The Truman Show (1998)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Peter Weir

Writer (WGA):

Andrew Niccol (written by)

Release Date:

5 June 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

All the world's a stage...

Plot:

An insurance salesman/adjuster discovers his entire life is actually a TV show.

Plot Keywords:

Island | Hidden Camera | Infiltration | Revolving Door | Escape

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 29 wins & 34 nominations

Cast

Jim Carrey	...	Truman Burbank
Laura Linney	...	Meryl Burbank / Hannah Gill
Noah Emmerich	...	Marlon
Natascha McElhone	...	Lauren / Sylvia
Holland Taylor	...	Truman's Mother
Brian Delate	...	Truman's Father
Blair Slater	...	Young Truman
Peter Krause	...	Lawrence
Heidi Schanz	...	Vivien
Ron Taylor	...	Ron
Don Taylor	...	Don
Ted Raymond	...	Spencer
Judy Clayton	...	Travel Agent
Fritz Dominique	...	Truman's Neighbor
Angel Schmiedt	...	Truman's Neighbor

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic elements and mild language.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:Livre (DVD rating) | Philippines:PG-13 | South Korea:12 | USA:PG (certificate #34959) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Belgium:KT | Brazil:12 | Chile:TE | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-12/9 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Hong Kong:I | Iceland:L | Ireland:PG | Mexico:A | Netherlands:12 | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Florida, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The film is shot with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. This is close to the 1.78:1 ratio of HDTV, but way below normal 2.25:1 for standard modern movies. So the aspect ratio is more cinematic than HDTV, but only just. This makes the movie look more like TV than film.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The 'set' is supposed to be right behind the Hollywood sign/hills, but in the satellite view, the set is in the southeast LA region, 20 miles from the Hollywood sign.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Christof: We've become bored with watching actors give us phony emotions. We are tired of pyrotechnics and special effects. While the world he inhabits is, in some respects, counterfeit, there's nothing fake about Truman himself. No scripts, no cue cards. It isn't always Shakespeare, but it's genuine. It's a life.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions Round 1, Game 37 (#21.149)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major (K. 331) (300): Third Movement: 'Alla Turca'

Ambitious and Entertaining Treatise on the Reality Media Creates for Us

It's not often a Hollywood film arrives with such lofty ambitions as this. On one hand this is a high concept comedy in the vein of "Groundhog Day" about an unwitting man whose entire life has been a TV show. This is also a Jim Carrey vehicle designed to display his charms. On the other hand this a very satirical look at the way the media manipulates our reality. The film also wants to take a philosophical look at free will vs. a higher power and reality vs. fantasy. It doesn't always work as the satire often keeps you from thinking too deeply about the underlying themes and the philosophical stuff keeps the satire from biting as well as it could. Credit engaging performances and solid and thoughtful direction from Weir for keeping things afloat and entertaining. There are some great cinematic moments here. I loved the "stolen kiss on the beach at night" and "Cue the sun!"

In the end this film is closer in spirit to psychological dramas and sci-fi movies where a person suddenly realizes they are the pawn in some grand experiment or a prisoner in an alien world than it is to anything in our current "reality TV" obsessed culture. Eventually it touches on a very basic conflict all humans must face (most people do so in childhood, some I fear never do). The universe does not revolve around us. In the closing moments we are excited for Truman because he finally realizes there is a whole new world out there to explore, but also slightly saddened because we know all to well that he will never be able to return to that idyllic "childhood" existence. How's it going to end? Who knows...but things will never be the same.