alloy

Titanium alloys are metallic materials which contain a mixture of titanium and other chemical elements. Such alloys have very high tensile strength and toughness , light weight, extraordinary corrosion resistance, and ability to withstand extreme temperatures....
. Jenny dies soon afterwards.

The film ends with father and son waiting for the school bus on little Forrest's first day of school. Opening the book his son is taking to school, the white feather from the beginning of the movie is seen to fall from within the pages. As the bus pulls away, the white feather is caught on a breeze and drifts skyward.

Differences from novel

Forrest Gump is based on the 1986 novel
Forrest Gump (novel)

Forrest Gump is a 1986 in literature novel by Winston Groom. The title character experiences adventures ranging from shrimp farming and chess championships to space flight and capture by elk....
 by Winston Groom
Winston Groom

Winston F. Groom is an United States novelist and non-fiction writer, best known for his book Forrest Gump , which was adapted into Forrest Gump in 1994....
. Both center around the character of Forrest Gump. However, the film primarily focuses on the first eleven chapters of the novel, before skipping ahead to the end of the novel with the founding of Bubba Gump Shrimp and the meeting with Forrest Jr. In addition to skipping some parts of the novel, the film adds several aspects to Forrest's life that do not occur in the novel, such as his needing leg braces as a child and his run across the country.

Forrest's core character and personality are also changed from the novel, among other things he is an autistic savant
Savant syndrome

Savant syndrome?sometimes abbreviated as savantism?is not a recognized medical diagnosis, but researcher Darold Treffert defines it as a rare condition in which persons with developmental disorders have one or more areas of expertise, ability or brilliance that are in contrast with the individual's overall limitations....
 - while playing football at the university, he fails craft and gym, but receives a perfect score in an advanced physics class he was enrolled in by his coach to satisfy his college requirements.

Cast

  • Tom Hanks
    Tom Hanks

    Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American film actor, film director, voice-over artist, writer and film producer. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving success as a dramatic actor portraying several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia , the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander J...
     as Forrest Gump
    Forrest Gump (character)

    Forrest Gump is a fictional character who first appears in the 1986 eponymous Forrest Gump by Winston Groom. Forrest Gump also appeared on screen in the 1994 Forrest Gump directed by Robert Zemeckis....
  • Robin Wright Penn
    Robin Wright Penn

    Robin Gayle Wright Penn is an United States film actor....
     as Jenny Curran Gump
  • Gary Sinise
    Gary Sinise

    Gary Alan Sinise is an United States actor and film director. During his career, Sinise has won an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for Palme d'Or and an Academy Award....
     as Dan Taylor
  • Mykelti Williamson
    Mykelti Williamson

    Mykelti Williamson is an United States actor....
     as Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue
  • Sally Field
    Sally Field

    Sally Margaret Field is an United States two-time Academy Awards-winning actress. She is also a three-time Emmy Award winner and two-time Golden Globe Award winner who became a household name at the age of 20 as Sister Bertrille in the 1960s sitcom The Flying Nun....
     as Mrs. Gump
  • Michael Conner Humphreys
    Michael Conner Humphreys

    Specialist Michael Conner Humphreys is an United States soldier and former child actor best known for playing the role of Forrest Gump as a boy in the 1994 Oscar-winning drama film, Forrest Gump....
     as Young Forrest Gump
  • Hanna R. Hall
    Hanna R. Hall

    Hanna Rose Hall is an United States actress. Hanna went to the Colorado Rocky Mountain School in Carbondale, Colorado, Colorado, where she graduated in 2002....
     as Young Jenny Curran
  • Sam Anderson
    Sam Anderson

    Sam Anderson is an United States actor from Wahpeton, North Dakota. He is a graduate of the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota....
     as Principal Hancock
  • Margo Moorer as Louise
  • Peter Dobson
    Peter Dobson

    Peter Dobson is an United States actor who has appeared in Drowning Mona, The Frighteners, The Poseidon Adventure , and the film adaptation of Last Exit to Brooklyn....
     as Elvis Presley
    Elvis Presley

    Elvis Aaron Presley was an United Statesn singer, actor, and musician. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as "Elvis", and is also sometimes referred to as "List of honorific titles in popular music" or "The King"....
  • Siobhan Fallon Hogan as Dorothy Harris (bus driver)
  • Sonny Shroyer
    Sonny Shroyer

    Otis Burt "Sonny" Shroyer, Jr. is an United States actor who has appeared in various television and movie roles. He is best known for his role as Sheriff#United_States Enos Strate in the television series The Dukes of Hazzard....
     as Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant
    Bear Bryant

    Paul William "Bear" Bryant was an United States college football coach . He was best known as the longtime head coach of the University of Alabama Alabama Crimson Tide football....
  • Richard D'Alessandro as Abbie Hoffman
    Abbie Hoffman

    Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman was a social and political activism in the United States who co-founded the Youth International Party . Later he became a fugitive from the law, living under an alias and working as an enviromentalist following a conviction for dealing cocaine....
  • Geoffrey Blake
    Geoffrey Blake (actor)

    Geoffrey Lewis Blake is an United States film and television actor.Blake was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Marjorie Myers and Avery Felton Blake....
     as Wesley
  • Haley Joel Osment
    Haley Joel Osment

    Haley Joel Osment is an United States actor. After a series of roles in television and film during the 1990s, including a small part in Forrest Gump playing the title character?s son, Osment rose to fame with his performance as Cole Sear in M....
     as Forrest Gump Jr.
  • Dick Cavett
    Dick Cavett

    Richard Alva "Dick" Cavett is an United States former television talk show host known for his conversational style and in-depth discussion of issues....
     as Himself
  • Conor Kennelly as Black Panther #2
  • Grand L. Bush
    Grand L. Bush

    Grand Lee Bush is an United States actor of stage, television and major motion pictures....
     as Black Panther #1


Themes

Though superficially Gump might not seem to understand all that goes on around him, the viewer gets the sense that he knows enough; the rest being superfluous detail. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert

Roger Joseph Ebert born June 18, 1942) is an United States film criticism and screenwriter.He is known for his film review column and for two television programs Sneak Previews and At the Movies , which he co-hosted for a combined 23 years with Gene Siskel....
 offers the example of Jenny telling Forrest, "You don't know what love is."

Over Jenny's grave, Forrest ponders whether life is a series of meaningless accidents, as his mother offers on her deathbed or whether it's governed by a predetermined fate
Destiny

Destiny refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a Predeterminism future, whether in general or of an individual. It is a concept based on the belief that there is a fixed natural order to the universe....
, as his Vietnam commanding officer emphatically believes, concluding "maybe it's both, maybe both happening at the same time."

It has been noted that while Forrest follows a very conservative lifestyle, Jenny's life is full of countercultural embrace, complete with drug usage and antiwar rallies, and that their eventual marriage might be a kind of tongue-in-cheek reconciliation.

Other commentators believe that the film forecast the 1994 Republican Revolution
Republican Revolution

The Republican Revolution or Revolution of '94 is what the Republican Party of the United States dubbed their success in the 1994 U.S. midterm elections, which resulted in United States House of Representatives elections, 1994 in the United States House of Representatives, and United States Senate elections, 1994 in the United States S...
 and used the image of Forrest Gump to promote traditional, conservative values adhered by Gump's character.

Production

Ken Ralston and his team at Industrial Light & Magic were responsible for the film's visual effects. Using CGI
Computer-generated imagery

Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in films, television programs, Television commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media....
-techniques, it was possible to depict Gump meeting now-deceased presidents and shaking their hands.

Archival footage was used and with the help of techniques like chroma key
Chroma key

Chroma key is a technique for mixing two images or frames together, in which a color from one is removed , revealing another image behind it....
, warping, morphing and rotoscoping
Rotoscope

File:US patent 1242674 figure 3.pngRotoscoping is an animation technique in which animators trace over live-action film movement, frame by frame, for use in animated films....
, Tom Hanks was integrated into it. This feat was honored with an Oscar for Best Visual Effects.

The CGI removal of actor Gary Sinise
Gary Sinise

Gary Alan Sinise is an United States actor and film director. During his career, Sinise has won an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for Palme d'Or and an Academy Award....
's legs, after his character had them amputated, was achieved by wrapping his legs with a blue fabric, which later facilitated the work of the "roto-paint"-team to paint out his legs from every single frame. At one point, while hoisting himself into his wheelchair
Wheelchair

A wheelchair is a wheeled mobility device in which the user sits. The device is propelled either manually or via various automated systems. Wheelchairs are used by people for whom walking is difficult or impossible due to illness , injury, or disability....
, his "missing" legs are used for support.

Dick Cavett
Dick Cavett

Richard Alva "Dick" Cavett is an United States former television talk show host known for his conversational style and in-depth discussion of issues....
 played himself in the 1970s with make-up applied to make it appear that he was much younger than the commentator was during the filming. Consequently, Cavett is the only well-known figure in the film to actually play himself for the feature, rather than via archive footage.

John Travolta was the original choice to play the title role, and admits passing on the role was a mistake.

Reception

In Tom Hanks's words, "The film is non-political and thus non-judgmental". Nevertheless, in 1994, CNN's Crossfire
Crossfire (TV series)

Crossfire was a current events debate television program that aired from 1982 to 2005 on CNN. Its format was designed to present and challenge the opinions of a politically liberal speaker and a conservative speaker....
 debated whether the film promoted conservative values or was an indictment of the counterculture
Counterculture

Counterculture is a Sociology term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition....
 movement of the 1960s. The film received mostly positive critical reviews at the time of its release, with Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert

Roger Joseph Ebert born June 18, 1942) is an United States film criticism and screenwriter.He is known for his film review column and for two television programs Sneak Previews and At the Movies , which he co-hosted for a combined 23 years with Gene Siskel....
 saying, "The screenplay by Eric Roth
Eric Roth

Eric Roth is an American screenwriter. He won the Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay for Forrest Gump . He also co-wrote the screenplay for Michael Mann 's The Insider and for the Steven Spielberg film Munich ....
 has the complexity of modern fiction...[Hanks's] performance is a breathtaking balancing act between comedy and sadness, in a story rich in big laughs and quiet truths....what a magical movie." The film received notable pans from several major reviewers, however, including The New Yorker
The New Yorker

The New Yorker is an United States magazine that publishes reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Starting as a weekly in the mid-1920s, the magazine is now published 47 times per year, with five of these issues covering two-week spans....
 and Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly is a magazine published by Time Inc. in the United States which covers movies, television, music, Broadway stage productions, books, and popular culture....
, which said that the movie "reduces the tumult of the last few decades to a virtual-reality theme park: a baby-boomer version of Disney's America
Disney's America

Disney's America was a amusement park that was to be built by The Walt Disney Company in Haymarket, Virginia in the early 1990s....
." As of January 2, 2009, the film currently garners an overall 72% "Fresh" approval rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films. The name derives from the historical clich? of throwing tomatoes and other produce at stage performers if a performance was particularly bad....
 (based on 50 reviews collected), although its "Cream of the Crop" and community reviews bear much higher approval ratings of 82% "Fresh" (based on 11 reviews collected) and 94% "Fresh" (based on 1410 reviews collected total).

However, the film is commonly seen as a polarizing one for audiences, with Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly is a magazine published by Time Inc. in the United States which covers movies, television, music, Broadway stage productions, books, and popular culture....
 writing in 2004, "Nearly a decade after it earned gazillions and swept the Oscars, Robert Zemeckis
Robert Zemeckis

Robert Lee "Bob" Zemeckis is an Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning American film director, Film producer and screenwriter. Zemeckis first came to public attention in the 1980s as the director of the comedic time-travel Back to the Future trilogy films as well as the live-action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit , though in t...
' ode to 20th-century America
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 still represents one of cinema's most clearly drawn lines in the sand. One half of folks see it as an artificial piece of pop melodrama, while everyone else raves that it's sweet as a box of chocolates." The film also came in at #76 on AFI's
American Film Institute

The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B....
 Top-100 American movies of all time list in 2007.

While the film illustrates "the powerful role that social memory plays in constructing concepts of nation" by placing "in relief the power of memory and narratives of memory to create subjective connections to the past," it also "creates a kind of prosthetic memory of the period [the 1960s] so that it can be integrated into the traditional narrative of nation" and "thus imagines America as a kind of virtual nation whose historical debts have been forgiven and whose disabilities have all been corrected."

Awards and honors

1994 Academy Awards
67th Academy Awards

The 67th Academy Awards, honoring the 1994 in film, were held on March 27, 1995 at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California. They were hosted by well-known comedian and talk show host David Letterman....
 (Oscars)
  • Won - Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
    Academy Award for Best Actor

    Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry....
     — Tom Hanks
    Tom Hanks

    Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American film actor, film director, voice-over artist, writer and film producer. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving success as a dramatic actor portraying several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia , the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander J...
  • Won - Best Director — Robert Zemeckis
    Robert Zemeckis

    Robert Lee "Bob" Zemeckis is an Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning American film director, Film producer and screenwriter. Zemeckis first came to public attention in the 1980s as the director of the comedic time-travel Back to the Future trilogy films as well as the live-action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit , though in t...
  • Won - Best Film Editing
    Academy Award for Film Editing

    The Academy Award for Film Editing was first given for films issued in 1934. The name of this award is occasionally changed; in 2008, it was listed as the Academy Award for Achievement in Film Editing....
     — Arthur Schmidt
  • Won - Best Picture
    Academy Award for Best Picture

    The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the film industry....
     — Wendy Finerman, Steve Starkey, Steve Tisch
  • Won - Best Visual Effects
    Academy Award for Visual Effects

    The Academy Award for Visual Effects is an Academy Awards given to one film each year that shows highest achievement in visual effects.The category was called Best Special Effects when it was created in 1939....
     — Ken Ralston, George Murphy, Stephen Rosenbaum, Allen Hall
  • Won - Best Adapted Screenplay
    Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay

    The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the screenwriter of a Adapted_screenplay from another source ....
     — Eric Roth
  • Nominated - Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
    Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

    Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry....
     — Gary Sinise
    Gary Sinise

    Gary Alan Sinise is an United States actor and film director. During his career, Sinise has won an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for Palme d'Or and an Academy Award....
     (as Lieutenant Dan Taylor)
  • Nominated - Best Achievement in Art Direction
    Academy Award for Best Art Direction

    The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in film. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art director#Film on a film....
     — Rick Carter, Nancy Haigh
  • Nominated - Best Achievement in Cinematography
    Academy Award for Best Cinematography

    The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture....
     — Don Burgess
  • Nominated - Best Makeup
    Academy Award for Makeup

    These are the Academy Awards for Makeup winners and nominees. Only three films are nominated each year rather than five as in most categories....
     — Daniel C. Striepeke, Hallie D'Amore
  • Nominated - Best Original Score
    Academy Award for Original Music Score

    The Academy Award for Original Music Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of Film score written specifically for the film by the submitting composer....
     — Alan Silvestri
  • Nominated - Best Sound Mixing
    Academy Award for Sound

    The Academy Award for Sound Mixing is an Academy Awards that recognizes the finest or most euphonic Audio mixing or recording, and is generally awarded to the production sound mixers and re-recording mixers of the winning film....
     — Randy Thom, Tom Johnson, Dennis S. Sands, William B. Kaplan
  • Nominated - Best Sound Editing
    Academy Award for Sound Editing

    The Academy Award of Merit for Best Sound Editing is an Academy Awards granted yearly to a film exhibiting the finest or most aesthetic sound editing or sound design....
     — Gloria S. Borders, Randy Thom
1995 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (Saturn Award
Saturn Award

The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and Horror fiction in film, television, and home video....
s)
  • Won - Best Supporting Actor (Film)
    Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor (Film)

    The following are a list of Saturn Award winners for Best Supporting Actor :...
     — Gary Sinise
    Gary Sinise

    Gary Alan Sinise is an United States actor and film director. During his career, Sinise has won an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for Palme d'Or and an Academy Award....
  • Won - Best Fantasy Film
    Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film

    The following are a list of Saturn Award winners for Best Fantasy Film:...
  • Nominated - Best Actor (Film) — Tom Hanks
  • Nominated - Best Music
    Saturn Award for Best Music

    The following are a list of Saturn Award winners for Best Music:...
     — Alan Silvestri
    Alan Silvestri

    Alan Silvestri is an acclaimed United States Academy Award nominated film score composer and conductor. He studied guitar at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, but dropped out after two years to tour with Wayne Cochran and the C.C....
  • Nominated - Best Special Effects
    Saturn Award for Best Special Effects

    The following are a list of Saturn Award winners for Best Special Effects:...
     — Ken Ralston
  • Nominated - Best Writing
    Saturn Award for Best Writing

    The following are a list of Saturn Award winners for Best Writing in science fiction, fantasy, and horror on film, television, and home video.:...
     — Eric Roth
1995 Amanda Awards
Amanda (award)

The Amanda Award is an award given annually at the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund, Norway, to promote and improve Cinema of Norway....
  • Won - Best Film (International)
1995 American Cinema Editors
American Cinema Editors

Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing itself....
 (Eddies)
  • Won - Best Edited Feature Film — Arthur Schmidt
1995 American Comedy Awards
American Comedy Awards

The American Comedy Awards were a group of awards presented annually in the United States from 1987 to 2001 recognizing performances and performers in the field of comedy, with an emphasis on television comedy and comedy films....
  • Won - Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture (Leading Role) — Tom Hanks
1995 American Society of Cinematographers
American Society of Cinematographers

The American Society of Cinematographers is an educational, cultural, and professional organization. It is not a labor union, and it is not a guild....
  • Nominated - Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases — Don Burgess
1995 BAFTA
British Academy of Film and Television Arts

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a British charity that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation....
 Film Awards
  • Won - Outstanding Achievement in Special Visual Effects — Ken Ralston, George Murphy, Stephen Rosenbaum, Doug Chiang, Allen Hall
  • Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role
    BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role

    Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film Awards presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film....
     — Tom Hanks
  • Nominated - Best Actress in a Supporting Role — Sally Field
  • Nominated - Best Film
    BAFTA Award for Best Film

    This page lists the winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Film, BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language and Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film for each year, in addition to the retired earlier versions of those awards....
     — Wendy Finerman, Steve Tisch, Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis
  • Nominated - Best Cinematography — Don Burgess
  • Nominated - David Lean Award for Direction — Robert Zemeckis
  • Nominated - Best Editing — Aurthur Schmidt
  • Nominated - Best Adapted Screenplay — Eric Roth
1995 Casting Society of America
Casting Society of America

Founded in Los Angeles, California in 1982, the Casting Society of America is a professional society of about 350 casting directors for film, television, and theatre in Australia, Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States....
 (Artios)
  • Nominated - Best Casting for Feature Film, Drama — Ellen Lewis
1995 Chicago Film Critics Association
Chicago Film Critics Association

The Chicago Film Critics Association is an American film criticism association....
 Awards
  • Won - Best Actor — Tom Hanks
1995 Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America

Directors Guild of America is the trade union which represents the interests of film director and television director directors in the United States motion picture industry....
  • Won - Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures — Robert Zemeckis, Charles Newirth, Bruce Moriarity, Cherylanne Martin, Dana J. Kuznetzkoff
1995 Golden Globe Awards
52nd Golden Globe Awards

The 52nd Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1994, were held on January 21, 1995 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California....
  • Won - Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
    Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama

    The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture - Drama was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951 in film....
     — Tom Hanks
  • Won - Best Director - Motion Picture
    Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture

    This page lists the winners of and nominees for the Golden Globe Award for Best Director. Since its inception in 1943, it has been presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, an organization comprised of journalists who cover the United States film industry for publications based outside North America....
     — Robert Zemeckis
  • Won - Best Motion Picture - Drama
    Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama

    This page lists the winners and nominees for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture ? Drama, since its institution in 1951....
  • Nominated - Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
    Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture

    Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor ? Motion Picture was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 in film for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year....
     — Gary Sinise
  • Nominated - Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
    Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture

    The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress ? Motion Picture was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 in film for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year....
     — Robin Wright Penn
  • Nominated - Best Original Score
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score

    This page lists the winners and nominees for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, since its institution in 1947. The organizer, Hollywood Foreign Press Association , is an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications outside North America....
     — Alan Silvestri
  • Nominated - Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
    Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay

    The Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture is one of the annual awards given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association....
     — Eric Roth
1995 Heartland Film Festival
Heartland Film Festival

The Heartland Film Festival is a film festival held each October in Indianapolis, Indiana. First held in 1992, its goal is to "recognize and honor filmmakers whose work explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life."...
  • Won - Studio Crystal Heart Award — Winston Groom
1995 MTV Movie Awards
MTV Movie Awards

The MTV Movie Awards is a film awards show presented annually on MTV . It also contains movie parodies that used official movie footage with hosts and other celebrities and music performances....
  • Nominated - Best Breakthrough Performance — Mykelti Williamson
  • Nominated - Best Male Performance — Tom Hanks
  • Nominated - Best Movie
1995 Motion Picture Sound Editors
Motion Picture Sound Editors

Founded in 1953, Motion Picture Sound Editors is an honorary society of motion picture sound editors. The society's goals are to educate others about and increase the recognition of the sound editors, show the artistic merit of the Soundtrack, and improve the professional relationship of its members....
 (Golden Reel Award)
  • Won - Best Sound Editing
1994 National Board of Review of Motion Pictures
National Board of Review of Motion Pictures

The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures was founded in 1909 in New York City, just 13 years after the birth of film, to protest New York City Mayor George B....
  • Nominated - Best Actor — Tom Hanks
  • Nominated - Best Supporting Actor — Gary Sinise
  • Nominated - Best Picture
1995 PGA Golden Laurel Awards
Producers Guild of America

Producers Guild of America is a trade organization representing television producers, film producers and New Media producers in the United States....
  • Won - Motion Picture Producer of the Year Award — Wendy Finerman, Steve Tisch, Steve Starkey, Charles Newirth
1995 People's Choice Awards
People's Choice Awards

The People's Choice Awards is an awards show recognizing the people and the work of popular culture. The show has been held annually since 1975 and is claimed to be based on the opinions of the general public....
  • Won - Favorite All-Around Motion Picture
  • Won - Favorite Dramatic Motion Picture
1995 Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild

The Screen Actors Guild is an American trade union representing over 120,000 film and television actor and extra worldwide. According to SAG's Mission Statement, the Guild seeks to: negotiate and enforce collective bargaining agreements that establish equitable levels of compensation, benefits, and working conditions for its performers; col...
 Awards
  • Won - Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role — Tom Hanks
  • Nominated - Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role — Gary Sinise
  • Nominated - Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role — Sally Field & Robin Wright Penn
1995 Writers Guild of America Award
Writers Guild of America Award

The Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949....
s
  • Won - Best Screenplay Adapted from Another Medium — Eric Roth
1995 Young Artist Awards
  • Won - Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actor 10 or Younger — Haley Joel Osment
  • Won - Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actress 10 or Younger — Hanna R. Hall
  • Nominated - Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actor Co-Starring — Michael Conner Humphreys


American Film Institute
American Film Institute

The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B....
 recognition
  • AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies
    AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies

    The first of the AFI 100 Years... series of cinematic milestones, AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies is a list of the 100 best American movies, as determined by the American Film Institute from a poll of more than 1,500 artists and leaders in the film industry who chose from a list of 400 nominated movies....
     #71
  • AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers
    AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers

    100 Years... 100 Cheers: America's Most Inspiring Movies is a list of the most inspiring movies as determined by the American Film Institute....
     #37
  • AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes
    AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes

    Part of the AFI 100 Years... series, AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes is a list of the top 100 movie quotations in American cinema. The American Film Institute revealed the list in June of 2005 in a three-hour television program on CBS....
     #40
    • "Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."
  • AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)
    AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)

    AFI?s 100 Years...100 Movies ? 10th Anniversary Edition was the 2007 updated version of AFI's 100 Years 100 Movies. The original list was first unveiled in 1998....
     #76


Soundtrack

The soundtrack from Forrest Gump had a variety of music from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and early 80s performed by artists. It went on to sell 12 million copies, and is one of the top selling albums
List of best-selling albums in the United States

This is a list of the best-selling albums in the United States based on Recording Industry Association of America certification. The criteria are that the album must have been published , and the album must have shipped at least 10 million units in the United States....
 in the United States. The score
Film score

A film score is a broad term referring to the music in a film, which is generally categorically separated from songs used within a film. The term Soundtrack is often confused with film score, though a soundtrack may also include songs featured in the film as well as previously released music by other artists, while the score does...
 for the film was composed and conducted by Alan Silvestri
Alan Silvestri

Alan Silvestri is an acclaimed United States Academy Award nominated film score composer and conductor. He studied guitar at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, but dropped out after two years to tour with Wayne Cochran and the C.C....
.

Sequel

A screenplay based on the original novel's sequel, Gump and Co.
Gump and Co.

Gump and Co. is a 1995 novel by Winston Groom. It is the sequel to his novel Forrest Gump , which was made into an Forrest Gump starring Tom Hanks....
, was written by Eric Roth
Eric Roth

Eric Roth is an American screenwriter. He won the Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay for Forrest Gump . He also co-wrote the screenplay for Michael Mann 's The Insider and for the Steven Spielberg film Munich ....
 in 2001. Roth's script began with Forrest sitting on a bench waiting for his son to return from school. After the September 11 attacks, Roth, Zemeckis and Hanks decided the story was no longer "relevant". In March 2007, however, it was reported that Paramount producers took another look at the screenplay.

In the very first page of the sequel novel, Forrest Gump tells readers "Don't never let nobody make a movie of your life's story," though "Whether they get it right or wrong, it don't matter." The first chapter of the book suggests that the real life events surrounding the film have been incorporated into Forrest's storyline, and that Forrest got a lot of media attention as a result of the film.

See also

  • Bubba Gump Shrimp Company
    Bubba Gump Shrimp Company

    The Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Restaurant and Market is a chain of seafood restaurants inspired by the 1994 film Forrest Gump. As of January 2009, 31 Bubba Gump's restaurants operate worldwide....
  • Forrest Gump
    Forrest Gump (novel)

    Forrest Gump is a 1986 in literature novel by Winston Groom. The title character experiences adventures ranging from shrimp farming and chess championships to space flight and capture by elk....
     (1986)
  • Gump and Co.
    Gump and Co.

    Gump and Co. is a 1995 novel by Winston Groom. It is the sequel to his novel Forrest Gump , which was made into an Forrest Gump starring Tom Hanks....
     (1995)


External links