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, adapted from Winston Groom's novel and directed by Robert Zemeckis. Blending groundbreaking visual effects with a sweeping tour through American history, the film became a cultural touchstone, earning six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Tom Hanks. Its blend of sentiment, humor, and technical innovation made it one of the defining studio releases of the decade, still widely referenced and collected today.
This cell centers on the film's two central figures, Forrest Gump and Jenny Curran, whose intertwined lives form the emotional backbone of the story. Their relationship spans decades, standing as the throughline collectors most associate with the film's legacy. A cell of this kind, drawn directly from the release print, preserves an actual frame of celluloid rather than a reproduction, making it a tangible artifact of the film's physical history. For admirers of the story's central bond, a Forrest and Jenny piece represents one of the most sought-after pairings in the collection.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm color release print of Forrest Gump (1994).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds three complete frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as two white lines consistent with a stereo variable-area format; Dolby Digital pixel blocks are not clearly distinguishable at this size.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight warm-amber tint typical of processed color print stock; dye image shows warm, saturated color with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light longitudinal scratches are visible running along the base side, consistent with a projected print.
Picture
Positive color 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 stereo variable-area optical track, color dye-coupler print stock, and amber base tint 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 000064006
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
