FORREST GUMP (1994, Blu-ray released November 3, 2009 – MSRP $39.99)
Paramount‘s Sapphire Series line of Blu-ray discs lives up to its promise with the release of Best Picture Oscar winner Forrest Gump – a beautiful, well realized, perfectly film-like disc sporting a plethora of special features.
Let’s not waste time here debating the merits of the film. Like it or not, it’s now a classic. But its never really been my thing. I don’t dislike Forrest Gump at all. In fact, I think parts of it are quite moving. But its one of those movies where I’m constantly feeling the machinations of the film making process, particularly where the special effects are concerned – the floating, all-too-magical feather and the insertion of Gump into historical footage spring immediately to mind. The script, while quite strong, often makes me feel as if I’m being led about by the nose, from significant event to significant event in this man’s remarkable life, leaving the quieter character moments floundering to compete. But when they win out, they can be very powerful. In fact, if the film doesn’t lose you before hand, the ending of Forrest Gump will most likely bring you to tears.
A lot of that emotional resonance, however, comes from the strong performances in the film. Tom Hanks, long famous before Gump, reached new heights of stardom in the title role, portraying a man with IQ of 75 and a heart the size of a football field (gush…sob!) He’s great in the part. Also, I think that haircut went a long way to selling the audience on his character. Robin Wright Penn (still only Robin Wright in 1994) turns in a tremendously touching performance as the love of Gump’s life, a troubled, free-spirit who struggles with her own identity and perpetually keeps Forrest at a safe distance. The real breakout performance in the film, if you ask me, has got to be from Gary Sinise as Lt. Dan Taylor, Gump’s commanding officer during the Vietnam War and later, his best friend. Sinise is, at the same time surly and sensitive as “Lt. Dan” and provides a wonderful foil for Gump’s simple, always sunny character.
The Forrest Gump Blu-ray disc is stunning. Paramount has done a fantastic job with the transfer here, delivering a beautiful AVC encode that’s as true to the film source as one can get. The colours are accurate, the blacks deep and rich and there’s a lovely layer of grain throughout. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio track is without flaw to my ear, though the source material is front heavy and only opens up occasionally. But when it does, this disc sounds like a million bucks. Bravo Paramount!
The Sapphire Series of discs don’t skimp out on the special features. And the Gump 2-Disc set is no exception! There is no shortage of fantastic, insightful content here. But my absolute favourite has got to be the “An Evening with Forrest Gump” roundtable discussion with Hanks, Sinise, director Robert Zemeckis and screenwriter Eric Roth. This 55-minute chat was filmed at the University of Southern California before an audience of students who had just screened the film. Excellent stuff here. “The Art of Screenplay Adaptation“, a 27-minute featurette covering the process of bringing Winston Groom‘s novel to the screen, is also recommended viewing. I always enjoy hearing what an author has to say about his work when it’s adapted to other forms. The 2-Disc set is rounded out with a couple of nice commentary tracks (listen to the Zemeckis track if you only choose one), a ton of featurettes, screen tests, trailers, and the option to watch the film with pop-ups describing the music playing during a given scene and its relevance to the time period.
The Sapphire Series edition of Forrest Gump is also available in a Chocolate Box gift-set (you know, because “Life is like a box of chocolates” and all that) that includes the 2-Disc Blu-ray set, a commemorative photo book and a feather bookmark. I should also mention that it’s chocolate scented. For real.
Previously on The Blu-ray Blog: Forrest Gump Blu-ray Details
