Forrest Gump is a movie on a low I.Q. man named Forrest Gump who achieves what he wants through determination and courage despite his mental disabilities.

Rating: 10/10 (21 February 2014)

On July 6th, 1994, this country was introduced to another movie that will go down as one of the all-time greatest films in United States history. This movie is Forrest Gump (Zemeckis, 1994), and it was directed by Robert Zemeckis. Forrest Gump (Zemeckis, 1994) will always be known as one of the best films of all times as years go by. It is the story of a simple minded man from Greenbow, Alabama, named Forrest Gump, who lives life in the moment and succeeds in everything he does as he finds himself contributing to many historical events of the mid twentieth century without even trying. There are many different aspects to this film that make it great, but there are a few significant ones that stand out among the rest. The significant aspects that make this such a great film include the use of Tom Hanks, the memorable soundtrack, historical references, and the heart-warming love story.
Tom Hanks is the star in the film Forrest Gump (Zemeckis, 1994) as he plays the role of the main character, Forrest Gump. Tom Hanks had been a big time actor in Hollywood even prior to his outstanding performance in this movie as he also starred in films such as Big, A League of Their Own, and Sleepless in Seattle. Forrest Gump (Zemeckis, 1994) was not an easy movie to play the lead role in as he had to play the role as a mentally challenged man with an I.Q. of seventy five and keep that role consistent through the entire movie. This role cannot be easily achieved by just anyone, but Tom Hanks went above and beyond playing the role of Forrest Gump. Tom Hanks earned himself an abundance of awards from this movie that consisted of a Golden Globe, an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a People's Choice Award for Best Actor, becoming only the fourth actor to win consecutive awards.
The soundtrack of Forrest Gump (Zemeckis, 1994) is another aspect that makes this movie so great. A movie's soundtrack can really set the tone for a scene, and the soundtrack of Forrest Gump (Zemeckis, 1994) succeeded in setting a good tone with its choice of music. The movie's setting takes place from the mid to late twentieth century, and the movie's soundtrack is mostly based around that time setting with songs from that era. The soundtrack consisted of many 1960 and 1970s artists and bands such as Creedence Clearwater Revival, Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and many more. The soundtrack of the movie really set the feel of the time setting it was placed in. The soundtrack was rated among the top ten for several months in the Billboard 200 album chart when the movie was first released.
The historical references in this movie make things a little bit more interesting through the way Forrest Gump somehow finds himself contributing to them. Throughout the movie Forrest Gump found himself in a lot of significant moments of US history without even knowing it. The first reference was in the beginning of the movie when Forrest reveals that he was named after Nathan Bedford Forrest, who was the leader of the Ku Klux Klan. Another example is when Forrest was a young boy his mother had a bed and breakfast, and they had a young musician staying with them by the name of Elvis Presley. Forrest had braces on his legs and was dancing to the music Elvis Presley was playing on his guitar. This dance that Forrest had displayed to Presley ended up being Presley's signature move when he became famous. Later on in Forrest's life, he was staying in the Watergate hotel where he witnessed the Watergate Scandal. Forrest called the front desk and told them what he saw, and, without even knowing it, he was the reason President Nixon was impeached for the Watergate Scandal. Many other significant parts of U.S. history were referenced in the movie such as the Vietnam War, in which Forrest fought in, the Black Panthers, the hippie movement, and even more. This movie does a good job of showing how the U.S. progressed from the 1960s through the 1980s to make this movie more interesting.
Forrest Gump (Zemeckis, 1994) not only provides a sense of humor and drama throughout the movie, but it also has a twist of love throughout the movie as well. Forrest fell in love quickly with a girl named Jenny when he meets her on the bus for his first day of school. He and Jenny spent most of their childhood together, but seem to fade apart as their lives went on. However, this did not keep Forrest from maintaining his love for her. Despite Jenny eluding him, Forrest did not let her go and continued to love her. Forrest and Jenny end up having a baby together and get married in order for Forrest to be the father of the child. This love story puts a great twist in the movie to put an emotional toll on the audience. It shows that anybody can love anybody despite any circumstances.
Overall, Forrest Gump (Zemeckis, 1994) is a great movie with a great message that will go down as one of the all-time best. The movie contains many different aspects that lead it to being such a great film. The use of Tom Hanks, the memorable soundtrack, historical references, and the heart-warming love story, all make this movie what it is. Forrest Gump (Zemeckis, 1994) will be a film that people will watch and love for a long time.