Search - Forrest Gump: Chocolate Box Giftset (Widescreen) on DVD

Hanks is Brilliant

Thomas Magnum | NJ, USA | 10/03/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Forrest Gump is a rare movie that succeeded on all levels. It was a box office smash ranking among the top five highest grossing movies of all time. But it was also a critical darling, garnering across the board praise and a truckload of awards. The movie became a cultural phenomenon, spawning cook books, quote books, a top ten soundtrack album and lines like "stupid is as stupid does" and "life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get" have permeated our dialect. The movie has a nostalgic, feel good vibe thanks to the dimwitted Forrest's trek through 60's and 70's touchstone events. Underneath all those warm feelings lies a darkness. Bad things happen to just about everyone Forrest comes in contact with. His best friend Bubba is killed in Vietnam, his other friend Lt. Dan loses both his legs, his mother dies of cancer and his beloved Jenny dies of AIDS. Even the famous people Forrest comes across meet with disaster, President Kennedy & John Lennon are assassinated, George Wallace is shot and Elvis Presley dies young. There are superb performances all around. Sally Field is feisty as Forrest's mama, Mykelti Williamson is funny as Bubba, Gary Sinese as Lt. Dan is a perfect rough edged foil to Forrest and Robin Wright as Jenny portrays the confusion that young people of the times felt perfectly. While all those performances are of high quality, Forrest Gump is Tom Hanks' tour de force. He is utterly brilliant as Forrest. He is in virtually every scene of the movie and never once does he fail to astound. He becomes Forrest and makes you care what happens to him. Mr. Hanks deservedly won his second consecutive Best Actor Oscar for the role and cemented himself as the best actor of his generation and one of the best of all time."

Forrest Gump is a magical, moving, and funny film

Eric | Tennessee | 01/13/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"1994 featured the two most interesting central characters to ever grace the silver screen. They were Andy Dufresne (The Shawshank Redemption) and Forrest Gump, played respectively by Tim Robbins and Tom Hanks. Both films from which the characters originate I consider to be in the top five best movies of all time and it's the actors that makes the characters come to life that makes the films so magnificent. Forrest Gump is a drama and a comedy. It tells the tale of a mildly retarded man who becomes involved accidentally in the biggest events of the sixties, seventies, and eighties. All throughout his life since he was a child, Forrest has been in love with a girl named Jenny (Robin Wright Penn). However, she refuses him only because she loves him too much and doesn't want to hurt him. Underrated by audiences, Forrest Gump is simply an amazing film. I was surprised by how hilarious and moving it was. The film generates many big laughs that involve how Forrest initiated and inspired many events in recent history such as how he was the one who taught Elvis Presley to dance and the time he unknowingly ratted on the Plumbers of Watergate.The performances are what make this film memorable. Tom Hanks gives one of the best leading performances of the decade (and possibly of all time). Coming in almost as good is Gary Sinise as the misanthropic lieutenant whose life is changed after becoming involved with Forrest in the shrimp business. The supporting cast which consists of Wright Penn, Sally Field, Mykelti Williamson, and Haley Joel Osment (of Sixth Sense fame) also deliver good performances.Forrest Gump is a great film that has to be seen to be believed. Cynics might find some problems with this film but they would just be missing the entire point. This is essentially a film about how the most innocent and kind person on Earth has a low IQ and how he views the world. His journey is simply breathtaking."

"There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp,..."

M. Hart | USA | 12/08/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I first saw the film "Forrest Gump" in a theater in 1994, I knew that director Robert Zemeckis had created a heart-warming masterpiece that would more than likely earn it Oscar recognition, and it certainly did. The endearing film follows the life of an educationally challenged man named Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) from the time of his childhood (played by Michael Conner Humphreys) until early middle age. His mother (Sally Field) made sure that he would be treated just like everyone else so that he could take care of himself once she was gone. In addition to his learning disability, Forrest was required to wear leg braces as a child that made him the target of ridicule from other children, except for one girl named Jenny Curran (Hanna R. Hall). However, Forrest quickly discovered that his legs weren't that bad when he found an innate ability to run. When Forrest decided to join the U.S. Army, he meets his two best friends: a fellow recruit named Pvt. Benjamin Buford 'Bubba' Blue (Mykelti Williamson) and Lt. Dan Taylor (Gary Sinise). Bubba loved to talk about shrimp and Lt. Dan was raised to be a soldier. Forrest's relationship with Jenny, as well as his relationships with Bubba and Lt. Dan, led Forrest down several unexpected paths that allowed him to meet several pivotal historical figures.Tom Hanks' superb performance as the loveable Forrest Gump earned him his well-deserved second Oscar for Best Actor. (He had previously won the Oscar for Best Actor for the 1993 film "Philadelphia", and has been nominated three other times.) Robert Zemeckis also earned the Oscar for Best Director, and the film itself won the Oscar for Best Picture as well as three other Oscars for Best Visual Effects, Best Editing and Best Writing. Gary Sinise earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, in addition to six other Oscar nominations that included Best Cinematography, Best Music and Best Sound. Part of what "Forrest Gump" so endearing was Zemeckis' use of superimposing actors into actual, historical film footage. This footage included the late Pres. John F. Kennedy, the late John Lennon, the late Pres. Richard M. Nixon, and the late former Alabama Gov. George Wallace to name a few. (Robert Zemeckis used this same archival footage technique again in the 1997 film "Contact".) Other memorable characters in the film include school bus driver Dorothy Harris (Siobhan Fallon), Bubba's mother (Marlena Smalls), Abbie Hoffman (Richard D'Alessandro) and Forrest Gump Jr. (Haley Joel Osment).Some of the many memorable scenes in the film include the opening scenes, running with leg braces, running across the football field during practice, scenes at the University of Alabama, boot camp, Vietnam, D.C., NYC, the shrimping boat, running across America, and the scenes with Jenny (both as child and adult). I regard "Forrest Gump" as one of the best films ever made and rate it with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars. It's the kind of film that draws the viewer into its story and keeps the viewer engaged throughout its 142 minutes. I highly recommend the DVD version of the film to everyone, and the second DVD is good with its various documentaries and other material. Tom Hanks went on to star in many more memorable film roles, including his roles in "Apollo 13" (1995), "Saving Private Ryan" (1998), "The Green Mile" (1999) and "Cast Away" (2000) to name a few. Unfortunately, many of Gary Sinise's film roles that followed have been far less memorable."

A movie you don't get to see nowdays.

Roy Ho | Singapore | 06/05/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Forrest Gump is one of the best film of all time. Definitely the best Zemeckis's work so far and he has put so much soul and depth to this 1994 Academy Award winning Best Picture. This movie portrays the life of a slow-witted character who gets embroiled in various ridiculous situations. He was a Vietnam war hero, received a congressional medal of honour, shook hands with many US Presidents and was a successful owner of a shrimp company. We get to see many world events through the eyes of a supposedly "dumb" character. The flow and pace of the movie was perfect as we ride through various historical events like the Vietnam War, assasination of JFK and the Watergate Scandal. Tom Hanks gave an undeniably wonderful performance as Forrest and truly deserves the Oscar that he earned. Gary Sinise gave a superb performance as Lieutenant Dan in the movie. Even though he was only nominated and did not win anything, I felt he really deserves the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The scene where he pulled Forrest down from the bed and cursed him for saving his life, just simply blew me away. Sally Field is also wonderful as Forrest's mother and deserves the Oscar as well. The line "Forrest, you have to do your best what God has given you. Be brave Forrest, be brave in everything you do. Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you gonna get." really moved me and brought me tears. No movie had bring such emotion in me. Robin Wright did her role well as Forrest's love interest and complements well to Forrest's life. The actors truly brings the characters to life and I must salute Zemeckis for choosing the perfect cast. The technical aspect of the film is just excellent. The visual effects is unlike anything we have seen before. Many movies have not fully utilised the CGI effects to complement it. Nowadays, filmmakers just want to show what special effects they can do rather than what the special effects can do for the film. In Forrest Gump, visual effects are utilised to their best to create unbelievable scenes. Scenes like the flying feather, Lieutenant Dans' missing legs, Vietnam War, meeting of the president is just incredible. This is what visual effects is all about. To create impossible scenes to the big screen. Alan Silvestri's film score is one of the best scores I have ever heard. From the touching piano piece at the beginning feather scene to the uplifting tune of Forrest hugging Jenny at the Washington square scene, Alan's award-winning score truly brings the perfect mood and emotion to the film. Every aspect of this movie is simply excellent from the eye-popping special effects, film editing, wonderful score, sound, to the theme of the movie. This movie makes us realised that we all have a purpose in life and that we all have the ability to do the impossible. Forrest Gump tells us that we all should have strong principles and beliefs to succeed in life. Forrest only believes in 3 person. He believes in God, his momma and Jenny. Nothing can go past them. Just look at what Forrest has achieved. He is the President of a shrimp company, a war hero, a Ping-Pong champion, and a happy father. Forrest Gump simply tells us that we can achieve anything in life as long as we put our best effort and believe in everything that we do. Forrest Gump is no doubt one the best films I have ever seen. It changes my perception of life and makes me realised that we all have a purpose in this world. We probably won't be seeing anything like this forever. A true masterpiece."