An insurance salesman discovers his whole life is actually a reality TV show.An insurance salesman discovers his whole life is actually a reality TV show.An insurance salesman discovers his whole life is actually a reality TV show.
- Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 40 wins & 69 nominations total
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- Writer
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Storyline
Since birth, a big fat lie defines the well-organised but humdrum life of the kind-hearted insurance salesman and ambitious explorer, Truman Burbank. Utterly unaware of the thousands of cleverly hidden cameras watching his every move, for nearly three decades, Truman's entire existence pivots around the will and the wild imagination of the ruthlessly manipulative television producer, Christof--the all-powerful TV-God of an extreme 24/7 reality show: The Truman Show. As a result, Truman's picturesque neighbourhood with the manicured lawns and the uncannily perfect residents is nothing but an elaborate state-of-the-art set, and the only truth he knows is what the worldwide television network and its deep financial interests dictate. Do lab rats know they are forever imprisoned? —Nick Riganas
- Taglines
- All the world's a stage...
- Genres
- Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
- Rated PG for thematic elements and mild language
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaEd Harris and Jim Carrey never met during filming.
- GoofsIt is an enduring myth that the Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from space. The wall is narrower than the average highway and is visible only in low orbit from where all manner of other man-made objects can also be seen.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits are for the "real" Truman Show, with lines like "starring Truman Burbank as himself" and "created and directed by Christof".
- Alternate versionsA 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.
- ConnectionsEdited into Spisok korabley (2008)
- SoundtracksPiano 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
Top review
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.
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.
helpful•11835
- WriterDave
- Mar 20, 2003
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Buổi Diễn Của Truman
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $60,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $125,618,201
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $31,542,121
- Jun 7, 1998
- Gross worldwide
- $264,118,201
- Runtime1 hour 43 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1
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