Forrest Gump is a 1994 American romantic drama film that is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis and stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, and Sally Field. The story depicts several decades in the life of its titular character, a slow-witted but kind-hearted, good-natured and athletically prodigious man from Alabama. Gump witnesses, and in some cases influences, some of the defining events in the latter half of the 20th century in the United States, specifically the period between his birth in 1944 and 1982. The film differs substantially from Winston Groom’s novel, including Gump’s personality and several events that were depicted.
Principal photography took place in late 1993, mainly in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Extensive visual effects were used to incorporate the protagonist into archived footage and to develop other scenes. A comprehensive soundtrack was featured in the film, using music that was intended to pinpoint specific time period as they are portrayed on screen. Its commercial release made it a top-selling soundtrack, selling over 12 million copies worldwide.
Released in the United States on July 6, 1994, Forrest Gump became a commercial success as the top-grossing film in North America released in that year, being the first major success for Paramount since the studio’s merger with Viacom, earning over $677 million worldwide during its theatrical run. In 1995, it won the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director for Robert Zemeckis, Best Actor for Tom Hanks, Best Adapted Screenplay for Eric Roth, Best Visual Effects, and Best Film Editing. It also garnered multiple other awards and nominations, including Golden Globes, People’s Choice Awards, and Young Artist Awards, among others. Since the release, varying interpretations have been made of the film’s protagonist and its political symbolism. In 1996, a themed restaurant, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, opened based on the film and has since expanded to many locations worldwide. The scene of Gump running across the country is often referred to when real-life attempt the feat. This aspect of the story was based on a man named Robert Sweetgall who walked across the continental United States seven times; at the end of one of his trips, a crowd of spectators included the film’s screenwriters.
In 2011, the Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
The Film Itself (5/5):
As one of my absolute favorite films from my youth, Forrest Gump is an extremely sentimental movie that allows its viewers to follow right along and feel extremely sympathetic towards the main character. As he shares his overall amount of sweetness, charm, charisma, this movie is one that I feel that everybody should experience at least once in their lifetime. The performances from Hanks and accompanying cast members are some of the absolute best that I’ve seen throughout my years of enjoying film, and I am beyond glad that everyone involved with the making of this film received the praise that they absolutely deserved.
Picture Quality (5/5):
Offering its viewers a completely native 4K experience, the 4K UHD release of Forrest Gump is one that I would absolutely consider to be a feature piece of any 4K collectors library. With its utilization of HDR10 and Dolby Vision, this release really shined across my living room television as my wife and I watched it. Offering a significantly real experience, we could really feel and appreciate the beauty that lied within Forrest and those who are involved in his life. Colors are sharp and crisp, and the overall experience of this release really makes for what our minds perceived the experience to be like when this movie had originally come out.
Audio Quality (5/5):
Bundled with an English Dolby Atmos audio track, the 4K UHD release of Forrest Gump offers an absolutely all out immersive experience for its viewers with its utilization of the elevation aspect of the audio mix. Placing its viewers right into the middle of everything, the transition from channel to channel was absolutely flawless; allowing this release to be yet another 4K UHD release that would be great for showcasing your home audio system.
The Packaging (3.5/5):
Packaged in a three-disc 4K UHD amaray case, Forrest Gump comes packaged with your standard 4K UHD copy of the film, the standard Blu-ray copy of the film and a separate Blu-ray disc that includes a lot of the special features for this release. The discs feature no artwork that’s related to the film outside of the standard release text and the generically solid colored blue or black background for each disc respectively. There are no DVD copies included with this release; however, there is a digital copy redemption pamphlet that’s been included for the various streaming options as well as a slipcover that’s been made available during the original pressing of the release. The slipcover features the same piece of artwork that’s been made available on the case art.
Special Features (5/5):
There are a lot of special features included with the 4K UHD release of Forrest Gump. All of the content is made available on the two Blu-ray discs that come with this package; and the features do a really decent job at not only providing more insight into the story. As you browse through these, you also get to see a good amount of behind-the-scenes action as you experience what the crew and cast members went through to make this movie happen. Included with this release is:
- 4K UHD Disc
- Feature Audio Commentary With Robert Zemeckis, Steve Starkey & Rick Carter
- Audio Commentary With Wendy Finerman
- Blu-ray Disc With Feature Film
- Feature Audio Commentary With Robert Zemeckis, Steve Starkey & Rick Carter
- Audio Commentary With Wendy Finerman
- Musical Signposts To History
- Additional Blu-ray Disc
- Greenbow Diary
- The Art Of Screenplay Adaptation
- Getting Past Impossible
- Forrest Gump And The Visual Effects Revolution
- Little Forrest
- An Evening With Forrest Gump
- The Magic Of Makeup
- Through The Ears Of Forrest Gump – Sound Design
- Building The World Of Gump – Production Design
- Seeing Is Believing
- The Visual Effects Of Forrest Gump
- Screen Tests
Technical Specs:
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision + HDR10
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Original Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles
English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Runtime
Original Film: 142 minutes
Final Thoughts:
Overall, I was really happy to see that Forrest Gump got the 4K treatment. This movie is one of my personal all time favorites, and with the work that was put into this release, it allows you to really appreciate this film even more. The overall presentation of the release is top notch, allowing for everything to feel more real as you follow along with Hanks. The presentation of both audio and video are extremely noteworthy, allowing this release to be a showcase piece for your personal library. The special features that have been included were nicely done, allowing audiences to dig into the film even deeper. If you’re considering grabbing this for your collection, I would hands down recommend picking it up. Forrest Gump will be available on 4K UHD beginning on Tuesday, June 12, 2018.
Note: This Blu-ray was sent to us for review. This has not affected our judgement or editorial process in any way. Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this process.