FORREST GUMP
Rating: 
Original Review: Alan Silvestri had often been criticised for not writing decent incidental music to go with his excellent 'main themes'. He really proved them wrong here with this, his first Oscar-nominated score. Forrest Gump opens with the soft, gentle 'I'm Forrest... Forrest Gump' which begins with a simple, whimsical melody played on a single piano, but which concludes with a wonderful, full-orchestra statement of the theme on string. But it is with the incidental music that he really excels here: 'You Can't Sit Here' is a melancholy, lonely piece which reappears in various guises at the sad times of Forrest's life; 'The Crimson Gump' is a vibrant, upbeat action theme which narrates Forrest's early years in running and playing football in college, and is also heard in a more restrained version as 'The Crusade', when Forrest runs across country; 'Washington Reunion' is the shortest cue on the album, but rises to a wonderfully romantic crescendo when Forrest re-meets Jenny at a peace rally; and 'Where Heaven Ends' and 'Jenny's Grave' are different types of cues, with a slightly wistful and faraway feeling, when Forrest is recounting his travels to the dying Jenny. The whole thing ends with a reprise of all the main themes in 'Suite from Forrest Gump' to bring things to a wonderful close. It should have won the Oscar.
Track Listing:
- I'm Forrest... Forrest Gump (2:41)
- You're No Different (1:00)
- You Can't Sit Here (2:27)
- Run Forrest Run (2:14)
- Pray With Me (0:57)
- The Crimson Gump (1:08)
- They're Sending Me To Vietnam (2:24)
- I Ran and Ran (1:43)
- I Had a Destiny (1:20)
- Washington Reunion (0:45)
- Jesus on the Main Line (written by Alan Silvestri, performed by Donny Gerrard) (2:01)
- That's My Boat (1:17)
- I Never Thanked You (0:48)
- Jenny Returns (2:43)
- The Crusade (2:01)
- Forrest Meets Forrest (1:42)
- The Wedding Guest (1:48)
- Where Heaven Ends (1:43)
- Jenny's Grave (1:26)
- I'll Be Right Here (0:50)
- Suite from Forrest Gump (6:34)
Running Time: 39 minutes 25 seconds
Epic Soundtrax 477369-2 (1994)
Music composed and conducted by Alan Silvestri. Orchestrations by William Ross. Recorded and mixed by Dennis Sands. Edited by Kenneth Karman. Mastered by Joe Gastwirt. Album produced by Alan Silvestri.
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These web pages were designed and maintained by Jonathan Broxton copyright 1997. All opinions and views expressed on these pages are my own and are in no way intended to reflect those of my employer, the Trent Institute for Health Services Research, or those of the University of Sheffield.