National Film RegistryLibrary of Congress · Inducted 2011
“As "Forrest Gump," Tom Hanks portrays an earnest, guileless "everyman" whose open-heartedness and sense of the unexpected unwittingly draws him into some of the most iconic events of the 1960s and 1970s.”
Selected for preservation as culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.
Directed by
Robert Zemeckis
Studio
Paramount Pictures · 142 min
Box office
$678.2M worldwide on a $55M budget
Honors
Academy Awards — 6 wins, 13 nominationsNational Board of Review — 2 winsAmanda Award — 1 winAll 9 wins · 13 nominations on record
Academy Awards: Best Director
Academy Awards: Best Picture
Academy Awards: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
Academy Awards: Best Film Editing
Academy Awards: Best Actor
Academy Awards: Best Visual Effects
National Board of Review: Best Film
National Board of Review: National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Amanda Award: Best Foreign Feature Film
Scholarship
Named in the title of 31 peer-reviewed works
Examples
Forrest Gump — Iverieli (National Parliamentary Library of Georgia), 2015
Forrest Gump, 2022
Forrest Gump: — State University of New York Press eBooks, 2017
Sources: Wikidata · Library of Congress · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Forrest Gump arrived from Paramount Pictures in the summer of 1994, directed by Robert Zemeckis and adapted from Winston Groom's novel. It became a cultural touchstone almost immediately, sweeping the Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, and cementing Tom Hanks as one of the defining screen presences of the decade. Its blend of American history, sentiment, and technical innovation in visual effects made it a benchmark film of the 1990s, one still widely referenced and collected across formats.
This cell draws its value from the trio at the heart of the story: Forrest Gump, Bubba Blue, and Lieutenant Dan Taylor, three men bound together through service and its aftermath. Bubba represents friendship and unfulfilled dreams, Lieutenant Dan embodies the burden and eventual redemption of survival, and Forrest anchors both. A 35mm cell preserving this grouping captures a piece of the film's emotional core, prized by collectors for representing the relationship that drives much of the narrative forward.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Forrest Gump (1994).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with no visible tearing or deformation.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible below the picture area, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area pattern with a blue stripe alongside it, consistent with a Dolby Stereo optical track.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
Base appears warm-neutral; dye image shows rich, saturated colour with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a release print of Forrest Gump (1994).
Era check
The dual bilateral variable-area optical track with a blue Dolby stripe is consistent with a mid-1990s theatrical release print, matching the 1994 release period of the film on record.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000063976
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
