"Through the Eyes of Forrest Gump" is as the title already says of course obviously a little add-on to the famous film classic "Forrest Gump" from the 1990s and this one here runs for half an hour approximately and it features interviews with pretty much all the big players from the film, who elaborate more on particular scenes really than on the production. However, there is some charm as well here in specific moments that include the famous feather of course or the box of chocolates. Making-of documentaries are always (just like life) like a box of chocolates and you never know what you get with these. But with this one here, you get something delicious. I enjoyed seeing the actors and others, surprisingly I was not that big on Hanks in here while I generally like him and honestly he is the movie. It's definitely closer for me to a 4 out of 5 than to a 2 out of 5, but as I gave the former to the movie this is about, I will just say that the documentary is of course not as good as the film, but it is worth seeing without a doubt and I'd watch it again. Perhaps, I am a bit biased here because I quite like the movie, but if you think similarly about it like I do and I guess millions of people do, then this one is definitely worth checking out if you get your hands on it. I personally give it a thumbs-up. Go for the watch here, maybe at a time when you plan to watch Forrest Gump anyway, which you should as this is really a film you could see many times and you will always discoved something new. So will you in this documentary I guess, like for me for example with the parallel between Lieutenant Dan and crippled America during the years of the Vietnam War. Surely an interesting parallel. And there's more that you want to witness yourself.
4 Reviews
Fascinating documentary about a milestone film.
Anonymous_Maxine28 January 2005
The only thing I didn't like about this documentary was that I wish there was more of it. It starts out telling us a lot of things we already know just from watching the movie, such as that Forrest retains some of his childhood innocence into adulthood because he's not very smart, how we are able to watch a tapestry of American history through his experiences, etc. We already know all of this, but the documentary expands into the themes and interests of the movie, giving wonderful insight into the intentions that went into its production. Besides, I'm always the first to jump at any chance to see behind the scenes of making a movie, especially one that I loved as much as Forrest Gump.
There are things explained about the movie, such as the fact that Forrest only believes in three things God, his Momma, and Jenny, and everything else in the world that he experiences has to be filtered through those three things. It explains how the movie is not about anything that happens in American history that we see in the movie (from the racism that he encounters in his early college days to the Vietnam war). There's no bad guy, there's no overarching quest, it's simply about the spirit of Forrest Gump.
There is also some excellent coverage of the filming of specific scenes, such as the Dr. Pepper scene (which had Tom hanks drinking a massive amount of Dr. Pepper it reminded me of how Charlie Chaplin ate so many licorice boots in the famous scene in The Gold Rush that he had to have his stomach pumped), as well as the scene where Forrest shakes John F. Kennedy's hand. I loved seeing how they managed to do that, although I wish they would have expanded it a little, at least enough to show how they managed to get JFK to say, "I believe he said he has to go pee!" I tend to doubt that they actually found historical stock footage of Kennedy saying that!
Another thing that I felt should have been in this documentary was how they managed to portray Gary Sinise without legs, because it is one of the more memorable digital effects that were achieved for the film, although this is explained elsewhere on the DVD, and is probably why it was not included in this documentary, which I believe was made after the release of the original DVD. Much time is spent on how they did the feather at the beginning of the movie, although that is pretty important since the feather embodies the theme of the entire film.
There is some great explanations of characterization in the movie, like how Forrest and Bubba became close friends because Forrest was the only person who would listen to Bubba talking endlessly about shrimp. Forrest accepted Bubba unconditionally, just like Jenny did for him.
Also interesting is the commentary made about Vietnam being in the movie. Just like the theme of the movie being about Forrest and not about the world in which he lives, there is no comment made about Vietnam, how bad it was, etc, it just is. It's simply another experience that Forrest goes through, and it is there to enhance what we know about Forrest, not to make any comment about the meaning of the war itself. This is also why it is shown only through the eyes of Forrest Gump, we see only what he sees. That this theme permeates the rest of the movie is not surprising. It may have had something to do with the title of this documentary.
There were other interesting things shown about making the movie, such as the fact that they did the storm scene late in the film using an actual jet engine, which I don't think had ever been done on a movie set before. But they used a real boat in real water and had people on each side pulling on huge poles that stuck off the sides of the boat like wings so that it would rock realistically, while water cannons and a jet engine were trained on it to create the effect of a terrible storm. So while this documentary doesn't explain how a few things were done, it does explain a tremendous amount of things, and delivers what it promises. Very good.
There are things explained about the movie, such as the fact that Forrest only believes in three things God, his Momma, and Jenny, and everything else in the world that he experiences has to be filtered through those three things. It explains how the movie is not about anything that happens in American history that we see in the movie (from the racism that he encounters in his early college days to the Vietnam war). There's no bad guy, there's no overarching quest, it's simply about the spirit of Forrest Gump.
There is also some excellent coverage of the filming of specific scenes, such as the Dr. Pepper scene (which had Tom hanks drinking a massive amount of Dr. Pepper it reminded me of how Charlie Chaplin ate so many licorice boots in the famous scene in The Gold Rush that he had to have his stomach pumped), as well as the scene where Forrest shakes John F. Kennedy's hand. I loved seeing how they managed to do that, although I wish they would have expanded it a little, at least enough to show how they managed to get JFK to say, "I believe he said he has to go pee!" I tend to doubt that they actually found historical stock footage of Kennedy saying that!
Another thing that I felt should have been in this documentary was how they managed to portray Gary Sinise without legs, because it is one of the more memorable digital effects that were achieved for the film, although this is explained elsewhere on the DVD, and is probably why it was not included in this documentary, which I believe was made after the release of the original DVD. Much time is spent on how they did the feather at the beginning of the movie, although that is pretty important since the feather embodies the theme of the entire film.
There is some great explanations of characterization in the movie, like how Forrest and Bubba became close friends because Forrest was the only person who would listen to Bubba talking endlessly about shrimp. Forrest accepted Bubba unconditionally, just like Jenny did for him.
Also interesting is the commentary made about Vietnam being in the movie. Just like the theme of the movie being about Forrest and not about the world in which he lives, there is no comment made about Vietnam, how bad it was, etc, it just is. It's simply another experience that Forrest goes through, and it is there to enhance what we know about Forrest, not to make any comment about the meaning of the war itself. This is also why it is shown only through the eyes of Forrest Gump, we see only what he sees. That this theme permeates the rest of the movie is not surprising. It may have had something to do with the title of this documentary.
There were other interesting things shown about making the movie, such as the fact that they did the storm scene late in the film using an actual jet engine, which I don't think had ever been done on a movie set before. But they used a real boat in real water and had people on each side pulling on huge poles that stuck off the sides of the boat like wings so that it would rock realistically, while water cannons and a jet engine were trained on it to create the effect of a terrible storm. So while this documentary doesn't explain how a few things were done, it does explain a tremendous amount of things, and delivers what it promises. Very good.
Making of a film.
cmyklefty4 January 2002
This documentary is an insightful view on how Forrest Gump is made. Watching the wizards behind the film create the most amazing moments in movie history. This is the film that modernize the motion industry. A must see for people who want to learn the business of film making.
Masterpiece which creates magic, magic which can make anyone feel alive
drishaktawat1 June 2021
Warning: Spoilers
One of the movies I love so much that words fail to express my emotion. It's not a movie it is a life we go into and live for that particular duration of running screen .. Gump is character you will expect last to inspire you in any way but he inspires you not for few mins but has potential to inspire you for years
every time I want to feel motivated I see this movie where protagonist is an Autistic person who does acts which any normal man wouldn't dare to dream of doing .. infantry after calipers, fishing,helping people .. mad lover does it all, all on his way of wait for meeting his true love..
Tom hangs acting is masterpiece in itself and he is a legend .. recently I saw cast away again , all his movies inspires but Gump is beyond imagination, salutes to the Writer Director and makers of the movie.
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