Forrest Gump is a comedy/drama about a simpleton who unaware of what is going on around him manages to find himself in incredible circumstances. He begins telling his story to anyone that will listen next to him on a bench at a bus stop. He starts by telling about his childhood, his mother and his best friend Jenny. To him his mother is always right and never does anything wrong and he often quotes things she said. Always being different either for his lower mental abilities or for the braces on his legs he is mostly ignored by everyone at school except for Jenny. To sum up the movie quickly is hard as so much happens but here is the quick version. As he grows up he meets Elvis Presley, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon and John Lennon among other famous people. Also he becomes a war hero, a ping pong champion, a fishing boat captain, a rich stock holder, and a famous runner. In the meantime Jenny becomes a stripper, hippie, and drug user and their paths cross a couple of times. Never really comprehending what Jenny is going through Forrest always loves her unconditionally. Besides Jenny the only other friend he has is Lieutenant Dan who he saved during the Vietnam war. Lieutenant Dan was injured and lost both his legs before Forrest rescued him and feels that he should have died and is mad at Forrest for saving his life. After Forrest starts a shrimping company Lieutenant Dan comes to work for him and finally finds some peace.
The movie is heartfelt and fun. The circumstances that Forrest finds himself in are both funny and poignant. The fact that Jenny doesn’t return the love that he has for her is tragic. The variety of emotions that the movie takes you through is what makes it work. Also, all the acting is great. Tom Hanks won his second Best Actor award in a row. Making him only the second actor to win two years in a row the first actor to do it was Spencer Tracy for Captains Courageous and Boys Tow in 1937 and 1938. Gary Sinise was also nominated (but lost) for Best Supporting Actor as Lieutenant Dan. The movie is also has lots of memorable quotes that helped it win the Best Adapted Screenplay award. Overall the movie had 6 wins out of its 13 nominations. Despite its great visuals and great use of computer effects I don’t think it should have won the Best Special Effects Oscar since The Mask has some amazing effects.
Shawshank Redemption and Pulp Fiction each had 7 nominations. Pulp Fiction won for Best Original Screenplay and Shawshank Redemption did not win any. I remember at the time there was a lot of talk about which should win Pulp Fiction or Forrest Gump. I always thought that Pulp Fiction was the better movie. Since I own both movies I decided to rewatch both Shawshank Redemption and Pulp Fiction again. And it turns out I still think Pulp Fiction is the better movie of the three. It is truly an original and is very shocking. I remember watching it for the first time and just being blown away by the crazy stuff that happens in it. I am glad it won Best Original Screenplay as it was one of the most original stories put on screen. It also should have won Best Supporting actor for Samuel L. Jackson. Shawshank Redemption is a great movie and any other year it probably would have won. And I am not sure how Tim Robbins did not get nominated for Best Actor. It seems that the movie has gotten more fans as time has gone by and it is now rated at number 1 on IMDB Top 250. And it is the first movie based on a Stephen King book to be nominated for Best Picture.
The other movie that was super popular that year was The Lion King had four nominations. Three of the nominations were for Best Original Song “Can you Feel the Love Tonight”, “Hakuna Matata”, and “Circle of Life” were all nominated. This tied a record with Beauty and the Beast for most songs nominated for one film. Another one of my favorite films form 1994 was Speed which won for Best Sound and Sound Effects Editing.
By the Numbers
Forrest Gump was ranked number 71 on AFI Top 100 Greatest Films in 1997 and number 76 in 2007 and the line “Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.” was listed at #40 on their greatest quotes list. It is currently ranked at number 30 on IMDB Top 250.
The Shawshank Redemption was ranked number 72 on AFI Top 100 Greatest Movies in 2007 and is currently ranked number 1 on IMDB Top 250.
Pulp Fiction was ranked at number 95 on AFI Top 100 Greatest Movies in 1997 and 94 in 2007. It is currently ranked at number number 6 on IMDB Top 250.
The Lion King is currently number 130 on IMDB Top 250.
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