The presidencies of Kennedy and Johnson, the events of Vietnam, Watergate and other historical events unfold through the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, whose only desire is to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.
Tom Hanks may have won an Oscar for his role in Forrest Gump, but the part almost went to an "SNL" star. Which other A-listers were up for the legendary role?
When the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.
Director:
Christopher Nolan
Stars:
Christian Bale,
Heath Ledger,
Aaron Eckhart
A thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O.
Director:
Christopher Nolan
Stars:
Leonardo DiCaprio,
Joseph Gordon-Levitt,
Ellen Page
While Frodo and Sam edge closer to Mordor with the help of the shifty Gollum, the divided fellowship makes a stand against Sauron's new ally, Saruman, and his hordes of Isengard.
A meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.
Forrest Gump is a simple man with a low I.Q. but good intentions. He is running through childhood with his best and only friend Jenny. His 'mama' teaches him the ways of life and leaves him to choose his destiny. Forrest joins the army for service in Vietnam, finding new friends called Dan and Bubba, he wins medals, creates a famous shrimp fishing fleet, inspires people to jog, starts a ping-pong craze, creates the smiley, writes bumper stickers and songs, donates to people and meets the president several times. However, this is all irrelevant to Forrest who can only think of his childhood sweetheart Jenny Curran, who has messed up her life. Although in the end all he wants to prove is that anyone can love anyone.Written by
aliw135
Robert Zemeckis decided to leave out several planned effects shots. One shot in particular involved Forrest running into Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 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. See more »
Goofs
Forrest would have been 12-14 years old in 1956 (when he and his mom were watching Elvis Presley on TV) and not 5 or 6 as depicted in the film. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Forrest Gump:
Hello. My name's Forrest, Forrest Gump. You want a chocolate?
See more »
Alternate Versions
On the Nine Network, the channel alters scenes to avoid an M rating.
Jenny contemplating over suicide while standing on the top of a roof is shortened
The Vietnam battle scene is shortened due to violence
Jenny snorting drugs in a club is cut, instead showing Jenny talking to people at a table
Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks), a slow but simple man from Alabama takes us through decades of his life, which includes various historical settings but all the while his heart is on Jenny (Robin Wright Penn), a childhood friend.
FORREST GUMP was released and quickly became a huge hit and ended up winning many Oscars. Today, for whatever reason, the film seems to be hated by many people because of the movies it beat out. I've never really understood putting too much importance on Oscars or any other award show and I really don't understand why one movie must take a beating just because of what films it beat out. ORDINARY PEOPLE takes a beating because it beat RAGING BULL. Something like DANCES WITH WOLVES takes a beating because it beat GOODFELLAS. Then there's FORREST GUMP that takes a beating because it beat out PULP FICTION or THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION.
As far as the film itself goes I think this is a great one. I've always liked how the film took a look at a simple person's life and a simple person who is always in very big situations yet never really understands it. There are countless bits of dialogue that are remembered by mans and they've entered the public IQ but the one dealing with knowing what love is is the one that always caught my attention as far as what this film is about. To me Gump goes through all these historic things yet it's always his love for Jenny that is the heart of the picture.
I thought the story itself was quite great and especially how we take a look at American history through the 60s, 70s and 80s. I know some people make this a political movie but I've always found that to be rather foolish. The film has a wonderful soundtrack to highlight the various eras that are shown and we also get some clever use of CGI to put Gump in the presence of people like JFK and Richard Nixon. The screenplay hits all the right notes and there's no question that technically speaking the film is impressive.
Then there are the performances that really make the movie. Hanks picked up his second Best Actor award and while I personally would have given it to Paul Newman for his performance in NOBODY'S FOOL, there's no question that Hanks is great here. He certainly nailed that "simple" man and there's not a false moment in the performance. Gary Sinise is wonderful in his role as is Mykelti Williamson in his small bit. Robin Wright Penn is the perfect opposite to Hank's character and Sally Field is good as well.
No matter what people say, FORREST GUMP is still a wonderful little gem that has a lot of great things in it.
33 of 44 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
Forrest Gump (1994)
**** (out of 4)
Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks), a slow but simple man from Alabama takes us through decades of his life, which includes various historical settings but all the while his heart is on Jenny (Robin Wright Penn), a childhood friend.
FORREST GUMP was released and quickly became a huge hit and ended up winning many Oscars. Today, for whatever reason, the film seems to be hated by many people because of the movies it beat out. I've never really understood putting too much importance on Oscars or any other award show and I really don't understand why one movie must take a beating just because of what films it beat out. ORDINARY PEOPLE takes a beating because it beat RAGING BULL. Something like DANCES WITH WOLVES takes a beating because it beat GOODFELLAS. Then there's FORREST GUMP that takes a beating because it beat out PULP FICTION or THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION.
As far as the film itself goes I think this is a great one. I've always liked how the film took a look at a simple person's life and a simple person who is always in very big situations yet never really understands it. There are countless bits of dialogue that are remembered by mans and they've entered the public IQ but the one dealing with knowing what love is is the one that always caught my attention as far as what this film is about. To me Gump goes through all these historic things yet it's always his love for Jenny that is the heart of the picture.
I thought the story itself was quite great and especially how we take a look at American history through the 60s, 70s and 80s. I know some people make this a political movie but I've always found that to be rather foolish. The film has a wonderful soundtrack to highlight the various eras that are shown and we also get some clever use of CGI to put Gump in the presence of people like JFK and Richard Nixon. The screenplay hits all the right notes and there's no question that technically speaking the film is impressive.
Then there are the performances that really make the movie. Hanks picked up his second Best Actor award and while I personally would have given it to Paul Newman for his performance in NOBODY'S FOOL, there's no question that Hanks is great here. He certainly nailed that "simple" man and there's not a false moment in the performance. Gary Sinise is wonderful in his role as is Mykelti Williamson in his small bit. Robin Wright Penn is the perfect opposite to Hank's character and Sally Field is good as well.
No matter what people say, FORREST GUMP is still a wonderful little gem that has a lot of great things in it.