r/movies • u/That_Suspect8866 • 1d ago
Review I finally watched The Truman Show
This movie came out a while ago and it kept popping up in my feed because I listen to mitski and one of her song is greatly used in many edits of the movie. I was interested as soon as I saw that short video and after watching the film, I am in awe. This is what I would consider an
I honestly cried and I wish to forget it so I could watch it all over again. A true masterpiece. It will my favorite movie for a while. So, I felt better after watching it.
and in case I don't see ya Good afternoon Good Evening and Good Night.
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u/Gonefullhooah 1d ago
At the end when Truman first opens the door, Christof whispers Truman through the audio and Truman jolts. There's this cool shot where you see the sun peeking through the clouds which seems to be the source of his voice. He says "I am the Creator" slight pause "of a television show". I get the vibe Christof had considered for a moment to just claim to be God, before he went on and told him whats happening. I almost wanted him to do it, to see how Truman would react. Ed Harris rocked it with his dialogue in that scene. The amount of love he put into "You're the star". Great movie that culminates in a perfect ending. The total joy of the audience cheering "he made it!" and then immediately moving on to see what else is playing. Perfect.
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u/Mst3Kgf 21h ago
I've also heard complaints from people unhappy that we don't see Truman and Sylvia reunite, but that's exactly the point. Truman's had pretty much every moment of his life on camera. Being reunited with the one he loves, that's for him and Sylvia alone. The in-universe audience can't see it, so neither can we.
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u/toungespasm 19h ago
My favorite scene is the film is when Truman sets sail to find Sylvia and unfolds the magazine cutouts he created of her face constructed solely from memory. Cut to her actual face watching it unfold, the recognition of what it means and how much he still cares for her, and then her expression of joy.
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u/OneTreePhil 21h ago
In my mind there's a parallel movie, where the whole town is 0CE Roman in every way, everyone speaks latin, most are trained archeologists/anthropologists and a few just live there, to understand Roman Culture. They can't leave town because of plague or something. And one of them starts to figure it out. There's a higher power that brings light and darkness, they can only really survive by banding together and loving each other, this guy's not really sick watch me make him walk, etc and "Christof" accidentally becomes god and "Truman" accidentally founds a rebellious group of free thinkers... I really wish I knew how to write scripts
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u/it777777 1d ago
Whenever I drive somewhere and suddenly 2 cars come out of 2 small streets I think about this movie.
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u/ComprehensiveEast376 1d ago
Same ! When they seem to appear out of nowhere, perfectly timed to block you and only you 😂
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u/DominusGenX 1d ago edited 1d ago
Peter Weir doesn't have an extensive filmography but some truly masterpiece films along with The Truman Show... Fearless, Master and Commander, Dead Poets Society, Witness , picnic at hanging rock... His films have impacted me for decades
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u/6BagsOfPopcorn 20h ago
Master and Commander
Do you want to call that raggedy-ass Napoleon your king?!
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u/bigmacmn 1d ago
panic at hanging rock
Hmmmm
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u/rabbitbtm 1d ago
I love that movie . Not much panic though.
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u/KasparComeHome 16h ago
The Last Wave is incredible, too, from around the same era and with a similar atmosphere to Picnic at Hanging Rock
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u/gmoshiro 8h ago
I had to google because I though you were talking about Jet Li's Fearless. Great kung-fu flick by the way, arguably Li's best.
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u/DominusGenX 7h ago
Yeah, people make that mistake. His Fearless was something special, didn't hit at the box office. Its a special film if you ever have the opportunity
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u/bentmonkey 1d ago
Great on repeat watches as well, all the details are so robust and some are subtle, truly a triumph.
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u/FardoBaggins 22h ago
I noticed on a rewatch when truman is talking to his best friend who was refilling a vending machine.
truman is trying to explain his paranoia and while he looks away for a second, his best friend removes the items from the vending machine so he could restock them again to keep the same blocking for the camera inside.
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u/bentmonkey 22h ago
This and so many more things to spot, one of the most rewatchable films, this one and hot fuzz.
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u/That_Suspect8866 18h ago
I noticed that too and reminded like 10 sec to watch that part again. I'll look for more details if and when I rewatch it.
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u/codykonior 1d ago
Rewatched it this week. It’s funny at the time it was considered somewhat of a comedy. It’s actually more dystopian for so many reasons. Very hunger games.
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u/Mst3Kgf 22h ago
There's a deleted scene that makes it even worse. It has Christof meeting with key cast members (including the departing Meryl and Noah Emmerich's Marlon) to talk about Truman's planned new love interest and how they will conceive and then the show will have a spinoff following Truman's baby. Whereupon Marlon (who is revealed to be the one cast member who is genuinely guilt-ridden over the whole thing, so much so that according to Emmerich he's been in rehab multiple times due to his drinking to cope with it) goes, "So, when Truman dies, we go back to one show, right?" and walks out in disgust.
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u/Pjoernrachzarck 22h ago edited 18h ago
It’s not “somewhat of a comedy”. It’s a comedy. Comedies can be sad and dystopian and dark and uncomfortable in very real ways. The reception of the Truman Show was not different then than it is now.
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u/johnpmayer 19h ago
It's funny in parts, but this is nooooo comedy. This is a horrible mirror on our modern society showing the dystopia we are blithely living in. Truman was a corporate slave and all the actors were complicit in his manipulation - as were all the viewers in some part. This is Running Man and Gladiator with the "nice" turned up to 10 and "who's being hurt?" being used as an excuse. The world is a lie in the Truman Show, now, how much of OUR world is lie?
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u/Pjoernrachzarck 18h ago edited 18h ago
All of this can be true and the movie can still be a comedy.
Brazil, The Lobster, Dr Strangelove, Barton Fink, Rubber… all dark and uncomfortable, still comedies.
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u/That_Suspect8866 1d ago
I know it made me laugh but its just hard times personally so it made me tear up like a breath of fresh air.
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u/Jerkrollatex 21h ago
It was never considered to be a comedy. The casting confused people if I remember correctly this was the first dramatic role Jim Carrey had.
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u/FardoBaggins 22h ago
I was 13 when at the time it came out. Shit was so different then, I'm not sure if you remember pre-smartphone days but for myself and other millenials, it was literally a rapid transition period of tech
I was just getting used to blogs and early social media websites, and then bam! you have internet everywhere and in your pocket! I'm still getting a bit of whiplash from it even to this day.
It's hard to overstate the enduring impact of these films that came out during the transition period (seriously, look up all the films that came out that year and a few years after, a lot of them still hold up, fight club, gattaca, american beauty etc).
I'm glad you came across this movie through some edits. What are some other films you've seen that have left a similar impression that aren't as vintage?
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u/OneTreePhil 21h ago
Pleasantville was really good as well, a different take ooh getting tattooed in a TV show. I highly recommend.
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u/Soup_KittenFurious 20h ago
I remember getting a button in the airport that said Free Truman on it before the movie came out. Great movie I still think about
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u/That_Suspect8866 18h ago
I don't, I was born in 2007 so I'm a gen z. When I was old enough to use internet it was everywhere. I was very busy with exams but my exams are over so I have some free time. There are many edits I have liked and saved and plan to watch later. I currently wanna watch the classics movies and that are worldwide recognized like The Godfather, the American psycho, The Wolf of Wall Street, etc. I wanna watch all the classics and thanks for your suggestion I'll give them a go and maybe post another review. Its so fun watching other people comment and hearing their opinion so now I'll post a review for every movie I watch.
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u/DFParker78 16h ago
:: turns to camera ::
Why don’t you let me fix you some of this Mococoa drink? All natural cocoa beans from the upper slopes of Mount Nicaragua. No artificial sweeteners. I’ve tasted other cocoas. This is the best.
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u/Affectionate-Boot-12 14h ago
What the hell are you talking about? Who are you talking to?
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u/DFParker78 14h ago
I’ve tasted other cocoas, this is the best!
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u/Affectionate-Boot-12 3h ago
What the hell has that got to do with anything? Tell me what’s happening!
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u/downvote4pedro 1d ago
The Truman show seems to age like fine wine. No CGI, no BS. Just a great concept and great execution. I showed both of my children this movie and they adored it. I love a movie that will make you think about it randomly when you have real life experiences. 11/10 would recommend.
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u/fuxoft 1d ago
There is lots of CGI in Truman Show, it's just good CGI so you don't see it. For example, for houses in the town, only the bottom floor was built, upper floors are CGI.
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u/redmostofit 1d ago
Next you’ll be telling me the giant dome over the town was fake.
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u/melithium 1d ago
And Ed Harris was just a robot host!
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u/OneTreePhil 21h ago
I thought he was the same character that talked the "astronauts" through the Apollo 13 hoax?
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u/downvote4pedro 1d ago
I'll choose to believe you but honestly I couldn't notice at all. So clearly they did a fantastic job.
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u/SovereignAxe 1d ago
The best CGI is the stuff you don't notice.
One of the most mind blowing to me is that The Wolf of Wall Street is heavily enhanced with CGI
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u/ImprobableAvocado 21h ago
Isn't Zodiac absolutely saturated with CGI?
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u/SovereignAxe 10h ago
I have no idea. I haven't seen that movie in probably 15+ years, and I never learned anything about the making of it.
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u/drmonkey555 22h ago
The movie has a lot of invisible CGI, stuff that isn't really obvious, like set extensions and matte paintings. The most obvious shot is the wide shot of the dome.
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1d ago
I still remember when I heard about the movie for the first time I expected a typical Jim Carrey style out and out comedy piece . But man I was in for a surprise . It made me think nd at the same time kept me entertained and engaged . Also made me accept Jim Carrey as an actor which I still believe to this day was criminally underused
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u/KBladeK2049 22h ago
Carrey deserved an Oscar for his performance. He wasn't even nominated. Scandalous.
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u/teknokryptik 1d ago
"...came out years before I was born..."
Impossible! That would make you, what, 5 years old? The Truman Show was only released recently. Why, I remember it was just the o t h e r y e a r . . . .
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u/That_Suspect8866 1d ago
dude it was released in 1998 not recently, 27 years ago !
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u/rubbercat 22h ago
Wow, OP, you took a pretty nasty bump on the head there. "TikTok," iPhones, reality TV show president? Stop goofing around, it's 2003 and we're all going to see Return of the King.
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u/That_Suspect8866 18h ago
? I genuinely don't understand what you are trying to say and no I'm not arguing just curious
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u/Falonefal 6h ago
Basically there is a meme that millenials like to use which is based on the idea that there is no way that it's already 'currentyear', instead they live in a fantasy world where it's still 'whatever year they picked'
So in the response to your comment, the commenter dreams of still only being in 2003-2010 or whatever, and based on that they're like 'no way you weren't even born yet when it came out, that would make you like X years old!' Before they slowly start to realize that it's actually 2025 (hence the spaced apart final part of the comment)
Then the other commenter used another variation of the meme, where people pretend like you got knocked out there for a moment and saw a wild dream of 'currentyear', and confused about the things you would've told you saw in your 'dream' instead suggest to go do something that you would normally do in the year they pretend to be in.
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u/gct 19h ago
no, no, no, it was like 5 years ago rocks back and forth
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u/EntangledStrings 1d ago
If that hit you hard, try Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I saw it first when I was around 10 or 11 years old and it showed me a side of film I never knew was possible. Jim Carrey’s most emotional work, in my opinion.
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u/homecinemad 1d ago
The music is heartbreaking and thrilling
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u/OneTreePhil 21h ago
Phillip Glass was a perfect choice for this. One of the best soundtracks out there
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u/Rook_James_Bitch 9h ago
I always think of them being in the kitchen and she busts out into a cocao commercial and he looks around and asks, "Who the hell are ya talkin' to!??"
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u/slykido999 1d ago
Good morning, good afternoon, and good night!
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u/VolarRecords 1d ago
So cool, love Mitski and The Truman Show, would you mind linking some of the edits?
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u/That_Suspect8866 1d ago
sure
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ovu5JmTrYVohttps://www.youtube.com/shorts/wNGntPjPC34
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IgAewDtNupE
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/uLzEpFQbTuI
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3kXbWU8EVmM
They are very similar but still fun to watch regardless
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u/Objective_Try_4588 23h ago
I feel my life is like the Truman show in some ways. Dose anyone feel like that.
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u/FardoBaggins 22h ago
like, in what sense, paranoia?
there is a psychological condition that got its name from the movie where a person thinks they are part of a reality/hidden cam show.
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u/savingprivatedryan 22h ago
Another movie that I didnt know much about and made me feel better after watching was Bicentennial Man. Watched it one morning and had some pep in my step from it the whole rest of my day
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u/BadCheese31 22h ago
I liked Ed TV better.
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u/lynypixie 20h ago
It’s a remake of a French Canadian movie. The OG (Louis 19) was so much better than the American one!
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u/BadCheese31 18h ago
I’ll have to check it out.
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u/lynypixie 17h ago
It’s like 30 years old and done before reality TV was a thing. It was very very prophetic.
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u/JaxxisR 21h ago
I've never understood the urge to forget something so you can experience it for the first time again. What if you forget it and then you don't experience it again? If you're experiencing it for the first time, won't you miss out on little details and foreshadowing?
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u/OneTreePhil 21h ago
Well, if you forgot it and didn't experience it again, you wouldn't know, so...
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u/CustomerReal9835 19h ago
For some reason we watched this movie at my middle school. It TRAUMATIZED me. Like, therapy in high school traumatized. 15 years later and I still don’t think I can ever watch it again.
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u/CricketSuccessful192 19h ago
"...I wish to forget it so I could watch it all over again."
That's basically the plot of Jim Carey's film "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind".
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u/futurelaker88 18h ago
One of the last of an era where understanding and being skilled at the art of filmmaking was still strongly encouraged when making a film.
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u/DrQuestDFA 17h ago
Funny you should mention ruining wanting to forget it…. Have you seen “Eternal Sunshine of a spotless mind”? Hands down the best acting role in Carey’s career in my opinion.
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u/Squall9126 17h ago
It was billed as a comedy drama but it's really an existential horror movie. Can you imagine how much therapy a person would need after learning that their entire life has been a meticulously crafted reality tv show? To know that your parents gave you up because they didn't want you, to be adopted by a fucking tv studio and turned into entertainment, the horror of learning 1.5 billion people watch you every day without your knowledge. Thousands of people who you thought were your neighbours, coworkers, friends, and even your fucking wife turn out to be actors dedicated to keep you believing the lie, to keep you in prison. And when the veneer starts peeling, you start dismantling your blinders, they turn on you and your only option is to escape. But you've never lived in the real world before, you have no clue what's on the other side, can you even adjust to it, or is it just as fake?
The Truman Show is a masterpiece of existentialism.
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u/Oknight 17h ago edited 17h ago
And, of course, since we are seeing and feeling the same things and thinking the same thoughts, in those worlds that are the Truman Show and in those worlds that are not the Truman show, we are the same person in both worlds...
Until one of the stars falls out of the sky.
Oh wow, MAN... HEAVY!
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u/Blah_In_HD 11h ago
For a few months now, I have been putting this up as an option to watch with my kids whenever we pic out something they haven't seen before. I think I'm going to have to force the issue.
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u/pork_cylinders 9h ago
I saw this at the cinema and went in blind. When that light falls from the sky I was as confused as Truman. Amazing film.
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u/baroqueout 8h ago
The movie was so impactful, it now has its own psychological disorder named after it, lol.
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u/peacemaketroy 7h ago
Criminal that Jim didn’t even get an Oscar nom. Academy snobbery at its worst.
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u/Lobotomized_Dolphin 6h ago
Now watch Eternal Sunshine. Only on a Friday, though, when you have the weekend to recover.
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u/That_Suspect8866 6h ago
I'm getting so many suggestions for 'Eternal Sunshine of a spotless mind' and it sounds interesting so I'll give it a go
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u/LaughingSartre 3h ago
I've never been able to relate to a character from a film moreso than Truman. Probably the most formative movie of my life.
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u/Rigitini 22h ago
This movie was great for me. I had Truman Show Syndrome when I was a child, and this movie made it go away. I thought, "other people out there must feel like I do. There's no way they would show me this film if they were watching me!"
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u/TrueLegateDamar 1d ago
"For God's sake, Chris! The whole world is watching. We can't let him die in front of a live audience!"
"He was born in front of a live audience."