In the mid-90s, Robert Zemeckis, the legendary creator of the cult trilogy “Back to the Future,” suddenly makes a movie about the fate of a mentally retarded boy. Many were initially skeptical of this venture, but were soon amazed. After all, the new film “Forrest Gump” has become one of the best in world cinema, and even today it is not losing ground. What is the uniqueness of this project, and how did critics and ordinary viewers accept it?
1994 Forrest Gump movie
This picture of Robert Zemeckis was released on July 23, 1994. Almost immediately after the premiere, it became a hit and raised more than $ 670 million worldwide. In addition, Forrest Gump entered the hundred best films of all time.
For this tape, the film crew was awarded 6 Oscars, 3 Golden Globes and a dozen of the most prestigious awards in the world of cinema.
In addition to all of the above, some phrases from the film (“Run, Forrest, Run!”, “Life is like a box of chocolates ...”) became winged.
In many ways, the film “Forrest Gump” also influenced film culture. So, references to this picture can be found in Soldiers of Failure, Fight Club, The Simpsons, Friends, Escape, etc.
Plot
What is this tape about? About the life of a little boy with mental disabilities.
At the beginning of the tape, the very young Forrest and his mother live in a huge mansion, not far from the small fictional town of Greenbow. He has no father, and Mrs. Gump brings up the baby alone.
Despite a slight mental retardation, his mother does not stop at nothing to give her son a chance to grow up normal. She manages to ensure that the retarded boy still gets to school for normal children and even graduates from it.
While studying, Forrest meets a girl from a neighboring farm named Jenny. She becomes his friend and the love of life. Meanwhile, the girlfriend’s fate is not sugar at all: her mother died when the girl was only 5 years old. Father drinks and tortures Jenny and her sister. Because of such a difficult childhood, when Gump's friend grows up, she goes downhill - leaves the house, becomes a stripper, drug addict and prostitute.
Forrest, meanwhile, is doing much better. With the ability to run well, he falls into the local football team, and thanks to his athletic achievements, Gump is accepted into the university.
Upon completion, the guy enters the army, and then he is sent to fight in Vietnam. During one of the operations in the jungle, Forrest manages to remove most of his squad from under fire, for which he receives a medal. However, his close friend and colleague Babba, despite all the efforts of Gump, is dying. In memory of him, a comrade decides to help his mother and realize the cherished dream of the deceased - to buy a boat for catching shrimps and do this fishing.
A little earlier, while lying in the hospital, the hero discovered a talent for playing table tennis. Soon he becomes the champion in this sport and, having appeared in commercials, earns a decent amount of money. With these funds, Forrest buys a boat and tries to realize the dream of the deceased Babba.
Another comrade Gampa saved in Vietnam, Lieutenant Dan, lost both legs due to injury. Having become a cripple, he is offended by the whole world (including Forrest, who did not allow him to die a heroic death). Dan once promised that if Gump buys a ship, he will go to him as a sailor. The lieutenant kept his word and joins Forrest in catching shrimp. Due to a series of accidents, the comrades manage to get rich. Later, Dan successfully invests the money earned in Apple shares and they both become millionaires.
Returning home, Gump decides to help people and mows lawns for everyone in the district for free. Forrest's mother dies of cancer, and Jenny, deciding to fasten on her past, moves to him. However, when the hero invites her to marry him, the girl refuses, because she considers herself unworthy. She spends the night with the guy and runs away from him.
In frustrated feelings, Gump does not know what to do, and just runs wherever his eyes look. Gradually, this race is getting longer and longer, and for almost 3 years, Forrest has been running around the country. Thanks to this, he again becomes famous.
Jenny finds him. It turns out that after a night with Gump, she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. However, now the girl is sick with an unknown virus (a hint of AIDS). Forrest marries her and takes care of her beloved until her death.
The picture ends with the fact that the hero remains to live in his house with his son and sends him to study at school.
Winston Groom’s novel "Forrest Gump" (1986) and its differences from the movie
Not every fan of the picture knows that a few years before its release on the screens by Winston Groom, the book “Forrest Gump” was published. It was on its basis that Eric Roth wrote the script for the picture of the same name.
Although the overall storyline in the original and film adaptation is the same, there are tangible differences between them.
First of all, this is the image of the protagonist. In the film, Forrest is presented as a person with a slight mental retardation. Moreover, in the book he (like the hero of Rain Man) suffers from savantism (a deviation in the general mental development, combined with genius in certain areas).
In addition, in the novel Gump enjoys life much more. In addition to Jenny, he has sex with other women. He also tries drugs.
The finale in the book is also distinguished - Jenny is still alive in it, while Forrest is just setting up his shrimp business.
Forrest Gump Sequel - Gump and Co (1995)
After the release of the movie, Groom wrote a sequel to the novel - Gump and Co.
In this story, the main character is more like his on-screen incarnation, but in the general mass the writing style corresponds to the first part.
According to the plot of Gump and Co, after the death of Jenny Forrest loses all his money and is forced to wander around the world in search of earnings to care for his son. Periodically, he is the ghost of Jenny, who admonishes him.
The protagonist gets into a lot of alterations and participates in many historical events, including the destruction of the Berlin Wall. In this work both new characters and heroes, familiar from the novel "Forrest Gump", appear.
The book of reviews gathered less enthusiastic than the first, although in general it was very warmly received by readers.
The reader’s reviews highlighted the episode in which Forrest met Tom Hanks, the performer of his role in the movie.
In the early 2000s, Zemeckis intended to film this novel. But after the events of September 11, 2001, he abandoned this venture, arguing that the world had changed too much and would no longer be interested in this story.
“Forrest Gump” (film, 1994): actors
In addition to the good script and the excellent work of the crew, the picture, of course, owes its success to the actors. Who are they?
First of all, it is worth noting the performer of the role of the adult Gump - Tom Hanks (for this work he was awarded the Oscar and Golden Globe).
Other prominent actors in Forrest Gump are Gary Sinise (Lieutenant Dan) and Haley Joel Osment (Forrest's son).
A special highlight of the project was the role performers Jenny and Mrs. Gump - Robin Wright and Sally Field.
Each of these wonderful actresses managed to embody on the screen very realistic images of women who, despite their mistakes in the past, find the strength to live on and be happy.
References to real historical events
Among the 6 Oscars received by the picture, 2 were for excellent editing and special effects. They were handed them not in vain. Indeed, with the help of clever editing in the Forrest Gump film, “actors” appeared such as John Lennon, John Kennedy, Richard Nixon and other famous people of American history in the middle of the 20th century.
As for the important events that were allegedly influenced by the unlucky Forrest, one of them was the famous Watergate scandal, due to which Nixon had to leave the presidency. Gump also inspired Elvis Presley to create his signature dance movement, and John Lennon suggested the idea for the song Imagine.
In addition to all this, it was Forrest who unwittingly invented the Smiley logo, and also became the author of the Shit happens idiom.
The hero also witnessed events such as the appearance of the first black students at universities in Alabama and an antiwar rally in Washington.
Problems and images of films
Forrest Gump raises many important issues (1994 film). In particular, it is the inability of people to accept those who are different from them.
Throughout the whole picture, most acquaintances consider Gump as a fool and an eccentric, sometimes taunting him. Moreover, it is Forrest who becomes their savior, which helps to overcome stereotypes and come to terms with oneself.
For example, Lieutenant Dan was a hereditary military man, and believed that his fate, like that of his ancestors, would either become a hero or die on the battlefield. However, because of Gump, he survived, but remained a cripple. Finding himself unprepared for such a scenario, Dan sank to the very bottom of the public, cursing everyone, including God and Forrest. But thanks to the simplicity and compassion of the latter, the cripple gradually accepts its fate and finds peace with itself and happiness. To emphasize the spiritual rebirth of this character, he appears in the finale with an Asian wife, although at first he hated this race, considering its representatives to blame for its tragedy.
Another problem that Forrest Gump focuses on (1994 film) is the indifference of society to dysfunctional families and the doom of their natives.
A vivid example of this is the fate of Jenny. Having lost her mother early, she for many years suffered her father’s bullying. It is noteworthy that the whole district knew about it - but no one intervened and helped the poor girl. Having no prospects in life and special talent (like Forrest's), Jenny was forced to use her beauty and, changing a series of lovers, slipped into prostitution and died of AIDS. At each stage of her life's journey, the heroine, like a wall, stumbles upon human indifference and disgust of others, and only the long-suffering love of the protagonist gives her the strength to push further.
Forrest Gump: positive reviews from critics
Soon after the release of the screens, this tape was met with a flurry of enthusiasm from critics around the world.
The editions of Chicago Suntimes and Time literally blurred in praise, calling this tape modern classics just a month after its premiere.
Most of all, Forrest Gump earned positive reviews from film critics for depicting the split in American society on the examples of the protagonist and heroine. So, the Pulitzer Prize laureate Roger Ebert wrote in his review that each of them concentrates the most typical features of Americans.
Forrest is the embodiment of fidelity, nobility and selflessness. Due to dementia, his gaze is not obscured by public prejudice, and he sees the world more clearly, therefore it is easier for him to be happy.
In the image of Jenny, the eternal desire of Americans is concentrated to seek something new, to experiment. Throughout her life, this girl tries to choose her place in life. She tries to become a singer, participates in the hippie movement, seeks answers with the help of drugs. The heroine always wants to meet the perfect guy - smart, wealthy, courageous, serving a noble purpose. However, every time she does not notice that such is her childhood friend.
The happy reunion of the main characters in the finale, according to Ebert, is the embodiment of the cherished American dream: to unite society into a single whole. By the way, the critic himself put the highest score on the picture itself.
In the discussion of the Forrest Gump tape, reviews from some critics directly related to the lead actor, actor T. Hanks. James Berardinelli draws a parallel between his play at Forrest Gump and Big. The reason for this comparison is that in both scenes, Hanks played an adult child with a soul.
Sherry Lansing, the formerly famous actress and director of Paramount Pictures, analyzing the Forrest Gump film (1994 film), expressed surprise at the immense success of the film. Being knowledgeable in the film business, Lansing predicted the project profit of one and a half hundred million in the United States. At the same time, the tape only in its homeland collected 2 times more.
Negative reviews
Not all critics who watched Forrest Gump left positive reviews about the film. So, the American Todd McCarthy, although he praised the picture, but criticized the excessive fabulousness of the love of Forrest and Jenny.
New York Times correspondent Janet Maslin found the tape oversaturated with visual special effects, music and costumes. In addition, the woman categorically did not like the mismatch of the picture to the book original. At the same time, Maslin compared Forrest with the heroine of classical American literature - Polianna.
Muslin's colleague, David Ensen of Newsweek, also criticized the tension and unrealistic relationship of the protagonists. In addition, he did not like the overly sentimental mood of the picture, which the correspondent called "an attempt to squeeze a tear from the viewer."
Despite all these negative reviews, Forrest Gump, according to most critics (even those who did not particularly like it), is a masterpiece of world cinema.
Spectator reviews
Having considered what the experts said about this tape, it is worth paying attention to ordinary viewers. How did they take the Forrest Gump movie?
Reviews of ordinary people who have watched this feed are mostly positive. So, for example, in 2017, on the world-famous Metacritic website, this picture still has a 82% rating based on 17 positive viewer reviews and 2 mixed reviews. This is despite the fact that many modern projects cannot gain 70%.
As for the reviews left by the audience at numerous domestic film forums, they are also laudatory.
Also, some spectators note that the picture helped them cope with the problems associated with the disability of their children.
Judging by the reviews, many people were made to look at the world easier and it was Forrest Gump who taught them how to enjoy life (film, 1994).
Reviews of this picture leave some clergy, calling it a parable. In particular, they consider the protagonist to be an ideal Christian, capable of not only blindly obeying God's will, but also actively fighting evil. Also in this category of reviews, they often discuss the image of Lieutenant Dan and his path to reconciliation with God.
In conclusion, I want to note that none of those who watched Forrest Gump did not leave this film indifferent, and even those who did not like it found something interesting for themselves in it.