1994 Best Picture:
Forrest Gump

Competition:
Four Weddings and a Funeral, Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemtion, Quiz Show 

Other Winners:
Best Actor: Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump 
Best Actress: Jessica Lange, Blue Sky
Best Supporting Actor: Martin Landau, Ed Wood
Best Supporting Actress: Diane Wiest, Bullets Over Broadway
Best Director: Robert Zemeckis, Forrest Gump

Cast: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Sally Field,  

Storyline: The life of a slow-witted man is examined as he touches the lives of those around him and makes history while doing it.

Did it deserve to win:  Perhaps ... perhaps not!  Forrest Gump was a popular film, and it boosted the already phenomenal status of its star, Tom Hanks.   It was also an achievment for director, Robert Zemeckis, who presented a special effects picture, that wasn't just about the special effects.

Four Weddings and a Funeral was another popular film, but hardly a Best Picture contender.   Quiz Show was Robert Redford's opus that chronicled the game show scandals of the 1950's.  The Shawshank Redemption was an uplifting film about hope and dreams, with a men who were in prison for life. 

My money went to Pulp Fiction, a heart pounding, and violent tribute to the action genre.  Quentin Tarantino scored his ultimate triumph with this film that has become an instant classic, and has been praised ever since.  

Critique:  Despite its obvious tug at the heart strings, Forrest Gump is still a very good picture.  Tom Hanks plays a memorable character, and Robert Zemeckis puts his own brand of special effects magic on what would have otherwise been, an mundane film.  

The movie is photographed nicely, and the supporting performances, particularly by Sinise, are key to making this film shine.  

On the other hand, I am reminded of Cavalcade, the 1933 Best Picture, in which the lives of a group of people are examined over a thirty year history.  The events of that film were still relevant with the movie was released, however, over time, the story has become dated, and the production values make that film barely watchable.  While Gump was a hit for its day, only time will tell how well this film holds up.

Behind the Scenes: Forrest Gump was nominated for thirteen Academy Awards, and won six of them.  For Tom Hanks, his win for Best Actor put him into an elite group that included Spencer Tracey, Katherine Hepburn and Louise Rainer, when he won the prize for the second year in a row.  

Forrest Gump's biggest competition was in Pulp Fiction, the Quentin Tarentino blockbuster that wowed audiences ever since its debut at Cannes.  But many movie fans and critics were outraged by the non-nominations of several films, and for the first time, the Academy was taken to task on their decisions, and on their seemingly 'out of date' rules. 

The documentary, Hoop Dreams, seemed like a shoe in to become the first of its genre to receive a Best Picture nomination.  It's failure to make the final five, despite being at the top of many other lists that year, caused many to shake their head.  Even worse, was the fact that the film failed to garner a nod in the Best Documentary feature category.   

The documentary category had been a hot topic for many years by this time, as classic films, such as Roger and Me, The Thin Red Line and Truth or Dare, all popular docs, failed to get noticed in their year.  The Academy selected documentaries through a special committee, who many had charged with collusion in the past.  This year, a petition circulated around Hollywood, and throughout the Academy, urging AMPAS to take steps to clean up the process.

Another film that failed to make the grade was The Last Seduction.  The film was disqualified from Oscar favor on the grounds that it was originally featured on HBO television, prior to being shown in theatres.  The producers of the film felt certain that Linda Fiorentino's performance in the film was a sure thing for Best Actress, and took the Academy to court in an attempt to get them to overturn their rule.  The courts ruled in the Academy's favor.

David Letterman brings Tom Hanks to the stage to introduce Sadie, the dog who spins around in circles when people applaud.

The Foreign Language category was also called into question that year, as Red, a Swiss entry, was disqualified from competition.  The film was not considered a Swiss film, as the people behind it were not from Switzerland.  Harvey Weinstein, head of Miramax, called his movie, a 'film without a country', and rallied the Academy to make changes in their voting rules. 

Jessica Lange and Diane Wiest accept their awards for acting.

In the end, Forrest Gump, the predictable feel-good movie of the year, took home the biggest prizes.  The Academy didn't budge on its decision to block Hoop Dreams, The Last Seduction and Red from competition.  Instead, they demonstrated, once again, their reluctance to embrace new ideas, and their failure to keep up with the times.

Martin Landau accepts the award for Best Supporting Actor for Ed Wood.

The hippie movement embraces Forrest on the Whitehouse Lawn. 

Also in 1994:

May 2:  Former political prisoner, Nelson Mandela wins the South African election, becoming President.

June 12:  Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman are found brutally murdered in Nicole's front yard, and so begins the greatest circus - ever!

June 17:  All eyes are one the 405 Freeway, and one white Bronco, as OJ and AJ attempt a getaway.

August 12:  25 years later, rock fans return to the mud and music of Woodstock.