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. Blending sweeping historical pastiche with an intimate character study, it became a cultural touchstone, sweeping the Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Tom Hanks. Its innovative visual effects, quotable dialogue, and sentimental core made it one of the defining American films of the decade, still widely referenced and collected across formats today.
This cell centers on the enduring bond between Forrest Gump and Jenny Curran, the emotional throughline of the entire picture. Their relationship spans decades and stands as the film's true narrative anchor, more than any historical cameo or set piece. For collectors, frames featuring both characters together are especially sought after, representing the heart of the story rather than its spectacle. A 35mm cell like this preserves a physical fragment of that connection, a tangible piece of the reel that carried their shared scenes into theaters and into the memory of audiences worldwide.
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 below the picture area, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area pattern consistent with a stereo optical print; a narrow blue stripe runs alongside it suggesting a Dolby SR or similar encoded track.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
The clear base shows a slight warm-neutral tint; the dye image appears well-saturated with no obvious red shift or fading.
Projection history
Light vertical scratches are visible running through the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the subject matter is consistent with a mid-1990s theatrical release print.
Era check
The dual bilateral variable-area optical track with apparent Dolby encoding stripe, the warm-neutral safety base, and the saturated Eastmancolor-type dye image are all 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 000064011
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
