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 premiered in 1994 through Paramount Pictures, directed by Robert Zemeckis and adapted from Winston Groom's novel. It became a defining film of the decade, sweeping the Academy Awards with wins for Best Picture, Director, and Actor, while its blend of historical pastiche, sentiment, and technical innovation made it a touchstone of nineties American cinema. Tom Hanks's performance as the good-hearted, unlikely witness to decades of national upheaval helped cement the film's lasting place in popular culture and its continued relevance to collectors of studio-era memorabilia.
This cell preserves a scene between Mrs. Gump and her son Forrest, the two figures whose bond anchors the film's emotional throughline from childhood through adulthood. Mrs. Gump, played by Sally Field, represents the guiding voice behind Forrest's worldview, making any frame featuring her a sought-after piece for those tracing the maternal thread of the story. As a 35mm cell rather than a trailer or title card, it offers a direct fragment of the finished picture itself, a physical remnant of a widely quoted and remembered scene between mother and son.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical 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, cleanly punched with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs along one edge, with a visible blue line consistent with a Dolby Stereo or SR optical track; Dolby Digital pixel blocks appear present in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge, indicating a hybrid optical/digital soundtrack.
Edge print
Edge print reads mirrored as 'EASTMAN 25', indicating Eastman colour print stock designation visible along the base edge.
Base & colour
Base shows a warm amber-gold tint typical of processed Eastman colour print stock; dye image appears neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks or significant scratches are visible on these three frames.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a release print of the film on record.
Era check
The hybrid optical/Dolby Digital soundtrack, Eastman colour print stock, and four-perforation 35mm 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 000064043
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
