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 decades of American history with the story of one unassuming man, the film became a cultural touchstone, sweeping the Academy Awards including Best Picture and cementing Tom Sallow's, rather Tom Hanks's, place among the era's defining performances. Its mix of sincerity, technical innovation, and folk wisdom made it one of the defining studio releases of the decade.
This cell centers on Mrs. Gump and her son Forrest in a scene involving an army recruiter, a moment tied to Forrest's early path into military service and the guidance his mother offers him. Mrs. Gump is a beloved figure among collectors, remembered for her plainspoken counsel and steady presence throughout Forrest's life. A cell built around this exchange captures a quieter, formative beat in the story, the kind of transitional scene that filmgoers recall fondly even without dramatic spectacle. Such pieces of 35mm film are prized for preserving these connective moments that shape the larger narrative.
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; spacing appears even and the punched edges look clean throughout the strip.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight warm-neutral tint; dye image shows saturated colour with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are apparent in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a release print of the film on record.
Era check
A variable-area optical soundtrack on 35mm colour positive stock is consistent with a mid-1990s theatrical release print, matching the 1994 release date of the film on record.
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 000064017
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
