“Contact”, on the other hand, has effects that don't look like effects: in one scene, they added breath to a character (the location was supposed to be cold). In another, they took footage of president Clinton speaking in the Rose Garden, and made it look as though he were in the White House press room.

“Cast Away” took this even further, with things like establishing shots of the island that look perfectly normal, and are impressive only when you know that the filmmakers removed half a dozen islands and added surf; or, in one case, built the whole island from scratch.

Don't forget “Contact” and “Cast Away”, which had tons of effects that you couldn't see, like islands removed from the horizon and the like.

As for spectacular scenes, the scene when Forrest is speaking at the anti-war rally in Washington and spots Jenny is one the most spectacular scenes for me in recent cinema. If your heartstrings aren't tugged as they wade across the reflecting pool toward each other, you are stronger than I am.

However…

My problem with the film stems from the way in which student protests, the counterculture, and other New Leftish movements were vilified, while the simple social conservatism of Forrest’s southern upbringing stood for a moral good. What an amazingly simplistic take on a time that – like all history – is characterized more by shades grey than contrasting colors.