Forrest Gump

Robert Zemeckis (1994)

136min

12 Certificate

Review

Our Score

by Adrian Turner

Winner of six Oscars, including best picture, actor and director, this comedy drama was a box-office blockbuster in America, though its simple-minded patriotism was greeted with a certain cynicism in Europe. Gump, played by Tom Hanks, is a chump: a semi-literate everyman who drifts through recent American history (Vietnam, the civil rights movement, assassinations, Watergate) and emerges triumphant. He's an athlete, war hero and hokey southern savant, a one-man palliative for a nation's political and moral bankruptcy. His personal credo is "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get", and that's as profound as the movie gets. But Hanks's performance is truly remarkable and the special effects are stunning: Gump meeting people such as JFK and Nixon is amazingly believable.

Summary

A slow-witted man has a series of bizarre adventures, including becoming an American football star, Vietnam veteran, table tennis champion and millionaire businessman - but the love of his life from childhood continues to elude him. Robert Zemeckis's Oscar-winning comedy drama, starring Tom Hanks, Sally Field, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise.

Cast & Crew

Forrest Gump Tom Hanks

Lieutenant Dan Taylor Gary Sinise

Jenny Curran Robin Wright

Mrs Gump Sally Field

Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue Mykelti Williamson

Nurse at park bench Rebecca Williams

Young Forrest Michael Conner Humphreys

Doctor Harold Herthum

Barber George Kelly

Crony Bob Penny

Crony John Randall

Principal Sam Anderson

Louise Margo Moorer

Elderly woman Ione M Telech

Elderly woman's daughter Christine Seabrook

Southern gentleman John Worsham

Young Elvis Presley Peter Dobson

School bus driver Siobhan Fallon

Director Robert Zemeckis

Other Information

Language: EnglishColourTheatrical distributor: U.I.P. (UK)Guidance: Some violence, swearing, drug abuse, nudity.Available on: video, DVD and Blu-ray

Drama Comedy

Full Episode Guide