“Forrest Gump” is a monumental 90s Hollywood movie in which master director Zemeckis uses the latest technology to portray the “American picture.”

The Beatles appear in Zemeckis' feature debut! ?

If you think about it, Zemeckis has long been a person who has been particular about fusing images of different levels. `` Roger Rabbit '' (1988) can be said to be a very easy-to-understand example of an attempt to fuse animation and live-action.

When I traced back the origins of Zemeckis' filmography to see if there were any traces of trial and error, I came across an interesting production of Zemeckis's directorial debut, `` I Want to Hold You '' (1978).

This movie is set in 1964, the year the Beatles landed in America and created a sensation, and tells the story of characters who desperately want to meet the Beatles and try to sneak into the hotel where they are staying. Naturally, the biggest concern for viewers is ``How will the Beatles appear?'' The answer that Zemeckis, who was in his mid-20s at the time, came up with to this difficult question is very funny.

“I want to hug you” preview

As the story unfolds, he shows the audience only the feet and backs of the Beatles in the form of body doubles, focusing on portraying their existence without destroying the dream. Then, at the climax, in the recording scene of "The Ed Sullivan Show" where the packed audience is so excited that many people faint, the members who are performing are not shown directly, their faces are hidden behind equipment etc. The method used is to project realistic program footage from the time on TV monitors and camera screens. In other words, although his shooting technique was extremely analog, Zemeckis was able to combine valuable archival footage and a fictional feature film on a single screen.

As a result, his debut feature film, ``I Want to Hold You'' did not attract many customers and was a flop at the box office. However, when you watch ``I Want to Hold You'' after watching ``Forrest Gump,'' you can see the evolution of Zemeckis' vision that he has held since his debut, and you are impressed by its consistency.

The techniques of making people who are not supposed to meet interact on the screen, and of merging images with different textures on the screen, must have been pulsing within him since this time, and he has been putting them into practice in his own way. He uses technology as a tool to tell stories. Even though more than 40 years have passed since ``I Want to Hold You'' and nearly 30 years have passed since ``Forrest Gump'', that orientation has not changed. It looks like he has a lot of projects waiting for him in the future, and I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of images he will create in the movie world in the future.

Text: USHIZU ATSUNOBU

Born in Nagasaki in 1977. When he was 3 years old, he saw ``Superman II'' with his father and became fascinated with movies. After The Graduate from Meiji University, he worked for a movie broadcasting channel and then became a movie writer. Currently, in addition to writing for Eiga.com, EYESCREAM, Real Sound Movie Club, etc., he also contributes to media press and theater programs.

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"Forest Gump Once in a Lifetime"

4K ULTRA HD + Blu-ray set: 5,990 yen + tax

Blu-ray <digital remastered version>: 1,886 yen + tax

DVD (1 disc): 1,429 yen + tax

Publisher: NBCUniversal Entertainment

(C) 1994, 2019 Paramount Pictures.

*Information as of January 2021.