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, a sweeping yet intimate journey through three decades of American history seen through one unlikely observer. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and adapted from Winston Groom's novel, the film swept the Academy Awards, winning Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Tom Hanks. Its blend of technical innovation, folksy sincerity, and cultural nostalgia made it a defining touchstone of nineties cinema, one that continues to resonate with audiences across generations.
This cell centers on Forrest Gump himself, the gentle, guileless narrator whose plainspoken wisdom carries the entire film. As the sole figure in these frames, he represents the emotional and narrative anchor around which every historical moment and personal loss revolves. Collectors seek out Gump material precisely because the character embodies the film's enduring appeal, an everyman whose simplicity becomes a lens for larger truths. A single reel of 35mm featuring him alone speaks to the character's centrality, a quiet reminder of the story's soul without need for surrounding context.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Forrest Gump (1994).
Gauge
35mm; the strip holds three frames, each showing four perforations per frame on both edges.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges look clean with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the bottom edge of the strip, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area pattern with a thin blue stripe adjacent to it, consistent with a Dolby Stereo optical track.
Edge print
The number '3' is visible printed within the frame area at the top of each frame; full edge key numbers or manufacturer text are not legible at this size.
Base & colour
The base shows a slight warm/yellowish tint typical of older acetate or polyester safety stock; the silver dye image appears neutral black-and-white with no obvious colour shift or fading.
Projection history
No visible splices, cue marks, or heavy scratching are apparent; faint longitudinal lines are present suggesting the print has been projected.
Picture
Positive black-and-white image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot and are consistent with a scene from Forrest Gump (1994).
Era check
The dual bilateral variable-area optical track with adjacent blue Dolby stripe, safety base stock, and black-and-white positive image 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 000064037
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
