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 groundbreaking visual effects that inserted its protagonist into decades of American history, the film became a cultural touchstone and box office phenomenon, sweeping the Academy Awards including Best Picture. Its blend of sentiment, satire, and technical innovation cemented it as a defining studio release of the decade, one still widely collected and referenced across film memorabilia circles.
This cell centers on Lieutenant Dan Taylor, the wounded veteran whose arc of bitterness, survival, and eventual reconciliation forms one of the film's most beloved threads. Gary Sinise's portrayal earned the character lasting devotion among collectors, who prize material tied to his presence for its emotional weight within the larger story. A 35mm cell bearing his name preserves a physical fragment of that arc, a single frame excised from the reel itself, offering a tangible link to a performance many regard as inseparable from the film's enduring legacy.
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, cleanly punched with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the bottom edge beside the perforations, appearing as a dual-bilateral (two-track) pattern with a Dolby noise-reduction encoded waveform.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at readable resolution; no key numbers or manufacturer text can be confirmed.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight warm-cream tint consistent with an acetate safety base; dye image reads as warm with no obvious red shift or fading.
Projection history
Light longitudinal scratches are visible running the length of the strip, 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 live-action feature matching the film on record.
Era check
The dual-bilateral variable-area optical track, acetate base tint, and colour dye stock are all consistent with a mid-1990s theatrical release print of Forrest Gump (1994).
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 000064025
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
