Forrest Gump

The “making of” companion piece is entertaining and shows how the special effects wizards created the amazing visual illusions that help to endear repeated viewings. The emphasis is on character portrayal and the blue screen special effects techniques used for the illusion of Forrest’s encounters with luminaries and the blue socks that allowed Gary Senese’s Lt. Dan scenes as an amputee to be more real and believable. You’ll also discover how the ping-pong ball and feather were computer generated images and how those scenes and others were filmed.

The story is told in a series of flashbacks as Forrest sits chatting with various strangers while waiting for a bus on a sidewalk bench. Born with an IQ in the mid-70s and a spine with “more curves than a country road,” the Savannah-born Gump ultimately overcomes the impossible with a fleetness of foot that catapults him to success as an All-American football player, Vietnam war hero and shrimping businessman. The movie is dear, wonderfully entertaining and inspirational as Forrest captures our hearts with simple messages that ring true. Forrest Gump is a metaphor for a lot of what is constant, and decent and good about America.