The history of the United States from the 1950s to the '70s unfolds from the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.The history of the United States from the 1950s to the '70s unfolds from the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.The history of the United States from the 1950s to the '70s unfolds from the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.
- Won 6 Oscars
- 51 wins & 74 nominations total
Harold G. Herthum
- Doctor
- (as Harold Herthum)
Siobhan Fallon Hogan
- School Bus Driver
- (as Siobhan J. Fallon)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Can You Imagine 'Forrest Gump' Without Tom Hanks?
Can You Imagine 'Forrest Gump' Without Tom Hanks?
Tom Hanks may have won an Oscar for his role in Forrest Gump, but the part almost went to an "SNL" star. Which other A-listers were up for the legendary role?
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen Forrest gets up to talk at the Vietnam rally in Washington, the microphone plug is pulled and you cannot hear him. According to Tom Hanks he said, "Sometimes when people go to Vietnam, they go home to their mommas without any legs. Sometimes they don't go home at all. That's a bad thing. That's all I have to say about that."
- GoofsWhen Forrest is given his discharge papers, he sets down his ping-pong paddle and (computerized) ball to salute the officer. When he picks the paddle back up, he also pretends to pick up the ball, which didn't end up getting animated.
- Quotes
Jenny Curran: Do you ever dream, Forrest, about who you're gonna be?
Forrest Gump: Who I'm gonna be?
Jenny Curran: Yeah.
Forrest Gump: Aren't-aren't I going to be me?
- Alternate versionsIn the TBS and the ABC version, the line at the end of the dorm scene is cut, "I think I ruined your roommate's bath robe".
- ConnectionsEdited from The Birth of a Nation (1915)
- SoundtracksLovesick Blues
Written by Cliff Friend and Irving Mills
Performed by Hank Williams
Courtesy of PolyGram Special Markets
Featured review
The role of innocence in positive thinking and thus success ...
... seems to be the theme of this film. Forrest Gump has an IQ of 70, is being raised by a single mom, lives in a remote part of the Deep South where there are few opportunities, and has legs that require that he wear braces as a child. Sounds like the recipe for a sad tale or at least a slow death from mediocrity right? No, instead, because Forrest isn't really bright enough to realize the situation he is in, he simply does what he's told to do or what occurs to him to be the right thing at the time and succeeds due to a lack of self doubt. He's told to run and he becomes the star of the Crimson Tide and an All American. When recovering from a war wound, he's taught ping-pong and winds up competing at the global level in China itself. He promises his dying friend Bubba that he'll go ahead with their plans and become a shrimp boat captain and his brand of seafood products becomes a household name.All along the way he never learns the lessons in life that tend to make the rest of us cynical.
Gump's childhood sweetheart Jenny starts out with high aspirations - she wants to be like Joan Baez and fight for world peace - and instead she winds up disillusioned, drug addicted, and a near suicide before age 30. She doesn't have Forrest's childlike innocence and this leads her to self-doubt and ultimately failure. Also, fate or "destiny" as the film calls it, is not on her side in one big way - her own father molested her as a child, which couldn't help but play a role in the decisions she made.
Now Gump does have a bunch of coincidences on his side - call it destiny if you will - the storm that beaches every shrimping vessel in the Gulf of Mexico but his, for example - but in most cases this is just the story of a man going through life without self doubt and that little voice that tells the rest of us "You can't do that! What are the odds! You'll fail! Make the safe choice!" To me, this is what this film is about. I think everyone sees something different in it. I highly recommend it as it is truly one of a kind. I remember when it came out it absolutely made professional reviewers crazy that people liked this film, probably because they didn't understand it.
Gump's childhood sweetheart Jenny starts out with high aspirations - she wants to be like Joan Baez and fight for world peace - and instead she winds up disillusioned, drug addicted, and a near suicide before age 30. She doesn't have Forrest's childlike innocence and this leads her to self-doubt and ultimately failure. Also, fate or "destiny" as the film calls it, is not on her side in one big way - her own father molested her as a child, which couldn't help but play a role in the decisions she made.
Now Gump does have a bunch of coincidences on his side - call it destiny if you will - the storm that beaches every shrimping vessel in the Gulf of Mexico but his, for example - but in most cases this is just the story of a man going through life without self doubt and that little voice that tells the rest of us "You can't do that! What are the odds! You'll fail! Make the safe choice!" To me, this is what this film is about. I think everyone sees something different in it. I highly recommend it as it is truly one of a kind. I remember when it came out it absolutely made professional reviewers crazy that people liked this film, probably because they didn't understand it.
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Forrest Gamp
- Filming locations
- Chippewa Square, Savannah, Georgia, USA(bus stop bench)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $55,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $330,455,270
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $24,450,602
- Jul 10, 1994
- Gross worldwide
- $678,226,465
- Runtime2 hours 22 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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