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Forrest Gump (1994) --> Based on the novel by Winston Groom and directed by Robert Zemeckis, Forrest Gump is one of the greatest comedy/dramas in American film history both for its humour and its touching story-line. In essence it's a love story between Forrest, a Alabama gardener who is not smartest of men, and Jenny Curran, Gump's love interest from childhood who makes her way through life the hard way. While Forrest is fighting in Vietnam, winning the congressional medal of honour, running across America, becoming a billionaire through investments made from his shrimp business, Jenny is doing drugs, joining the anti-war movement, and eventually fighting for her life against cancer. Forrest and Jenny meet up through their adventures and finally marry when Jenny is dying. The film won 6 Oscars including Best Actor (Tom Hanks), Best Director (Zemeckis) and Best Film and should be added to any DVD library.


Full Spectrum Staff

Grizzly Man (2005) --> Werner Herzog's film surrounding the deaths of Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard in 2003 while living with the grizzlies in Alaska, Grizzly Man was one of the better documentaries of 2005. The film leaves you questioning what Treadwell was doing living with such dangerous animals. Was he protecting them, if so, from what? You do not see any large poaching excursions he was there to capture on film. From the background Herzog gave Treadwell it seems he was a troubled man sick of society and just wanted a simpler life, and if he could have a cause to go along with it, the better justification for his existence.

If you were a cynic you could argue Treadwell did it for glorification of his useless existence and to get money to live off of. But when you see the relationship (albeit on film where Treadwell could be acting) he has with the bears and the danger and hardships he endured, this pessimism rings false. At best you could call Treadwell's life misguided but how many of us take on such a challenge? Herzog leaves you to decide. In the end, it is a shame that his death (Treadwell's) caused the death of one of the bears we was so fond of.


Full Spectrum Staff

Inside Deep Throat (2005) --> Deep Throat cost $27,000 and has grossed over $600 million in the 30-plus years of its existence. How did it become so successful? What were the times like when it was first released in New York back in the early '70s? What are the people involved doing now and what are their thoughts on the film when they look back? Inside Deep Throat tries to answer all these questions. With interviews from the director Gerard Damiano, the male lead Harry Reems, footage the female lead Linda Lovelace, and other interested parties (Norman Mailer, John Waters, Dick Cavett, Gloria Steinem, Susan Brownmiller, Dr. Ruth and others) we see how Deep Throat was an important historical event in American culture.


Full Spectrum Staff

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (2005) --> Burton is one of the U.S.'s most recognizable directors both in style and content. Corpse Bride add to this legacy. This animated feature tells the story of a man caught between two worlds and the women who occupy them. Victor (voice of Johnny Depp), after continually forgetting his vows at his wedding rehearsal (he is to be married to a woman he barely knows) runs out into the forest to chastise himself. When he remembers the lines and repeats them out loud he unknowingly summons a dead woman who was many years earlier murdered on her wedding day. Pandemonium ensues and we are treated to Burton's quirky and dark vision of the underworld and its inhabitants. The stop animation is spectacular lending to memories of Burton's work on A Nightmare before Christmas (1993). It's also funny to note that Burton decided to make the dead and their world colourful and the real world above clouded in darkness and misery.


Full Spectrum Staff

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