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Forrest Gump: Special Collector's Edition
Without a doubt one of a handful of the most popular, beloved, and acclaimed pictures in recent memory, Forrest Gump is a case-study in the mass appeal of empty gestures. Tom Hanks stars as a nearly retarded man whose extraordinary life is as eventful and profitable as it is unsparingly tragic. But that's not the way director Robert Zemeckis sees it, battling the film's text by packaging Forrest as a simple heroic iconoclast, indulging Hollywood's condescending trend of presenting the handicapped as transformingly wise. Apparently a lot of people like that sort of thing. Hanks provides the magic that makes movie rise above its ridiculous inclinations, while its ballyhooed special effects range from wondrous to painfully inept. As a two-disc set, Gump feels a bit thin, but mostly just because of the insipidly fawning tone of its supplements. Disc One contains a fine-looking and colorful anamorphic transfer (2.35:1), with audio in a rich Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. This disc contains two audio commentaries, one by director Robert Zemeckis, production designer Rick Carter and producer Steve Starkey, and the other featuring producer Wendy Finerman, who shepherded the project through production from its inception. On Disc Two is the half-hour feature Through the Eyes of Forrest Gump, as well as four short featurettes: The Magic of Makeup, Through the Ears of Forrest Gump (Sound Design), Building the World of Forrest Gump (production design), and Seeing is Believing (visual effects), a collection of screen tests, a photo gallery and trailers. Dual-DVD keep-case.
—Gregory P. Dorr
