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 one of the defining releases of its decade, sweeping the Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor for Tom Hanks. Blending decades of American history with a singular, guileless protagonist, the film resonated widely for its sincerity and its technical innovation in weaving its lead into real archival footage. Its cultural footprint, from catchphrases to soundtrack cues, made it a touchstone of nineties cinema and a frequent subject of retrospectives.
This cell centers on Forrest Gump himself, the character whose perspective carries the entire film. Collectors pursue material tied to him because he is the emotional and narrative anchor of the story, present in nearly every scene. A 35mm cell bearing only his presence represents the character in his purest form, without the surrounding ensemble, offering a direct link to the reel that carried his journey through the decades depicted on screen.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour 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; punched edges appear clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the lower edge beside the picture area, appearing as two bilateral tracks consistent with a stereo or Dolby SR optical format; Dolby Digital pixel blocks between perforations are not clearly resolvable at this capture resolution.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base shows a warm cream-yellow tint typical of acetate or polyester safety stock; the dye image reads as a colour positive with no obvious red shift or fading.
Projection history
Faint longitudinal lines are visible running the length of the strip, consistent with projection wear.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be from the same continuous shot, and the subject and setting are consistent with a release print of Forrest Gump (1994).
Era check
The bilateral variable-area optical soundtrack, colour positive print, and warm safety-base stock are all consistent with a mid-1990s theatrical release print.
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 000063986
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
