The Shawshank Redemption vs. Forrest Gump

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10 comments

Both great movies that offer fantastic performances and heartfelt drama.

Not to say Forrest Gump isn't good, but it's a THIEF! An Oscar thief! Compared to what it was up against, including Shawshank and Pulp Fiction, it just can't match. Oh sure, Best Actor for Hanks, no question, but director should go to Tarantino, and Picture to Shawshank. No Contest!

Yeah, this is a tough one for me. Both follow the "inspirational and heartfelt" tone to them, and each of these are movies you could watch over and over again and still feel good afterwards. Beneath the surface, I think "Shawshank" is technically better, but I'm selecting "Gump" because I enjoy it a bit more.

I think I'm going to have to side with the academy on this one...

This is a close call, both are masterpieces but I'm going with Shawshank. I like escape films.

Shawshank, you may not have won the oscar, but you won my vote.

1994's Heavyweights going toe to toe! Love both but Shawshank has to take the victory. With these two and Pulp Fiction, WHAT A YEAR! How come the top ten films from any year in the early 90's blow away any modern year???

JRM
JRM

I agree with @Mendelssohn. Lol. Forrest Gump is a really good movie, but Shawshank is so much better.

It's a tough call, but while Forrest Gump is undeniably great, Shawshank only just nudges it out of the way. As much as I like Tom Hanks, Shawshank's cast are sublime.

Easy win for Shawshank!

This can't be legal.

Oh god... toughest one yet.. but I'm gonna have to go w/ Shawshank.

Easy. The prison film wins. I've seen Forrest Gump far too many times.

TSR was screwed at the oscars that year.

I vote for Forrest Gump here.

Another hard choice. 1994 was really an awesome year for film. Both nominated at the oscars but Shawshank was overshadowed by Forrest Gump. Shawshank was a better film I think and Forrest Gump does deserve it's praise too but Shawshank wins this one.

No contest. Shawshank.

Shawshank is the superior film for me. I can't fault it. I loved Forrest Gump the first time I watched it, but on subsequent re-watches it hasn't quite held up. It's still an enjoyable movie, but I find I have to be in a certain mood to want to watch it. Shawshank, however, has immense re-watchability value. Even when I don't plan to watch it, if I catch a glimpse of it while flipping channels on TV, it always pulls me in.

Both fine films of the same year. But im going with Shawshank Redemption. It really deserved the best picture oscar.

I agree. The Shawshank Redemption was too good to be beaten.

I've never understood all the praise for FORREST. I first saw it when I was 15 and even then thought it was an entertaining yet hollow bauble. SHAWSHANK is one of the most moving and profound of all American films.

Both are two of the greatest films ever and I love both, but Forrest Gump had more of an impact on me. Tom Hanks was amazing.

Two huge movies, and 2 of the the greatest of all time, released the same year. I would say that The Shawshank Redemption is better than Forrest Gump, because it is perfect, while Forrest Gump has a few parts that drag on when Forrest keeps accomplishing life missions and finding Jenny. Both films are extrememly powerful, and leave as strong after effect on the viewer. But for me, Shawshank's a 9.7/10, Foreest Gump's a 9.5/10.

I just watched Shawshank for the first time, oh my god! Fantastic movie, and I teared up at the end of both movies. I honestly don't know.

Shawshank. Forrest Gump was a little too sweet and I don't think I want to see it again. It's a very good movie, but once is enough.

Both movies can be considered too idealistic but Shawshank suffers from bad pacing.

Forrest Gump wins it will always have a place in my heart...Shawshank is great but way overated!!!!!

Both are great but overrated, I pick Shawshank, but Pulp Fiction should of one Best Picture over both of them.

I wish I could tell you that Forrest Gump fought the good fight, and the Sisters let him be. I wish I could tell you that, but Flickchart is no fairy-tale world.

This is undoubtedly the toughest choice that I've had to make and I'm sure that I will change my mind many times. Forrest Gump has amazing music, a hugely quotable script and the best acting performance I have ever seen. It has been a part of me for a while and is one of the few films to make me well up. Shawshank, I only saw recently but has made a huge impact on me and is a spectacular film as well. It has the most beautiful cinematography and some of my favourite scenes in all of cinema. The music is stunning and the acting great. A hugely tough call - both films are equal in my opinion - but I think Shawshank may just clinch it.

Forrest Gump is incredibly overrated; I just don't get the popularity. I know it's meant to be a microcosm of 20th Century History seen through the eyes of a loveable doufus, but I honestly don't see how that's clever or entertaining. Everyone says this is Tom Hanks' best performance, and honestly, I think it's one of his worst. Hanks has done some much better, not to mention understated stuff in Philadelphia, Apollo 13, Castaway, Road to Perdition, Saving Private Ryan, the list goes on. And to reiterate what most people have said here, the fact that this film beat Shawshank in most award departments is a fucking travesty of cinema. I've been thinking about a list of films which I hate which everybody seems to love (a la Nostalgia Critic), and while I don't necessarily hate Forrest Gump, it's definitely on there somewhere. So yeah, Shawshank wins by miles.

Forrest Gump won best picture over Shawshank, shouldn't even be an argument. Both are timeless classics but Forrest Gump is a much better film.

This is one of my ultimate all-time VS. I'm going with Shawshank, but these two are simply two of my 5 favorite movies ever....

Shawshank hands down. Forrest is very good but quite overrated in my opinion

lud
lud

26-6??! Jesus Christ? Well, now is 27-6.

Two feel-good films with great messages at the core. Both are really inspiring, but Gump is just not the film that Shawshank is.

TSR easily

Shawshank Redemption. It's a brilliant film. It's one of the best feel-good films ever made, and just an exceptional film over all. Forrest Gump is a good film too, it's just that TSR is superior.

With regards to the Oscars, I think Pulp Fiction was the best picture on 1994, but all three films are excellent, so unlike a lot of people here I don't mind that Gump won (it's not like Shakespeare in Love beating Saving Private Ryan, or Dances With Wolves beating GoodFellas). To answer the question, I like Shawshank more and consider it the superior film, but Gump was great. Shawshank wins.

The Shawshank Redemption hands down

Forrest Gump is a terrific film that is one of the 50 greatest films I have ever seen. But I have yet to see a better film than The Shawshank Redemption. I began ranking films in 1995 when I was 15 after Forrest Gump won Best Picture and I saw Shawshank. At the moment of the Oscars, I had only seen Forrest Gump, but I rented Shawshank and as they embraced on the beach, I was physically upset at the results.

Two of the all-time greats in my book.

Both of these movies are absolutely amazing. Even though they are both so good, Shawshank beats Gump by about 25 spots on my list...

Shawshank wins but Forrest Gump is still fantastic

Shawshank should have won best picture in 1994 in my opinion

Forrest Gump is the one I have seen.........

Depends on your mood i guess. They both are the best movies of the 90s with Pulp Fiction. But i go with the Shawshank Redemption here...

Shawshank Redemption is way better

The Shawshank Redemption.

Forrest Gump would win 95% of the time if it were released on any other year, but since it's 1994 Forrest Gump loses, despite being oustanding.

Gonna have to go with the consensus here. Shawshank just had more focus and was more interesting to me...

Shawshank is no. 1 on my flickchart. Absolutely flawless.

I'll just start by saying that Forrest Gump is an excellent film, there's no denying that. However, everything in Shawshank was better, and Shawshank is currently my favorite movie of all time. I love you Forrest, but Shawshank destroys

forrest gump... losses

ear
ear

I could be in a worse place than out on a limb for Forrest Gump in this match up and I am not even a Gump lover.

Forrest Gump is easily the better movie.

The Shawshank Redemption is generally good.

As much as I love Shawshank, the historical element and characters of Forrest Gump engaged me more.

I am ok with Forrest Gump, but Shawshank is objectively a better movie. Shawshank or Pulp fiction should have won the 1995 best picture. Shawshank>Gump

The Shawshank Redemption in a whole miles better.

Shawshank is just another level...

No wrong answer. Both are great.

Shawshank, no contest. Forrest Gump is possibly the most overrated movie in my opinion, as it feels more like a product of its time (and doesn't work now), while Shawshank aged like fine wine and deserved the Oscars infinitely more.

ok idk why i said overrated (that's just a self-absorbed term) but the point is I didn't like Forrest Gump much

Shawshank slightly, both are incredible feel good dramas that inspire me become a better person and give me hope for humanity.

the movie that deserved the best pic vs the one that won.