The Truman Show (1998)

An insurance salesman discovers his whole life is actually a reality TV show.

Director:

Peter Weir

Writer:

Andrew Niccol

Stars:

Jim Carrey, Ed Harris, Laura Linney

Top Rated Movies #185 | Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 38 wins & 65 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

In this movie, Truman is a man whose life is a fake one... The place he lives is in fact a big studio with hidden cameras everywhere, and all his friends and people around him, are actors who play their roles in the most popular TV-series in the world: The Truman Show. Truman thinks that he is an ordinary man with an ordinary life and has no idea about how he is exploited. Until one day... he finds out everything. Will he react?

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Plot Keywords:

hidden camera | simulated reality | fictional reality show | controlled environment | creator creation relationship | 

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Taglines:

The World is Watching

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements and mild language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 June 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Truman Show

Filming Locations:

31 Natchez Street Seaside, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$31,542,121, 7 June 1998, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$125,618,201

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$264,118,201

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the buildings Truman encounters bears the name "Omnicom." Common beliefs about God center around the qualities of being omniscient, all-knowing, omnipotent, all-powerful, omnipresent, present everywhere and omni-benevolent, perfect goodness. This alludes to Christof's role as the silent higher power embodying these qualities (except omni-benevolence) in playing God.

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Goofs

Truman's aquaphobia vanishes completely when he escapes from Seahaven on the sailboat. This is logical and rational, since his dead father (the source of his aquaphobia) is revealed to be alive and Truman has realized that the entire event was faked to begin with.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

In the end credits, the cast is divided between Truman's World, Christof's World and The Viewers

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Alternate Versions

A lot more pseudo-documentary footage on the making of the fictional Truman Show was shot but not used in the theatrical version. Only some short segments have been included in the released film, in the pre-credits sequence. Segments of this outtake footage, featuring Meryl Burbank and Marlon being interviewed and talking about their roles on the show and their personal lives, have been included in some airline versions, presumably to pad the running times.

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Connections

Referenced in Flat Earth & Other Hot Potatoes: Episode #1.3 (2015)

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Soundtracks

Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major (K. 331) (300), Third Movement: Alla Turca
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Wilhelm Kempff, piano
Courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft mbH., Hamburg
by arrangement with PolyGram Film and TV Music

User Reviews

Brilliant. One of the most interesting films of the last 10 years

"The Truman Show" is a rarity in Hollywood - or movies in general - a film that actually makes the audience think, and is about ideas. How do we know what we see is real? Why do we accept what is around us without questioning it? What would happen if we found out that a fundamental we were making about the world turned out to be completely wrong? You'd think a movie that was about those things would be a chore to get through, but in fact "The Truman Show" is great fun. I certainly wouldn't call it a comedy (although there are a few light moments here and there), but it's not too heavy and goes down easy.

It might sound like exaggeration, but the scene where Truman first starts to realize what's going on is one of the best scenes I've seen in any movie, because of Carrey's acting, the direction, and also because of the Philip Glass soundtrack (which was critical to making that scene work).

If you haven't seen The Truman Show, do yourself a favor and check it out.