National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Forrest Gump was released by Paramount Pictures in the summer of 1994, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks in the title role. The film became one of the defining cultural touchstones of its decade, sweeping the Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, and its blend of American history with personal narrative made it an enduring presence in popular memory. Its production made extensive use of 35mm photography, lending the film a warmth and texture that remains distinctive.

This cell, titled Alabama Crimson Tide, captures Forrest amid the energy of a packed stadium, with red lettering visible across the seating sections and a crowd filling the stands behind him. A dark splice running through the center frame is itself a mark of the film's theatrical life, evidence of the reel's passage through projection. The surrounding frames confirm the continuity of the scene, grounding this fragment in one of cinema's most recognizable stories.