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
Paramount Pictures released Forrest Gump in the summer of 1994, and it became one of the defining crossover hits of the decade, sweeping the Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor for Tom Hanks. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the film wove its title character through three decades of American history, pairing technical innovation with an old fashioned sentimentality that audiences embraced wholeheartedly. It remains a touchstone of nineties studio filmmaking, endlessly quoted and referenced, its box office success cementing Hanks as one of the era's defining leading men.
This cell centers on Forrest Gump himself, the role that defined Tom Hanks for a generation and remains the most sought after presence from this production for collectors. A frame bearing simply his name speaks to the character's singular hold on the film, a story told entirely through his perspective and voice. Whether drawn from an early reel or a title card moment, this piece anchors a collection to the character's enduring identity, the plainspoken everyman whose path through history made the picture unforgettable.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm optical-sound release print of Forrest Gump (1994).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area pattern; a separate narrow data stripe consistent with a DTS timecode line is also visible adjacent to it.
Edge print
The number '3' is visible printed within the frame area near the top of each frame; full edge key numbers or manufacturer text are not legible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight warm-cream tint typical of acetate safety stock; the silver dye image reads as neutral black-and-white with no visible colour shift or fading.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks, or prominent scratches are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive black-and-white image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a release print of Forrest Gump (1994).
Era check
The dual bilateral variable-area optical track combined with a DTS timecode stripe is consistent with mid-1990s release print practice, matching the 1994 production 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 000064036
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
