1994: Forrest Gump vs Pulp Fiction vs The Shawshank Redemption

[CaptainCanada]

Forrest Gump is too much of a white-washing of history for my tastes.

What history, precisely?

The National Review has picked it twice as a top conservative movie made for a reason (first as a top 100 title, second as a top 25 in the past 25 years). Just look at the way the film characterizes the Vietnam War or 60s counterculture.

Something that everyone involved in the production has denied, and I see no reason not to believe them. Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks are bleeding heart liberals.

Beyond which, I'm really not sure how its presentation of Vietnam is supposed to be an argument for the war in any way. A bunch of people die and Gump has no idea what is going on.

Sorry if I'm ignorant towards older movies, but what am I looking for at the '76 oscars?

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I've least heard about (should I watch it?), Jaws too. But I haven't even heard about the rest. What am I missing?

Sorry, I mean the Oscars for 1976 (handed out in 1977): Rocky, All the President's Men, Bound for Glory, Network, and Taxi Driver.

 

[Harvey]

Something that everyone involved in the production has denied, and I see no reason not to believe them. Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks are bleeding heart liberals.

I see no reason to believe that either had a particular political agenda when they made the film, but that doesn't mean the final product doesn't end up expressing a conservative view of history anyway.

Beyond which, I'm really not sure how its presentation of Vietnam is supposed to be an argument for the war in any way. A bunch of people die and Gump has no idea what is going on.

This paper manages to express most of my objections, though it carries a heavier hand than what I might write. I do like this observation, though:

The lack of cynicism that functions as the catchphrase of the film is a result of a careful process of selection done by Zemeckis from the original novel. Zemeckis decides to leave out almost all of Forrest’s failures as they appear in Groom’s text-that he went to a special school, failed in college, could not marry his friend Jenny, smoked pot and had an incredibly troubled relationship with his son.

It has been ages since I've seen the film, though. I should probably give it another chance before I get too carried away with trashing it.

 

[Darth_Daver]

Sorry if I'm ignorant towards older movies, but what am I looking for at the '76 oscars?

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I've least heard about (should I watch it?), Jaws too. But I haven't even heard about the rest. What am I missing?

Sorry, I mean the Oscars for 1976 (handed out in 1977): Rocky, All the President's Men, Bound for Glory, Network, and Taxi Driver.

Okay, I've heard of Rocky amongst those And the others?

 

[Harvey]

You haven't seen NETWORK, ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, or TAXI DRIVER? Don't walk, run, to see these movies.

 

[J.T.B.]

Sorry, I mean the Oscars for 1976 (handed out in 1977): Rocky, All the President's Men, Bound for Glory, Network, and Taxi Driver.

Okay, I've heard of Rocky amongst those And the others?

The others are absolutely excellent, and I would personally watch any of them before Rocky, which is also a great movie. Taxi Driver and Network, especially, seem to be as relevant now as then, if not more.

As for the original question, I like Shawshank better than Forrest Gump, and though they are not bad I feel they both go for a forced emotional response in a very noticeable way that I don't care for. I like Pulp Fiction better, it's good storytelling done done on several levels and fit together very well. I thought Quiz Show was better than any of them, though.

--Justin

 

[PKTrekGirl]

I've perfectly fine with Forrest Gump as Best Picture....although both it and Shawshank would make my Top 10 Modern Films List, no problem.

I still cry at every viewing of Forrest Gump...and it is much more of a 'sweeping epic' than is Shawshank, which is probably why it won. The Academy loves sweeping epics.

 

[iguana_tonante]

I should be voting for Pulp Fiction, as it's the coolest of the bunch by a mile, but The Shawshank Redemption gets me every time I watch it. I guess I still have an heart... somewhere.

The best thing about Forrest Gump is the soundtrack, which is simply amazing. Never cared too much about the story or the message, tho.

 

[Jax]

Since The Shawshank Redemption is my number 1 movie of all time, of course I have to go for that. Forrest Gump is a wonderful movie though and I can see why it won in 1994 and probably Tom Hanks deserved best actor award despite my feelings on Shawshank.

Pulp Fiction is a good movie too but its the kind of movie that I feel, I can't watch more than once...I dunno why

 

[Icemizer]

If all three were on at the same time I would definitely give Shawshank the view. Pulp hasnt aged well for me and Gump while enjoyable doesnt grab and pull me into the story enough to get a top nod.

 

[LitmusDragon]

I would like to have seen Pulp Fiction win, since it was the most innovative and had the stronger legacy of the three in terms of what came after. Shawshank is a fine drama though with some excellent performances.

Forrest Gump always seemed kind of gimmicky to me. The special effects, the catchphrases, Tom Hanks pulling the noble simpleton act ... Truthfully I haven't watched it since it came out but these qualities don't exactly make me want to rush out and rent it again.

 

[Grid-Sec]

Pulp Fiction shoulda won that year. It was the most original movie out of the three as well. A first time director knocks it out of the park, also should have been an Oscar winner. I've loved everyone of his movies since!

 

[kitkat]

Pulp Fiction shoulda won that year. It was the most original movie out of the three as well. A first time director knocks it out of the park, also should have been an Oscar winner. I've loved everyone of his movies since!

I couldn't agree more. There were so many parts in Pulp Fiction where you laugh and feel bad about laughing. I love that quality in a movie.

 

[CaptainCanada]

A first time director

Er...

 

[kitkat]

A first time director

Er...

For the record, I wasn't agreeing with the "first time director" part...I'm just not a big corrector...I left that to you.

ETA: Also, Reservoir Dogs is my fave of his by a mile. Michael Madsen and Tim Roth were awesome in it.

 

[suarezguy]

I like Quiz Show best followed by Pulp Fiction. Forrest Gump felt too self-dismissive.

 

[Grid-Sec]

whoops! I dont know why I usually forget about Reservoir Dogs. I guess PF overshadows it so greatly.

 

[Too Much Fun]

I like all three movies and "Forrest Gump" is probably my least favourite of the three, but I don't think there's anything wrong with it winning best picture. Of the three, it was the most accessible, crowd-pleasing, and pleasant (even though it has dark moments, it never gets nearly as disturbing as the other two). At least "Pulp Fiction" rightfully won the best screenplay award.

I think the real shame of these three coming out the same year was that "The Shawshank Redemption" was completely shut out at the Oscars. For some reason they seem to almost always insist on giving best director and best picture to the same movie (except with "Saving Private Ryan" for some inexplicable reason). They could have at least given Frank Darabont best director. He may have been a first timer, but he did a hell of a job.