Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic romantic-comedy-drama film (genre hybrid) based on the 1986 novel Forrest Gump by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis and starred Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, and Sally Field. The story beautifuly illustrates several decades in the life of Forrest Gump, a slow and naïve, but good-hearted and athletically gifted, man from Alabama who witnesses, and in some peculiar cases influences, some of the defining events of the latter half of the 20th century in the United States (the period between Forrest's birth in 1944 and 1982). The film is much different from the novel on which it was based, including Gump's personality and some of the events that took place.

The main sets took place in late 1993, mainly in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Extensive visual effects were used to incorporate Gump (Tom Hanks) into archived footage and to develop other fun scenes. A compelling soundtrack was featured in the film, using music intended to pinpoint specific time periods portrayed on screen. Its commercial release made it a top-selling soundtrack, selling over twelve million copies worldwide.  Some of the songs include Hound Dog by Elvis Presley, Fortunate Son by Creedance Clearwater, Respect by Aretha Franklin, and many more American favorites. 

This famous film was released in the United States on July 6, 1994.  The film became a commercial success as the top grossing film in North America released in that year, being the first major success for Paramount Pictures since the studio's sale to Viacom, earning over $677 million worldwide during its theatrical run. Forrest Gump holds a high rating of 8.8 on the Internet Movie Database, which makes it the 13th best movie of all time for the website and 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. Forrest Gump also easily attained multiple other awards and nominations, including Golden Globes, People's Choice Awards, and Young Artist Awards, among others. Ever since the film was released, many variations of interpretations of its protagonist (Forrest Gump) and its political symbolism have been made.  

In 1996, a themed restaurant, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, opened based on the film and has since expanded to multiple locations worldwide.  If that doesn't show you have much of an impact this film made, I don't know what will!  One of the scenes of the American classic of Gump running across the country is often referred to when real-life people attempt the feat. In 2011, the Library of Congress selected Forrest Gump for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".  

After all these facts, can you even argue that this movie isn't the best movie of all time?! If you haven't seen this film yet, it's time to stop whatever you are doing, sit down, and focus your attention on the best movie of all time. 

Did you read the book?

During my senior year of high school, I cracked open a novel that never fails to inspire me.  Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathon Safran Foer follows the story of three people- Oskar Schell, Thomas Schell, and Oskar's Grandmother down a heart wrenching tale about tragedy and grief.

If you've ever read the novel, you know that the book is narrated by three people (the people listed above) and tells three separate tales that all intertwine through the common theme of loss.  It is beautifully narrated, and Foer does an exceptional job of telling the story very poetically.  He separates words on the pages so you don't simply read from left to right.  He uses multiple illustrations and even flip book animation to create a visual aspect of the story which greatly impacts the way the story is told.  Needless to say, when I heard there was a movie coming out, I was very excited to see how this visually stimulating novel would look on the big screen.

I've seen the movie a few times since it came out in theaters in January 2012.  I think it was very well done, aesthetically.  The film was directed by Stephen Daldry who definitely captured the abstract poetic narration that Foer creates in the novel.  It was shot on an Arri Alexa (which sadly costs over $80,000 -- so those beauties won't be available in PPECS anytime soon) with angenieux optimo lenses.  This camera and lens combo creates a very sharp image with a beautiful depth of field and bright colors.  The clip below portrays the poetic narration and aesthetically pleasing shots that I've been ranting about this entire time... The overlapping of narration helps accent the poetry, too.

May I add- this boy was PERFECTLY cast. they found him randomly on an episode of Jeopardy.  They wanted a talented actor with a high level of knowledge to portray a borderline-autistic 10-year-old.  Well cast, indeed. 

But, of course, as most will say- this film no where NEAR compares to the compelling story told in the novel.  Not saying that the movie was bad, but there are two other compelling story lines told through Thomas Schell and Oskar's Grandmother that are barely even mentioned in the film.  Part of what made the book so amazing were these two stories and how they intertwined with Oskar's.  I guess I'm not upset with how the narration was adapted, but what they left out in this film.  

I recommend reading the book and seeing this film respectively.