Tom Hanks in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, is on DVD and Blu-ray from 11th June.
The film tells the story of Oskar Schell, a remarkable boy who embarks on an expedition across New York to find the lock which will fit a key he discovered amongst his father’s belongings.
Starring Tom Hanks, one of the best-loved actors of all time, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close was amongst the films nominated for Best Picture at the 2012 Oscars®. To celebrate its DVD release, we look at Tom Hanks’ most loved and most successful films to date.
- Big - 1988
When a boy wishes to be ‘big’ one night he wakes up in an adult’s body, runs off to New York and gets a job in a toy company.
Big is an appropriate title as this was Tom Hanks’ big break; he portrays the vulnerable, yet curious and excitable qualities of a child out of his depth flawlessly and was nominated for an Oscar® for this family flick.
- Sleepless in Seattle - 1993
In this sweet rom-com Tom Hanks plays a widower who is tricked by his son into divulging his feelings on the radio, consequently tugging at the heartstrings of women across America including Meg Ryan’s Annie who feels destined to meet him.
The references throughout to ‘An Affair To Remember’ are fitting as Hanks’ everyman appeal turned him into a desirable leading man in the same bracket as Cary Grant.
- Philadelphia - 1993
The harrowing Philadelphia storyline generated unprecedented levels of awareness for the fight against AIDS. Tom Hanks plays a prestigious lawyer, fired after contracting AIDS, who then hires his homophobic adversary to help him fight for justice.
Philadelphia was the first mainstream film with a gay rights theme and Hanks was befittingly rewarded with a Best Actor Oscar® for his performance.
- Forrest Gump - 1994
Possibly the most quoted movie ever, Forrest Gump is often considered one of the best films of all time.
Tom Hanks’ portrayal of the lovable simpleton earned him his second Oscar in two years; the movie charts Forrest Gump’s life impressively set against the backdrop of modern American history.
Forrest Gump is a visually stunning, moving and often amusing story of a man’s journey.
- Toy Story - 1995
In the most successful and innovative animated franchise in movie history, Tom Hanks’ vocal work as the cowboy hero Woody is genius.
Hanks plays the jealous, exasperated leader of the toy gang so convincingly that it is easy to forget that it is not the work of a trained voice actor, but an A-lister.
- Apollo 13 - 1995
Tom Hanks plays astronaut Jim Lovell in this remarkable true story of a disastrous NASA mission.
Hanks and the cast perform at the top of their game and convincingly operate as a real team in the dangerous quest to return the doomed shuttle and its inhabitants to earth.
- Saving Private Ryan - 1998
Bookended by the most shocking, searing battle sequences ever recreated, Saving Private Ryan is as powerful, devastating, memorable and moving as movies get.
Tom Hanks plays Captain Miller who is put in charge of locating and sending home a Private whose three brothers have been killed in combat. The film balances the inhumanity of war and the humanity of its protagonists perfectly.
- The Green Mile -1999
Tom Hanks plays a Death Row guard who is unsettled when an inmate shows unimaginable healing powers, resulting in a moral dilemma which parts the loyalties of everyone at the penitentiary.
Told in flashbacks, Hanks tries to uncover the mystery surrounding the remarkable inmate’s conviction before he walks ‘The Green Mile.’
- Cast Away - 2000
Despite being one long ad for FedEx, Cast Away proved that Tom Hanks can command the screen even when there is no one else on it... except Wilson!
In this stunning true survivor story, Hanks’ powerful depiction of a man marooned is absorbing and earned him his fifth Oscar® nomination.
- Catch Me If You Can - 2002
Tom Hanks plays the cat to Leonardo DiCaprio’s mouse in the exhilarating tale of conman extraordinaire Frank Abagnale Jr.
In this stylish Steven Spielberg vehicle Hanks cunningly tracks DiCaprio across the globe, often getting outwitted by the young genius, before developing a distinct relationship with the master-forger that remains in the real life counterparts today.
- The Da Vinci Code - 2006
Becoming Robert Langdon in the Dan Brown phenomenon was a daunting prospect, but Tom Hanks succeeded in giving an engaging performance as the well-loved professor asked to solve a mystery spanning centuries.
Hanks showed that he could still be a convincing action hero as he races across Paris, giving him a range that few actors achieve.
See Tom Hanks in his latest role, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, on DVD and Blu-Ray now