The Truman Show [DVD] [1998]

The "Truman Show" directed by Peter Weir and written by Andrew Niccol is a film about the life of a man called Truman Burbank. Unbeknown to himself he was adopted by a film company, when he was a baby and since then he has been the star of his own reality TV show which is broadcasted all over the world. The only purpose of his life is to entertain television viewers worldwide. All the people around him are actors, even his so-called parents, his wife and his best friend Marlon, who are acting from a script written by the creator and producer Christof (played by Ed Harris). He lives in Seahaven, a specially constructed film studio which is like a world within the world. Seahaven is situated on an island, which Truman has never left, because he is afraid of water. His life is very ordinary - he is married to a woman called Meryl, he has got a nice small house and an office job - but nevertheless millions of people all over the world watch him every day. Christof is able to manipulate Truman's behaviour as he can easily change the weather, decide which person should talk to Truman and what about - he can decide everything in Truman's life. However, after two decades Truman starts to be suspicious as technical breakdowns become more frequent (a spotlight falls down from the sky when he's on his way to work and his car radio starts to transmit the producer's instructions). In addition to this, Truman has seen his father again, who is supposed to be dead and he starts to think about events in the past, in particular about the time when he met Sylvia - his real love. Through various flashback scenes, we gain an insight into Truman's past, and events which shape his personality and ambitions. The rest of the film consists of his gradual realisation that all is not as it seems. All this leads to a fascinating turning-point and ends through a combination of desperation and joy.

This film certainly has many aspects that one has to think about; on the one hand it shows the enormous power of today's media (just think of all the reality-shows on TV) and on the other hand it shows that a person has to accept the reality he or she lives in. It provokes thoughts in the viewer, about whether our world may not be real, and that there could be an external force controlling all our actions and watching what we do on a reality TV show.

"The Truman Show" is a great film about a man brought up in an artificial world created specifically for a TV audience. Everyone around him is an extra or a character on the set, including his wife and his best friend. The story has echoes of the tale of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, created by a vengeful God. Ok, it might be stretching a metaphor too far, but Truman is initially given the truth about his state by a disgruntled female extra whom he subsequently falls in love with. The process of disillusionment is gradual. The final denoument is brilliant, with Truman asking a disembodied voice the penultimate and ultimate questions of life," Who are you?" "I am the Creator...of a TV show" answers Christof (Ed Harris at his best); "Then, who am I?" "You are the Star". Given the choice between the uncertainty of the outside and the security of his controlled environment, Truman chooses life as a human being. The film also manages to encapsulate the dilemma faced by parents and their growing children, particularly in strongly hierarchical families. This one should have won Oscars.

*** THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE "BLU RAY" VERSION OF THE FILM***

Watching Peter Weir's 1998 film in 2009 is a weird and wonderful trip - if not a slightly disconcerting one at times.

First - it's as masterful and brilliant as you remember it - a very clever unfolding story about a man whose life is permanent Candid Camera for the entire planet - living in an artificially created world with literally everyone around him being an actor. Then there's the stunning and believable performances of a perfectly picked cast (Carey, Linney and Harris all shine). And second - with the appalling Big Brother polluting our airwaves night after night - "The Truman Show" is not just relevant eleven years later - it seems to have actually predicted our television future...

But back to the BLU RAY - the first thing you notice is the picture, which is a mixture of beautiful clarity one moment running alongside very steady DVD quality the next. Clarity highlights would include - - Noah Emmerich's sea of freckles as he's interviewed in the opening credits - he plays Marlon who is supposedly Truman's best friend - always turning up with a "Brewsky" whenever there's a problem (they actually cake and paste Noah's face with make up to cover up his freckles in later shots). There are the pearls on Sylvia's wrist in the library when Truman and her finally talk, the "How Does It All End?" button on her cardigan - stunning clarity. There's Truman digging the garden in his horrible orange pants as his wife stops on her bicycle for a little product-placement (played superbly by Laura Linney)...
"Look Truman! Chef's Pal! It's a Grater, Dicer and Peeler all in one!"
"Wow!"

You also notice the actors who went on to be huge stars, Paul Giamatti as Christof's technical sidekick, Peter Krause from Six Feet Under and Dirty Sexy Money as one of the suits in Truman's office and of course the ethereal beauty of Natasha McElhone who has eyes clinically proven to be deeper than the Pacific Ocean.

Harry Shearer is in there too doing a fantastic turn as the appeasing interviewer Mike Michaelson. There's the crass reintroduction of Truman's dead father, which is being choreographed live by manipulative experts in the overhanging control room (quote above). But the trump card is the last minute cast appointment of Ed Harris as the show's all-powerful creator - the aptly named Christof. Harris is simply magnificent (nominated for an Oscar) all serene and quietly spoken one moment - but dictatorial the next when his little money-making baby and power trip start to get challenged by an unexpectedly spunky Truman - a man Christof's personally trained to be scared of certain things so he won't ever leave Seahaven...

The two extras are the same as the Special Edition DVD - so a little disappointing there. But that's minor compared to how good the whole film looks on BLU RAY and especially how amazingly well it still stands up - a modern day masterpiece. And the scenes where Truman stops the bus in defiance and where he battles the storm on his boat trying to break free brought tears to my eyes - fabulous stuff.

"You can't get any away further away before you start coming back..." Truman says to Marlon about Fiji where his longed-for love Sylvia is.

It's slightly disconcerting to find a movie character spouting such wisdom, because in 2009, our entire world feels like one big screwed up reality show that can only end badly...

What a film! And a triumph on Blu Ray - recommended.