Like many films I watched theatrically during my late teenage years are starting to do, The Truman Show is celebrating its 25th anniversary and Paramount was ready and waiting with a 4K release that blows all previously released home versions of this movie out of the water. If you’ve never seen it then you owe it to yourself to do so, as this was Carrey’s first foray into dramatic film territory after becoming one of the biggest, most sought-after stars in the world during the mid-90s with comedies such as Ace Ventura and Dumb & Dumber.
This was one of the first films to take the idea of reality TV and put it to the extreme. It may sound a bit crazy, but back in 1998 reality TV didn’t rule the airwaves, didn’t feel as scripted, and still had a sense of freshness. To age it even more, The Truman Show was released two years prior to the premiere of Survivor, so that’s how little reality TV was available to audiences. What The Truman Show almost did was predict just how addicting reality TV would become, as we watch audiences glued to their screens throughout the entire film watching this unwitting participant named Truman Burbank (Carrey) live his fictional, yet real life on their screens.
What I mean by that is that Truman was adopted by a corporation from a mother who didn’t want him, and they began broadcasting The Truman Show 24/7 from the moment he was born. The show’s creator, Christof (Ed Harris) built a dome so large that it is the only other structure (the other being the Great Wall of China) that can be seen from space. Within this dome is the seaside town of Seahaven Island, where Truman lives. Everyone else in Truman’s life are actors who are there and fully committed to making sure everything always seems real to Truman at any given moment.
Now, can you go through the movie and pick apart certain things? Sure, I’m sure you can nitpick that pulling something like this off would be all but impossible and there’s no way that these actors would dedicate their entire lives to these roles, especially the main cast who is directly involved with Truman, such as his best friend Marlon (Noah Emmerich) and his wife Meryl (Laura Linney). I mean, Meryl and Truman are in the trying for a baby part of their relationship when the film begins, so that’s some major commitment by the actress playing Meryl.
I mean, the idea is this show will follow Truman until his final day, so in theory Maryl would be with him that long. Of course, she could be written out of the show just as quickly as she was written in, but now there’s potentially a child involved, and that just leaves you wondering why this actress would agree to play a role that basically sees her living a fake second life for this TV show while never getting to live her own. Marlon seems to be always on call, as we see him used countless times in this fashion to keep Truman from finding out the truth, so he’s someone else living this double life. You also have to wonder how even as actors they don’t develop feelings for Truman, as Marlon has apparently known him since they were both seven, and they’re 30 now.
As hard as it is not to really have answers to what it is these actors get out of these roles, it’s kind of expected that the audience will move past that and just enjoy the journey of self-discovery that Truman takes despite all their best efforts – and it truly is a magnificent and fun journey to be on with him. The film is 103-minutes in length, so Truman quickly notices things are off as soon as we catch up with him. It’s a smart move to not spend too much time lingering on the day to day that Truman has been living for all these years, as we do get enough of an idea of how it’s been while he starts to realize things aren’t as they seem.
It’s a well-paced film, and director Peter Weir and screenwriter Andrew Niccol really capture the feeling of how something like this likely would’ve been at that point in time. We see a diner full of people watching Truman, two security guards, a man in a bathtub, two elderly ladies, and all these people never leave these spots even though the film takes place over the course of days. The idea that this show is so compelling that you’re glued to it at all times is really sold and turns out to be quite true to life in hindsight.
While all of Truman’s life is scripted, what’s so great about this film is that it shows that you can’t write or predict what the heart desires. This is first shown flashbacks on the show, showcasing his first love Sylvia (Natascha McElhone). This wasn’t in the show’s script, as Sylvia was what looked to be an extra, and the plan was for him to fall for Meryl, but the heart wants what the heart wants. With everything being scripted around him, their relationship (if it can even be called that) is cut incredibly short, with Sylvia being written off the show with her dad saying they’re moving to Fiji. Thus begins Truman’s obsession with wanting to travel, more specifically, to Fiji so he can find Sylvia.
Also throwing a wrench into plans, from a young age Truman said he wanted to be an explorer, and Christoff made sure to put obstacles in Truman’s way at various ages to stop this from happening. It’s a fantastic touch, and it does keep Truman in check for a time. Watching Carrey sell Truman’s fear of water before we know why he’s afraid of it is masterfully done and shows the power that Christoff has had over the direction of his life in order to keep Truman in Seahaven.
There are plenty of fantastic moments that show the extremes that the show will go to keep Truman in line, but again, this story is about dreams, desires and being unable to contain or direct the human spirit. There’s a great line Truman says in the third act that I’d love to talk about here, and I know the spoiler statute of limitations has long passed, but I feel like there are new generations who may be reading this to see if it’s a film they should check out, and it’s best to just say you’ll know the line when you hear it, and it’s a beautiful line, expertly delivered by Carrey and it truly drives the point of the film home.
Speaking of Carrey, enough praise can’t be put on him for his work here, and it’s the first of a number of dramatic films where he should have been nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award, but never was. He did win a Best Actor Golden Globe for his work here, but the Oscar snub while Harris, Weir and Niccol were all nominated was pretty big. But accolades aside, Carrey is brilliant here, showcasing Truman’s innocence on a level needed to get audiences on board, and making his slow discovery of the world around him not only believable, but both heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time.
So for those of you who are huge fans of The Truman Show, there’s no better way to celebrate its 25th year than to pick up this fully-remastered 4K release, as it does put every other copy in your collection to shame. For those of you who haven’t seen it, then do yourselves a favour and check it out. The Truman Show delivers a timeless message in a wonderful, heart-warming and overall feel-good movie in a day and age where you can’t have too many of those.
Overall Movie Score: 4.5/5
4K Blu-ray Video and Audio Review
As is often the case with Paramount remasterings, The Truman Show’s 4K release is hugely improved over its predecessors visually. The 2160p/Dolby Vision captures the beautifully shot movie in all its filmic glory, keeping its “of the time” feel, while elevating it to levels that put it on par with what audiences expect from these upgrades today. There’s a huge amount of detail and colour brought to life here, as well as a great use of shots, different camera angles from various cameras found throughout Seahaven, and all look incredible. Each showcasing details in ways that just wasn’t possible on DVD, or even on Blu-ray in some instances.
On the audio side we’ve got Dolby Atmos rocking the house when Burkhard Dallwitz’s score blasts onto the scene. It’s subtle at times, and fantastically overpowering in others, giving the sense of power that Truman has in this world created for him. The dialogue is clean and clear, pushing out nicely from center stage, with everything else coming from the sides nicely. As a whole it’s a powerful audio mix for a movie that may not demand it, but it’s a welcome mix nonetheless.
Special Features
There are unfortunately no new special features for the anniversary release, so the gift of a beautifully remastered film will just have to do. The Blu-ray disc does have the legacy features from the 2008 Blu-ray for those who want to check them out, even though they also weren’t as strong as fans would’ve liked.
Blu-ray Legacy special features:
How’s It Going to End? The Making of The Truman Show
Faux Finishing, The Visual Effects of The Truman Show
Deleted Scenes
Photo Gallery
Theatrical Trailers
TV Spots
Paramount Pictures Presents The Truman Show. Directed by: Peter Weir. Written by: Andrew Niccol. Starring: Jim Carrey, Laura Linney, Ed Harris, Noah Emmerich, Natascha McElhone, Holland Taylor. Running time: 103 Minutes. Rating: PG. Released on 4K Blu-ray: July 4, 2023.
