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 went on to sweep the Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and became one of the defining American films of its decade, blending historical pastiche with sentimental storytelling and groundbreaking visual effects. Tom Hanks's performance as the title character cemented his status as one of Hollywood's most beloved leading men.
This cell captures Forrest Gump and Bubba Blue together, the two friends whose bond anchors much of the film's emotional core. Bubba, played by Mykelti Williamson, represents loyalty and shared dreams, particularly the shrimping ambition that later shapes Forrest's path. Collectors seek out frames pairing these characters because their friendship carries real narrative weight beyond a single scene. As a 35mm cell, this piece preserves an actual frame of release printing stock, a tangible artifact from the physical film reel rather than a promotional still or reproduction.
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; spacing appears even and the punched edges look clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area (two-track) pattern, consistent with an analog stereo optical track; Dolby Digital data blocks are also visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge, indicating a Dolby Digital SR·D composite track layout.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base appears with a slight warm-neutral tint typical of color print stock; the dye image reads as a fully developed color positive with no obvious fading or red shift visible.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks, or prominent scratches are visible on these three frames.
Picture
Positive color image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the subject matter is consistent with a release print of Forrest Gump (1994).
Era check
The Dolby Digital SR·D composite optical track layout was introduced in 1992 and was standard on major studio release prints from 1992 onward, fully consistent with a 1994 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 000063994
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
