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"Forrest Gump" was acclaimed Best Movie of the Year, Tom Hanks was hailed as Best Actor, and Robert Zemeckis won as Best Director in the Academy Awards voting, and now this instant classic -- eagerly embraced by audiences who made it one of the top-grossing movies of all time -- has its network television premiere as "The ABC Sunday Night Movie," MAY 4 (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.
The phenomenally successful film, which earned three more Oscars and was nominated for a total of 13, also won Golden Globes for Best Film Drama, leading man (Tom Hanks), leading lady (Robin Wright), supporting actor (Gary Sinise), and director (Robert Zemeckis), and for its screenplay and music. Zemeckis was also honored by his peers with the Director's Guild Award. Sally Field and Mykelti Williamson also delivered memorable performances in the film.
Forty years of American triumphs and disasters, exaltations and exclamations, are recalled through a unique vision -- the vision of a tender, loving man-child named Forrest Gump (Hanks). His IQ is subnormal but his heart is superior; Forrest is an innocent in a corrupt world -- defying the odds by becoming a hero. In high school and college he is a football star; in Vietnam he is decorated for bravery; after the war he becomes an international celebrity as a masterful Ping-Pong player.
His successes are not without pain. His best friend in the Army, Bubba Blue (Mykelti Williamson), with whom he shares a dream, dies in his arms. Lieutenant Dan Taylor (Gary Sinise), who has led him in battle, loses both his legs. Forrest's mother (Sally Field), whose devotion has never flagged, dies, leaving him to face life alone.
Nothing comes easy for Forrest Gump, but sometimes things can actually seem perfect, as when the girl he has loved since boyhood -- Jenny Curran (Robin Wright) -- becomes his wife. But even perfection is flawed for this simple man -- soon Jenny's tormented past makes it impossible for her to live within his love, and she disappears.
Following the dream he shared with Bubba -- and with the help of Lt. Dan -- Forrest becomes rich. But, after Jenny leaves him, he is almost unbearably unhappy. So he runs. And runs and runs and runs, picking up a cult of followers who are sure there is cosmic wisdom in his run to no special place for no obvious reason. And then he just stops. His run has been completed.
But Forrest Gump's journey is not over. There are still some nougats in the box of chocolates that is his life. The 1994 Paramount picture was directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by Wendy Finerman, Steve Tisch, and Steve Starkey from the screenplay by Eric Roth, based on the novel by Winston Groom. (CLOSED-CAPTIONED / Broadcast in stereo where available) ABC is POP main menu abc.com |
