OUT ON VIDEO
* Forrest Gump -- (PG-13, Paramount Home Video). Tom Hanks gives a well-sustained (and Oscar-winning) performance as a simple-minded, good-hearted Southerner whose life intersects with the events of the baby-boomer generation, from Elvis to AIDS. It's an emotional, bumpy ride but the humor is never far away. Gump's true love, Jenny (Robin Wright), experiences the darker side of American social history, from a troubled childhood to frustrated dreams, domestic violence, and drugs. Hanks's portrayal sweetens and brightens the film. Oscars for best picture, director, adapted screenplay, editing, and visual effects. (July 7, 1994)
Owen Thomas
* QUIZ SHOW -- (PG-13, Buena Vista). Robert Redford's treatment of the 1950s TV quiz-show scandal deserves all its raves -- well, almost. Ethical questions swirl around Columbia University professor Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes) when, as a contestant on a high-stakes game show, he accepts advance coaching on the answers. Ditching his scruples for fame and fortune, Van Doren doesn't dupe his fans for long. As a Washington lawyer out to ''put TV on trial,'' Rob Morrow (formerly of TV's ''Northern Exposure'') sidelines Van Doren's success. The acting is first-rate, and the characters colorful but they never get the full development they shout for. (Sept. 14, 1994)
Jennifer G. Wolcott
* Hoop Dreams -- (PG-13, New Line). The real-life story of Arthur Agee and William Gates -- two black teenagers from inner-city Chicago. Both dream of becoming professional basketball players -- and getting out of the slums and into NBA stardom. The film documents all four years of their high school careers, and at nearly three hours, the viewer gets a complete picture of the struggles their families must endure. It also illustrates the pressures of making the cut in a high-profile sport. ''Hoop Dreams'' pulls you in and makes you wonder why it didn't receive a best-documentary Oscar nomination.
Lisa Leigh Parney
