Run, Forrest, run… onto Blu-ray that is. Paramount pulls out all the stops on this fine Blu-ray presentation that’s as tasty as a box of chocolates.
Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) is sitting at a bus stop and shares his life story with anyone who happens to sit down on the bench next to him.
Young Forrest (Michael Conner Humphreys) was born to a single mother (Sally Field) and never knew who his father was. He has below average intelligence, but his ability to run fast and goes to college on a football scholarship.
After college he enlists in the army and meets “Bubba” Blue (Mykelti Williamson) who seems to be a match for Gump. He wants Forrest to go into the shrimping business with him when they get out of the army. They’re both sent to Vietnam under the command of Lt. Dan Taylor (Gary Sinise), whose life Forrest saves but Lt. Dan loses both of his legs. Forrest wins the Medal of Honor for his bravery, rises to a celebrity ping pong player, goes into the shrimping industry as he promised Bubba, and goes through many events and meets many historical figures.
The whole time Forrest pines for his first love Jenny (Robin Wright Penn) and she keeps popping into his intriguing life.
Forrest Gump would run away with six Academy Awards – best actor for Hanks, best director for Zemeckis, best film editing for Arthur Schmidt, best screenplay for Eric Roth, best visual effects, and more importantly best picture. It would be nominated for seven more that it didn’t win as well as awards from other groups.
It certainly cemented Tom Hanks as a Hollywood force and major motion picture star. Hanks was compared to James Stewart and this is his “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It made Hanks an everyman who traveled through some historical events, made believable by groundbreaking special effects.
The audience might’ve lived through some of those same events and this helps to build rapport with them as well as having a fantastic soundtrack that everyone would’ve heard a song or two from.
The film is expertly acted with Gary Sinise also being nominated, but Sally Field, Mykelti Williamson, and Robin Wright Penn do grandly with their roles. It’s a film that audiences came to love and fans will love the high definition transfer as well as the boxful of extras.
Forrest Gump is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (2.35:1). Disc one sports two commentaries. The first is from director Robert Zemeckis, producer Steve Starkey, and production designer Rick Carter.
Special features are presented in high definition unless noted. The second is from producer Wendy Finerman. It also features a “Musical Signposts to History” mode that puts up trivia and interviews (some with the artists themselves) during the film. Disc two starts off with the 26 minute “Greenbow Diary” chronicling the making of the film. The 27 minute “The Art of Screenplay Adaptation” talks about translating the book to film and has author Winston Groom speaking on the process.
The 27 minute “Getting Past the Impossible” talks about the impressive visual effects that inserted Forrest into real historical events and revolutionized the industry. The 14 minute “Little Forrest” interviews the adult Michael Conner Humphreys who played Forrest as a child. The 55 minute “Evening with Forrest Gump” has Hanks, Sinise, writer Eric Roth, and Zemeckis discussing the film at the University of Southern California. You also get 5 minutes of trailers.
The remainder of the special features mentioned is in standard definition and from the previous DVD release. The 8 minute “The Makeup of Forrest Gump” interviews makeup artist Dan Striepeke about his contribution to the film. The 15 minute “Through the Ears of Forrest Gump” has sound designer Randy Thom discussing the sounds used in 5 scenes.
The 7 minute “Building the World of Forrest Gump” that looks at the production design. The 20 minute “Seeing is Believing” looks at the effects of nine scenes with visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston. Finally you get screen tests from the younger Gump and Jenny, Wright Penn, and Haley Joel Osment.
Tom Hanks is excellent in the role of Forrest and the whole cast is delightful. It’s fun to watch the seemingly slowwitted Forrest interact with famous historical figures long dead. A fantastic film all around and Paramount provides a fantastic Blu-ray. Run out and buy it.
Forrest Gump (Sapphire Edition) [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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