Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1195 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-11-05
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Anamorphic, Colour, Dolby, PAL, Subtitled
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Czech, English, German, Hungarian, Polish, Turkish
• Dubbed in: Czech, German
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 136 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
If you read the label on a box of chocolates you'll know exactly what you're gonna get. Life isn't like that in Forrest Gump, however, which is one of the reasons why this movie divided appreciative audiences from hard-hearted critics like few others before it. Audiences responded to the Frank Capra-style sentimentality of this warm-hearted tale of a good ol' American boy making his way in the world without ever losing his pure and simple innocence. Critics, however, were made uneasy by the apparently reactionary subtext to the parallel lives of Forrest and his girlfriend Jenny. Her fate, contrasted with his, suggests a triumph for plain ol' American values over dangerous freethinking hippies and liberals. Whether the movie is just unadulterated sentiment or right-wing propaganda, one thing at least was acknowledged by all: that Forrest Gump displays all the craftsmanship of one of Hollywood's most inventive directors and features a central performance from an actor renowned for his total commitment to every role. Thanks to Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks, even the most cynical critic will find it hard not to shed at least one tear by the end of this undeniably engrossing movie. The soundtrack is great, too.

On the DVD: another good two-disc set gives fans of Gump and budding filmmakers alike plenty to enjoy. The anamorphic picture and Dolby Surround on Disc 1 do full justice to Zemeckis' vision, which is accompanied by two commentaries: one from the director, producer Steve Starkey and production designer Rick Carter, and another one from producer Wendy Finerman. Disc 2 has the usual making of documentary (30 mins), plus some neat featurettes on the production and sound design and the many special effects shots (including how they made Gary Sinise lose his legs). In addition there are some screen tests of Robin Wright and a very young Haley Joel (The Sixth Sense) Osment, plus trailers and a photo gallery. All in all this is a worthwhile package. --Mark Walker

Video Description
DVD Special Features:

Disc 1--
Ratio: 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround -- English, German
Dolby Surround -- Czech
Subtitles: English for the Hard of Hearing, English, Czech, German, Hungarian, Polish, Turkish
Commentary Subtitles: English, German
Commentary by Robert Zemeckis, Steve Starkey and Rick Carter
Commentary by Wendy Finerman

Disc 2 --
Through the Eyes of Forrest Gump -- Documentary
The Magic of Makeup
Through the Ears of Forrest Gump -- Sound Design
Building the World of Gump -- Production Design
Seeing is Believing -- 11 Visual Effects (includes two never-before-seen sequences)
Photo Gallery
Screen Tessts
Theatrical Trailers

Synopsis
The title character leads viewers through an accidental travelogue of American social history from the early 1960s through the present in this revisionist fable. Vietnam, desegregation, Watergate and more are presented from the perspective of Hanks' lovably slow-witted character as he finds himself embroiled in situations he can't quite comprehend. Academy Award Nominations: 13, including Best Picture, Best Actor--Tom Hanks, and Best Director. Academy Awards: 6, including Best Picture, Director, Actor and Adapted Screenplay.

Customer Reviews

Cynical Right-Wing Propaganda
It always amazes me that there are so many positive reviews of this appalling film. On the surface it is idiotic, banal and cloyingly sentimental. At it's root it is a cynical piece of right-wing propaganda.
The basic message of the film is that if you are an idiot, if you conform and do not question authority or think for yourself you are a hero. If you challenge the government, think for yourself and refuse to see the world in black and white you will be unhappy, exploited and die of AIDs.
The 'philosophy' behind this film is so mind blowingly stupid it is offensive. What galls me even more is the way that music made by artists who would by no means have agreed with the politics expressed in this film have been used to sell it. The positive reviews it gets are a depressing example of just how easy it is to manipulate an audience into going along with something rotten to the core through the use of banal sentimentality.

forest gump dvd
I have watched this film before and I think it was one of the best films I have ever seen because the main character forest gump doesn't have to be some body he just acts like himself which is the thing I like most about the film.

Typical Hollywood self-indulgence
This is yet another tiresome, trite film where Hollywood smugly tells the whole world that it is ahead of the curve on social issues and that people in the Deep South are backward, ignorant and stupid. They made sure to make Forrest Gump much thicker than he is in the book and really played up the theme of race politics.

This film is indicative of Hollywood's hypocrisy when it comes to racism: - a film like this done about African Americans (I have to use politically correct terminology here) would be banned. However, few people see fit to criticise this film, as residents of the Deep South are considered fair game for racist criticism.

Given that I have Asperger's syndrome and my parents fought tooth and nail to keep me in the mainstream schooling system, just as Forrest's mother had to in the film, this film should have struck a raw nerve with me. However, the above negative points cancelled this out.

At first it is funny that Forrest is so incredibly thick (and I suppose it is some consolation that he isn't shown conforming to the stereotype of Southerners having backward attitudes to race politics), but after a while, his strange statements start to become tiresome.

If you are a San Franciscan liberal living in your own sad little world sipping lattes, nibbling tofu and driving a hybrid who enjoys smugly telling the world that San Francisco is ahead of the curve on social issues, you will be delighted by this film, as it will feed your own ego. Otherwise, you will merely find the message in this film trite.