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. Built on an unlikely mix of historical pastiche, sentimental narration, and technical innovation in visual effects, it became a cultural touchstone, sweeping the Academy Awards including Best Picture and cementing Tom Hanks as one of the era's defining leading men. Its blend of Americana, nostalgia, and earnest storytelling made it one of the most quoted and beloved films of the decade.
This cell, marked Forrest and Jenny, centers on the film's two central figures, Forrest Gump and Mrs. Gump, whose bond anchors the entire narrative arc. Jenny represents the emotional throughline of Forrest's life story, the constant he returns to across decades of change. A 35mm cell tied to this pairing captures a piece of the film's core relationship, the kind of frame collectors seek out for its connection to the story's heart rather than its spectacle.
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; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing or deformation.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along the bottom edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual variable-area (SVA) type stripe.
Edge print
Text reading 'EASTM' is visible along the lower edge, mirrored as captured, consistent with Eastman stock edge coding.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight warm-neutral tint; the dye image shows no obvious fading or colour shift visible in this capture.
Projection history
Light horizontal fine lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with projection wear; no splices 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 the film on record.
Era check
The Eastman stock edge print, dual variable-area optical soundtrack, and positive colour print format 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 000064016
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
