I always loved the cynical ending. After all that horrific real-world drama the two guards just go "Huh. Anyway. What else is on?" This was a man's life, and he almost died trying to escape it, and the whole world knew and watched, and STILL they treat it like any other show and just move on to the next best thing without a moment's pause. This movie needs more credit!
The truly cynical thing is a week later they probably started the show over with another baby. You don't build a dome that big and just give up. It's kinda assumed that the laws in Truman Show's world are different from our own and that they were allowed to do what they did with impunity so why not just do it again after all it had been on for 29 years so it's not like the authority's didn't have time to stop it.
@@parker469a Yep. In the ending that was originally written, Truman actually gets on top of the dome where he finally meets Christof in person and, after a brief exchange, rejects him and leaves. We then finally see Truman a few years later, living happily together with Sylvia, but on television there already is a new show with a new baby.
I love how this film wouldn't work even like 2 years later cause of the internet...it was filmed at just the right time to not make people wonder why he didn't just look online to see if his life was a lie and show...back then most people didn't have computers
@@razkable Well, they did seem to go out of their way to try and keep a Mayberry type aesthetic on his show which means they could just not allow him to have a computer good enough to use the internet also they could just make a closed circuit internet that isn't attached to the worldwide internet. Fill the fake internet with a couple hundred websites and lie about anything that he thinks is suspicious.
I used to be annoyed we don't see their reunion at the end, but its shows that Truman finally has his freedom as he is not on camera any more after he leaves
"I wonder if we'll have any trouble with this music?" All the music played over radios in the movie was made classical so that the in-movie Truman show wouldn't have to pay royalties.
Even though its classical it could still have copyright. A lot of classical music is in the public domain due to copyright running out (death of composer + 70 years) or is prior to I.P. law . Although copyright may have run out, it still may attract royalties from its use. Also if a specific artist or orchestra etc performs that piece, there may still be a licence required, along with royalties. eg. Andrea Bocelli wouldn't allow free use of him singing Verdi etc...
The _composition_ of a piece of music might be copyright free, so anyone can make and sell a new recording of it without having to pay the composer, but the _performance_ of the music is copyright of the performer, so they would be entitled to royalties when that particular recording was used.
They used also music by Philip Glass, who can actually be seen as himself playing the piano in the lunar room. He was the composer for the Qatsi movie trilogy (Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi & Naqoyqatsi). A few pieces of scroe also came from Burkhard Dalllwitz (Yes, I got the OST CD)
As mentioned, there are several copyright variants for music claims (the composition may be in the public domain... but the recording you decided to use is not). It gets a bit more painful: if the recording was made explicitly for that movie, it's very likely that the film studio also has a saying about the use of both the film and its music (so, the piece is in the public domain, but you still can get a claim from the performer, from the music company and/or from the film studio, in case they are separate entities, if they decide you've just used "too much" of the original material). On top of all that, you have the (always hated) bogus copyright claims. Let's say you want to get rid of all claims by performing the music yourself; the piece is in the public domain, you have the skill or the tools to make the sheet music into actual music... no royalties, nor copyright to worry about, right? Not exactly XD! Since algorithms are not perfect and not all people complain in good faith, you can get your own performance challenged as being an already copyrighted work because it suspiciously sounds like some existing recording or someone just wants to scare you into paying stuff (you will get some claim that your performance was taken out of the soundtrack of a greek film that nobody knows, to say something). You can fight the claims, of course, but the TH-cam system is not very kind if you get too many of those (specially if you are unlucky and can't fight them back). So, yeah, in several cases the safest way to defend "fair use" for this type of channels is to avoid recorded soundtracks at all costs (or use stock music that you can prove doesn't come from some unknown international film that not even Google can prove it exists).
I worked on this film back in '96 for the entirety of the production in Seaside, FL (the town is a real town on Florida's Emerald Coast, where I live). I was a featured extra and Jim's stand-in, but the best part was getting to meet and talk with Peter Weir, one of my favorite filmmakers, as well as watch him work. Such a wonderful experience.
Fun fact: This movie actually spawned a mental disorder (or technically a variance of a mental disorder) where one believes that their world is a staged reality show. Apparently when he heard about it, the writer of this movie said "You know you've made it when you have a disease named after you."
There were a bunch in that era. Ed Tv was another around this time, then The Matrix. The idea of a dream isn't new though. It didn't create one, it just brought it to a more common awareness.
I still find it hard to believe that Jim Carey didn't even get nominated for an Best Actor Oscar for this film. It's one of the big snubs of the Oscars.
This movie was the first time we ever got to see Jim Carey in a dramatic role, and I was 100% on board with it. I have been a fan of this movie since its release. The Majestic was his next big dramatic role (and he was good in that too, but the movie itself was just... ok). But "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"? Wow. Easily my most favorite dramatic role of his. And a movie that taps into the feeling of a realistic relationship (despite the bizarreness of everything else), both good parts and bad. It's also my favorite Kate Winslet role. Highly recommended.
Well, not true. Try to find the TV movie Doing Time on Maple Drive, he played an alcoholic, and it was his first major dramatic role. He was quite good in it.
Yeah I agree with Simone about how horrifying the consent issues are between Truman and his wife. Even if the actress signed an ironclad contract as a naïve young college student, it doesn't excuse her continually doing something so wrong every single day. Compare it to a vastly more iron-clad contract: military service. Someone can enlist at 18 years old, signing away 6-8 years of their life (in the US) without the option to just leave (they'd literally be incarcerated if they tried)--but they are still accountable for their own actions if they follow unlawful orders. Regardless, Laura Linney was fucking amazing in this role. Also, if you guys liked this movie and Wandavision, I highly recommend the 1998 film Pleasantville, starring practically everyone.
Echoing Pleasantville. The premise is unique & delightful, won't spoil it by saying anything more. Starring Tobey Maguire, William H Macy, Jeff Daniels.
In the original script it was even worse - the reason Truman's wife was pushing him to have a baby was because the viewers wanted it and the show was offering the actress a huge cash bonus to have a baby with him. Talk about disturbing.
I always took it as the wife was fame hungry. Only because if you compare the way she performs and the friend performs, his is more naturalistic whereas she's always playing herself up for the camera. Making sure her poses are perfect and all that. I guess it could be argued about her motives, it's just how I've always seen it
It's not a problematic consent as long as the contract is renewed and resigned. The likely narrative justification is something along the line of "if she decides to leave the show, they'll just write a story that gets Truman to divorce her and get a new wife". I mean you see this sort of thing in actual reality TV shows where participants could leave the show after a season and they simply make up some lame excuses and nobody really cares. I find the way they portrayed the audience at the end in this film to be the true gem: we're just exploiting these people the same way the executives and creators of the show are, only that we pretend we're innocent from not directly harming the subjects. But in reality, we the audience are the ones that directly fund this kind of shows, so by simply watching them we're implicated. The cultural critique of this movie is so far ahead of its time it's a little scary. In a way the culture has only gone more in this direction as portrayed in the film in recent years - only now we're watching these shows on youtube, twitch and netflix. The craze for exploitative human interest stories only grew as mass media consumption went up. So long as the Romans attended the Colosseum the show had to go on.
A long time ago, I was asked by a friend to be his trip-sitter while he tried Salvia divinorum for the first time. After a period of fairly normal, expected behavior, he turned to me and asked ‘How long has this been going on? How long have you known about this?” I replied that I had no idea what he was talking about and he gripped me by the collar and asked again, this time with greater intensity. I suggested that we go outside for a change of scenery and managed to calm him down. When the effects had worn off, he told me that at one point, the walls of the room suddenly opened up and pulled apart as if on rollers like on the set of a movie or TV show to reveal cameras and a working crew. He thought that his whole life had been like the Truman Show and he was just now finding out. I suppose that would have freaked me out too.
A buddy of mine had pretty much the same experience on Salvia back in the day, with the set walls collapsing and cameras being revealed. It's a stupid ass drug, gives you nothing but a temporary psychosis. Fuck that shit.
Pleasantville is another great movie that is focused around examining a 50's esque classic TV show theme. It's not a reality show concept like The Truman Show is but there is a real life twist to it that works really well. Really good movie.
@@Hiraghm I think you would find that that is not what they were trying to say. At least, not about the sex. Honestly, you could write a Master's thesis on the iconography and themes in that film.
He chose the gamble of real life that he never really felt over safety....he could die a day after but for him that experience of something he never felt that everyone else did matters more and that's the human spirit want for more truth overcoming the fear most of us would naturally have in the same situation feeling overwhelmed by the voice of god speaking to us after truly realizing your fear has come true which you don't want to be proven despite going to seek it...
@@brandonwithnell612 A favorite of mine too. But in the years since I first saw it, my memory morphed the line into a much more obvious lean on the joke, like "I am the creator [pause while Christof takes a few beats] of a tv show". In the real version the pause is so subtle I sometimes think I'm forcing in a joke that isn't even there, although it's probably for the best. Glad you, George and Simone see it too :)
@@jerodast It's definitely deliberate, and just long enough. What I find a fun thought is that Ed Harris' character here, while not a simple villain, is arguably more evil than the one in "The Rock" (another great movie of the time) which threatens to gas an entire city. Also yes to OP.
Best lines, at the end Kristoff says to Truman "There's no more truth out there than the world i've built here for u, same lies, same deceit". And in Kristoffs interview "We accept the reality of the world with which we're presented".
It's interesting how everyone experiences movies differently. I was surprised you guys were laughing so much throughout the movie, especially the ending. I found it all so dramatic, powerful, and profound.
You should check out the deleted scenes, they really help explain the friend character a lot more and makes that scene right before the dad gets back even sadder.
@@LuckySmurf In terms of character, I think it kinda does, because there are hints throughout the movie that the character we see in the deleted scenes is the same kind of person as we see in the finished film, it is just easier to spot with the deleted scenes.
It reminds me of the Conan the Cimmerian story by Robert E. Howard: “Let teachers and priests and philosophers brood over questions of reality and illusion. I know this: if life is illusion, then I am no less an illusion, and being thus, the illusion is real to me. I live, I burn with life, I love, I slay, and am content.”
It reminds me of real life, but exaggerated with artistic licence, like The Matrix, 1984, etc......"People accept the reality with which they're presented"......Life isn't an illusion, but the version of reality presented is. 🙏
@@andyroberts7328 Over the years, Conan had some great lines, "If I must die, it will be with an oath on my lips and cold steel in my hand, not on my knees in the dirt like a dog."
19:56 Marlon didn't give his entire life to be on the show, his parents did. There is actually a deleted scene that shows Marlon expressing distaste about being involved in the show. I'd argue he was a victim of The Truman Show too.
There was even a scene in the original script that showed Truman as the homeless person on the bike when they were searching for him. He turns around and runs into Marlon. Marlon stares at him, knowingly, then walks away. Meaning he let him go.
And when he was "sick" and had to stay out of school for a month? That was his vacation from the show. I'm sure the other major cast members had events engineered for them so they could leave the stage for extended periods.
He also got addicted to the alcohol he constantly had to drink for the adverts and over his conflict with lying to his best friend. Later when Truman escapes he actually catches him and lets him go too. I wish they would have kept those scenes because it is hard to believe that someone who grew up with him was just as rotten like the rest of those people. Only Sylvia really seemed to care for him, which is really sad and fucked up but they obviously wanted to paint a picture about society here, especially when at the time everyone was sitting in front of their TVs, like they today stare at their smartphones.
I love how Jim Carrey both played such dorky dickhead characters purely for the absurdity and at the same time played deeply psychological individuals that made us question ourselves. A man of his character will always impress me even today with his artistic impression. But his early shit will never cease to crack me up, it's like he's mocking us whilst embracing us so it's fine. Much love for Jim.
When this came out, a bunch of my friends and I all watched it in the theater. We all walked out and, for awhile, we were all looking around for hidden cams, microphones, etc. It was a big joke amongst us, but at the same time, there was just a little bit of nervousness too. Then, about 8 months later, The Matrix came out. And all we could do is remember The Truman Show...and ask ourselves 'What If?' And people wonder why Gen X is so fucked up. We've been having a continuous existential crisis for over 20 years.
I think one thing I've wondered about is the breakdown in quality that makes it so Truman is more aware of the inconsistencies. We see the weather program fail along with the falling light. To me, it seems like there may be a falling in quality due to lessening viewers. That may explain why Meryl is CONSTANTLY advertising (which she may not have done as consistently in the past.) It may also explain their insistence on Meryl becoming pregnant to drive ratings back up; despite the actress who plays her not liking Truman at all.
I think it is more likely it is just difficult to keep all the tech running for so many years and parts of the studio are just breaking down can't be easy or cheap to keep a dome that size from rusting nevermind keep all the tech around it up to date.
@@GrohiikVahlokJul I was thinking the same thing. The dome is nearly as old as Truman, and he looks to be around 30-40, which means electronics, pipes, and even entire systems need to be constantly serviced and renovated. But how would you accomplish that without tipping Truman off? Not easily. As for Meryl, it's pretty clear that both her and the best friend are emotional wrecks by the time the movie starts. She's desperately going through the motions, and he's drinking constantly. They're breaking down, just like the dome.
The entire movie people are glued to their tv’s watching him including an entire bar filled with people so the advertising had nothing to do with falling viewership, they had to do that because they couldn’t do commercials the normal way because the show is constantly rolling.
I saw a theory once that the pneumonia story that the best friend told at 19:57 (they edited out most of it), where he was out of school for about a month, was just them switching actors. I honestly think this is what the writers intended as it explains how they managed to get a kid to spend their entire childhood with truman, and it also makes the scene more impactful imo. Pretty disturbing
Yeah, that's what I think too, he was away so that Truman wouldn't remember his face so much and replaced the actor. Because it's actually pretty reasonable to think that a child actor isn't great once they're older for example. :) Something else that occurred to me, the kids in Truman's class got the same ridiculous schooling as he did, and grew up in that dome too. They're probably about as indoctrinated as he is, since they were young enough that they'd slip up once in a while.
@@AnnekeOosterinkall the other kids besides Truman were actors, actual child actors, by law they would have had actual education, tutors that come to set or something, but yeah if they listened and believed while they were acting on set totally possible. Then again if their parents became worried they could 'move away'
Actually, Marlon being out of school for a month with pneumonia was just a cover story for him taking time off from the show, similar to how he spent his summers hauling chickens for Kaiser. There's actually a promotional video (link below) that makes it clear that Marlin has been played by the same actor all the way through. th-cam.com/video/UdR2jw3fGaE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=EM8Rjj3ijAEvQ0ir
For me the most poignant moment of the movie was when he was on the bus after everyone piles off and the driver comes up and apologises, it works on multiple levels as the driver feels genuine sympathy and sadness for Truman as they both know there is more going on but can't say it.
Wow, I’ve never watched anyone who didn’t know the central concept of the movie. It was all over the marketing, and for once it wasn’t a spoiler but an intended part of the experience. It’s fascinating to see someone who wasn’t a party to that experience react to the early movie.
I was thinking the same thing! Come to think of it, I kept thinking "wait, was it spoiled for us back then or do I just the know the concept so well that I thought it was." I actually love that about the movie. It wouldn't have worked as well as a mystery.
That's one of my favorite things about watching all these reaction videos, many of the movies they see are now old enough that they just don't know any of the marketing or hype that we experienced. Like when people watch terminator 2 not knowing about the character twist.
On this one, I think George and Simone got overly caught up in the mechanics of how the Truman Show could actually work. Which is a bit weird, because the point of a satire is the ideas, rather than the minutiae of the set up. It's a bit like watching Star Wars and wondering all the way through how telekinesis could possibly work. But whatever, still enjoyed it (as always) with their stuff.
I remember seeing this for the first time...when he walks into the elevator and sees the craft services table my stomach dropped. To completely see the bottom fall out from reality is scary as hell. It's almost dreamlike.
Another one of those movies that became WAY too real. Remember seeing this for the first time the same period we got one of those original Big Brother TV shows... we live in a weird world nowadays!
This movie trigger psychiatric disorders in some people after watching it, imagining that their lives are also part of a script and that they are constantly being watched. The condition was named "Truman Syndrome", or "The Truman Show Delusion"
Yep, there was some guy living in Australia(?) who, when he saw the planes hit the towers on 9/11, believed that it was faked as a "plot point" in his life. Traveled to New York to call their bluff, got a big surprise.
I feel no sympathy for the wife. She is choosing to gaslight Truman his whole life and is contributing to this farce. She chose to be on the show, knowing what was involved, Truman had no choice.
When I first saw this movie, I laughed for the first 10 minutes - then I realised this was a tragedy and I was in tears for the rest of the time. I thought that this was Carey's finest performance and it was a crime he didn't win an Oscar.
When I was a kid I used to have this thought all the time. What if my life is a TV show and everyone's in on it but me? Then I saw this movie and thought "Oh, ok, turns out it's probably just a thought everyone has. I don't need to worry about it".........unless they made this movie to make me think that
When Truman is looking through the photo albums with the magnifying glass and he looks at his wife's ring... her fingers were crossed, hinting that she was not serious about her vows. :-)
But remember hand signals aren’t universal like in the Middle East a thumbs up is considered rude, so crossed fingers might not mean anything or something different in Canada
Yeah, I'm not sure how common the gesture is, but it's basically a signal of false promises; if you cross your fingers while making a promise, you're lying and the contract is invalidated. Not sure about the origins of it, I assume superstition.
Thanks for watching this one. It's an amazing film that shows all too clearly the destructive path that "Reality TV" was charting, by taking it the its logical (and most extreme) conclusion. It's also one of two incredible moves that showcased Jim Carrey's skills as a dramatic actor, the other being Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which is another "must see" film. For me the pinnacle moment is when Truman's "Best Friend" tells him that "...if everyone's in on it, I'd have to be in on it too." And Jim Carrey looks at him with a horrified, epiphanous expression as he realizes that "yes, even you'd have to be in on it!" Pure chills!
You’re forgetting Man on the Moon. That was another great dramatic performance by him. It’s a shame that Man on the Moon is so overlooked. Because when people think of dramatic Jim Carrey, they only think of Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
this is like the saddest film for me, being watched your whole life by a lot of people without you knowing, used my your own father for his tv show, all the people you know are just fake even your friends and wife. The scene where his friend says “i will never lie to you” then cuts to the director saying his lines to him just breaks my heart
Notice how the travel agent still has her make up cloth on that she hast to takeoff. Because she had to quickly get ready, because she’s not used to being in that role, because nobody goes to the travel office.
The second or third time I saw this film was on an intercontinental flight, and the sequences at the travel agency with "bad" messages were omited. I was prepared to notice that because also I had already noticed that the explanation for the falling light at the beginning was removed. It was fun to notice.
"This is gaslighting: the movie!" Funnily enough actually, Gaslight is Gaslighting: The movie. It's where the term came from (and the play the movie was based on)
I remember the first time I watched this movie, the scene in the town centre when he begins to realise something is going on gave me actual chills. Love this movie. For me, though, the pivotal moment of the movie is the bridge scene when his best friend tells him he would never lie to him. That's the moment Truman realises he has literally no one on his side and you can see it on his face. The followup of his father coming back is just further confirmation of that fact and I believe at that point Truman realises he has to play along until he can find a way to escape. The ending, when he steps through the door, is painted as a hopeful, uplifting moment, but if you think about it, from that point on, Truman would have extreme difficulty trusting anything that happens in his life. What if it's all just an extension of the show and/or whatever reality has been forced on him?
@@Jenacide Perhaps, but from Truman's point of view, he has no idea what any 'real world' should even be like. Would therapy even work in that situation? He has nothing to ground himself to, no way to say 'this is what normal should be like'. When your entire world has been proven to be false, how do you know whatever world you're subsequently presented with is real? It's the same issue as with the Matrix. What if you escape, only to find the world you escape into is simply another system of control? How can you ever feel like you've reached the outermost layer, so to speak?
Kind of an odd reaction. You don't have to turn everything into a joke when there's nothing funny about a certain scene. I get why you do it, but its not necessarily. Overall I'm a fan of your movie reactions. This one just felt off.
The moment the bus doesn't hit him and he realizes it is impossible if the driver hadn't been focused on him completely, and how that affects him, is one of my favorite parts of this movie
@29:28 no we don't get to see what happens to him. That's the point. The Truman Show is over. The audience saw enough of his life. Now that he is free, we don't have access to him anymore. It's a beautiful and perfect ending.
I think the best decision was not letting the audience see Truman after he left the set, but we're left guessing what he did with his life. If we see what he does, then it's like his own audience still watching him; the whole point is no one watches him anymore, and he gets to live a real life.
the most twisted part of this already incredibly twisted movie is that it seems to imply that Christof does actually care about and love Truman in his own sick way. Christof created a world for Truman based on a 50s fantasy of the perfect world and says that in that world nothing can hurt Truman and that Truman prefers it to the real world, he asks him to stay in the end even though the show will be ruined and seems concerned at the thought of Truman going out into a world where Christof can't control everything to protect him, he even fondly reminisces on important moments in Trumans life. Christof viewed Truman as a son and the relationship is reminiscent of how parents afflicted with Munchausen by proxy syndrome abuse their children by making them dependent so that they never leave, in this case Christof traumatized Truman at every possible turn to ensure he'd be too afraid to leave
Yes, everybody loves Truman Show! Even the non Jim Carrey fans love it. It’s his most popular dramatic movie, and one of the most popular movies of all time anyway
This movie was made before the term “reality TV” was coined. It really freaked out the actors when it all came true so quickly. Also, when you cross your fingers while making a promise, the promise doesn’t count. That’s what Truman saw in the wedding photo.
Great point. After this I don't think he would put himself in the public eye for money like the hosts think. He'd either sue to get proceeds from the show that earned money off his back and/or put it all behind him and live in obscurity (like most of us)
Reality TV got popular in the mid-90s, this movie was clearly in reaction to that phenomenon. But yeah, the design of the island and the costumes kinda have that retro feel to them.
Certified old person here: With regards to reality TV as a genre (something pseudo-scripted made for entertainment purposes, as opposed to a documentary series that wants to be educational), the first one that I personally know of was MTV’s _The Real World_ which started back to 1992. If there were others back in the ’80s, I don’t remember them.
That's my recollection as well. I believe Real World was first but reality TV didn't really take off as a genre until the summer of 2000 with Survivor, at least in the US.
@@PaulN504 Survivor was pretty major, but I recall dating "reality" shows like Blind Date taking off quickly too. I think entertainment wrestling shows in the 90s like WWE also count as reality TV in that events are scripted and wrestlers are really performers acting like they're wrestling for real.
@@suicunesolsan I’m not sure I’d consider wrestling a part of the “reality TV” genre since most reality shows are less scripted or not scripted at all for the most part (I know some claim they are scripted but given that they have to follow game show laws I doubt most of them are). While reality TV certainly existed prior to Survivor like you said it was after Survivor that it became a major phenomenon. Survivor was the first to air on a major network and after it reality TV was everywhere. I’m sure you remember that immediately after it every network was announcing new reality shows, some succeeded and many lasted only a single season.
I have always liked to think that he ended up going to various countries for television appearances to talk about his experience and his transition into reality, and thus was able to fulfill his dream for travel and exploration.
I've always thought a follow up that covered the papparatzi and legal fallout would have been very compelling. Remember, Truman was adopted by the corporation. Truman was, almost in a twisted way, their child. There are ALL KINDS of things you could do with that theorhetical scenario. Outright there's no way this movie would happen for real. It is the epitome of a high concept movie. You have to assume some big IFs at the start of the film. "What if a corporation *could* adopt a child and film his/her entire life?" Is one of the first ones. As to Truman, although the movie ends on a happy feeling note, the reality is I don't think Truman would be a mentally stable human being. Along with having the fear of the water, which he may have partially shaken by the end, he would now have major social anxiety, paranoia, all kinds of issues that he'd have to deal with. Think about it. Every person he ever met for his entire life was lying to him. That is so massive. Even if he hooks up with that girl, and has a nice life and kids... Whew. There's going to be a lot of recovery going on.
It’s much easier to force love onto a guy than a girl. Men very rarely get shown a lot of attention so if you just have a pretty girl show him a lot of attention he’ll fall for it
So like.. if this had happened, and the "actor" playing the lead left the show.. having provided 20+ years of work, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week they would be entitled to a crapload of cash and failure to pay would be a lawsuit that would of brought down so many businesses. The way I imagine a company would get away with it is that they own his likeness since he was signed over before birth. But with consent laws and things being non-existent in that world it would probably be a very hard case to win when you have no money at all to fight against your oppressors with..
Though being the most famous person in the world, I'm sure many a company legal or otherwise would be willing to take on that price just for the marketing, even ignoring the parasocial relationship many people have likely formed with him over their lives.
This movie always makes me ponder how much free will we have. While we are free to do as we wish, how much of that is basically programmed by influences and things that happen in the rest of the world, and our fears. And that you really have to break through all that, which is not easy, to be truly free.
I always felt they stopped showing us Truman when he walked out the door, not so that we wouldn't see how he would be disadvantaged but, to demonstrate that his life is no longer for the viewing of others. It stopped because the Truman Show had ended. We're no more entitled to his life than anyone else.
Ahhhhh yesss....one of my all time favourite film!! Everytime I feel somewhat low I watch the end scene with Ed Harris speaking through the clouds 😅😅. What a fantastic & original film!
20:21 "This is like Gaslighting: The Movie" Yeah, about that... Might I refer you to the movie, "Gaslight" (1944), directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Ingrid Bergman. That's where the term "gaslight" originated.
the end of the 90's was a strange period, lots of different movies dealing with the exact same topic: "what if reality isn't what you think it is?" Truman Show The Matrix Fight Club Dark City
13th Floor as well... But it started even a good bit earlier already (various Star Trek episodes dealt with it for example, such as TNG's Frame of Mind in 1993), it's just that at the end of the 90s, there were so _many_ movies about it.
@@Wolf-ln1ml this isn't the weird part though. the weird thing is they didn't just come in the same period, they all almost came out int he same year. there's this thing where movies with the same concepts get released in waves (or at least pairs): 1. deep impact and armagedodn 2. A Bug's Life And Antz 3. No Strings Attached And Friends With Benefits 4. this is the end & world's end also, another movie released in 1999 was eXistenZ there is no end to this
Some people complain that we don't see what happens after he goes through the door, but the point is that his life is his own now, and not belonging to everyone else.
I can't even begin to tell you how irritating it was to sit and listen to this guy talk about how bad Truman's *wife's* life must have been for this whole movie. You mean the life she chose and continues to choose every moment? You mean the life where she is essentially r*ping Truman by sleeping with him under false pretenses? The life where she is complicit and actively involved in ripping away all freedom from this man and keeping him a *100% literal slave?* You're worried about her life bro? Lunacy.
What I really love is that the music that plays while Truman is sleeping is called Truman Sleeps by Philip Glass (my favourite modern composer), and he’s actually there in the scene, playing the piece. The amount of little details in this film is really staggering. Genius really.
Laura Linney also plays one of the main character in the 4 seasons of "The Ozark" TV Show on Netflix, where she also changes from scared to being fine in a blink of an eye.
A guy forced to live a lie in fake world but you guys more worried about fake wife actress?! what does a man have to go through to get a little bit of sympathy.
"The Real World" debuted in 1992. So reality TV goes back at least that far. You really need to watch EdTV., both the theatrical version and the deleted scenes that turn it into a different (and better) movie. That way you'll be perfectly set up for a new Twin Movies episode.
In 1971, PBS aired a 11-part docu-series "An American Family" -- as far as I can tell, this was the first attempt at what would eventually become Reality TV.
@@LlamaDungeon respectfully I have to correct you. candid camera witch is kind off a reality show came in 1948. "an American family" I think it came in 73
While Reality TV existed beforehand, it was mostly a niche thing, to the point most people barely knew it existed. Survivor is what really kicked off the Reality TV phenomenon
Imagine the pure amount of trauma he'd have to fight through once he's in the outside world. On the surface level, there's trust issues... right? Questioning if his friends really like him, or just want to be near the infamous Truman. But then...on a deeper level... he might start questioning his reality *again*. Reading too deeply into the things people say and do, imagining scenarios where he could have been "re-captured" and put on TV again.
The funny thing is that the idea for "The Truman Show" was created to postulate the future television. When this was made most TV shows are scripted and it was impossible to think that the future of Television could be cameras just following the lives of real people on a daily basis. Who knew those types of shows would become the most popular TV shows. Foresight and vision on the part of the writers and director. Bravo
@@andrewft31 Yes I have. I never said Truman show was before those. I merely said the premis of "The Truman Show" is that reality TV would be the #1 media or have the#1 Show. Back then reality TV was seen as a side event.
12:59 "What is going on?" She had her fingers crossed. It's a childhood behavior: if you cross your fingers, it's okay to tell a lie (in this case, probably her vows).
If you enjoyed Ed Harris' performance I highly recommend watching Enemy At The Gates. It's a a World War II drama about two snipers playing a game of chess (figuratively). Ed Harris stars opposite Jude Law.
Loved that I came across this channel. A bit of trivia: After this movie released, some people became convinced their lives were fake. I was under 12 when this came out but even I was a bit spooked for a few weeks hoping my life was real. And, while there had been 'reality tv', it did not become what we know it as until 2000.
I love you guys, but something's a bit off about this reaction. This movie is incredibly sad and deep on its second half. Seeing you constantly laughing and joking kind of made it lose its meaning.
I always loved the cynical ending. After all that horrific real-world drama the two guards just go "Huh. Anyway. What else is on?" This was a man's life, and he almost died trying to escape it, and the whole world knew and watched, and STILL they treat it like any other show and just move on to the next best thing without a moment's pause. This movie needs more credit!
The truly cynical thing is a week later they probably started the show over with another baby. You don't build a dome that big and just give up. It's kinda assumed that the laws in Truman Show's world are different from our own and that they were allowed to do what they did with impunity so why not just do it again after all it had been on for 29 years so it's not like the authority's didn't have time to stop it.
@@parker469a Yep. In the ending that was originally written, Truman actually gets on top of the dome where he finally meets Christof in person and, after a brief exchange, rejects him and leaves. We then finally see Truman a few years later, living happily together with Sylvia, but on television there already is a new show with a new baby.
I love how this film wouldn't work even like 2 years later cause of the internet...it was filmed at just the right time to not make people wonder why he didn't just look online to see if his life was a lie and show...back then most people didn't have computers
@@razkable Well, they did seem to go out of their way to try and keep a Mayberry type aesthetic on his show which means they could just not allow him to have a computer good enough to use the internet also they could just make a closed circuit internet that isn't attached to the worldwide internet. Fill the fake internet with a couple hundred websites and lie about anything that he thinks is suspicious.
@@razkable i mean obviously they just wouldnt put internet capable devices in the dome where he could access
I used to be annoyed we don't see their reunion at the end, but its shows that Truman finally has his freedom as he is not on camera any more after he leaves
Yeah, exactly! His life is now private, even from us, the movie viewers.
"I wonder if we'll have any trouble with this music?" All the music played over radios in the movie was made classical so that the in-movie Truman show wouldn't have to pay royalties.
Even though its classical it could still have copyright. A lot of classical music is in the public domain due to copyright running out (death of composer + 70 years) or is prior to I.P. law . Although copyright may have run out, it still may attract royalties from its use. Also if a specific artist or orchestra etc performs that piece, there may still be a licence required, along with royalties. eg. Andrea Bocelli wouldn't allow free use of him singing Verdi etc...
The _composition_ of a piece of music might be copyright free, so anyone can make and sell a new recording of it without having to pay the composer, but the _performance_ of the music is copyright of the performer, so they would be entitled to royalties when that particular recording was used.
They used also music by Philip Glass, who can actually be seen as himself playing the piano in the lunar room.
He was the composer for the Qatsi movie trilogy (Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi & Naqoyqatsi).
A few pieces of scroe also came from Burkhard Dalllwitz (Yes, I got the OST CD)
As mentioned, there are several copyright variants for music claims (the composition may be in the public domain... but the recording you decided to use is not). It gets a bit more painful: if the recording was made explicitly for that movie, it's very likely that the film studio also has a saying about the use of both the film and its music (so, the piece is in the public domain, but you still can get a claim from the performer, from the music company and/or from the film studio, in case they are separate entities, if they decide you've just used "too much" of the original material).
On top of all that, you have the (always hated) bogus copyright claims. Let's say you want to get rid of all claims by performing the music yourself; the piece is in the public domain, you have the skill or the tools to make the sheet music into actual music... no royalties, nor copyright to worry about, right? Not exactly XD! Since algorithms are not perfect and not all people complain in good faith, you can get your own performance challenged as being an already copyrighted work because it suspiciously sounds like some existing recording or someone just wants to scare you into paying stuff (you will get some claim that your performance was taken out of the soundtrack of a greek film that nobody knows, to say something). You can fight the claims, of course, but the TH-cam system is not very kind if you get too many of those (specially if you are unlucky and can't fight them back).
So, yeah, in several cases the safest way to defend "fair use" for this type of channels is to avoid recorded soundtracks at all costs (or use stock music that you can prove doesn't come from some unknown international film that not even Google can prove it exists).
Bruh 😎
I worked on this film back in '96 for the entirety of the production in Seaside, FL (the town is a real town on Florida's Emerald Coast, where I live). I was a featured extra and Jim's stand-in, but the best part was getting to meet and talk with Peter Weir, one of my favorite filmmakers, as well as watch him work. Such a wonderful experience.
Cool!
Featured extra? Where can I see you in the movie? (Love this movie and its concept)
Fun fact: This movie actually spawned a mental disorder (or technically a variance of a mental disorder) where one believes that their world is a staged reality show.
Apparently when he heard about it, the writer of this movie said "You know you've made it when you have a disease named after you."
And the film The Matrix really spurred it on with the question "Are we living in a computer simulation?"
Just ask Lou Gherig.
Yep. Flat earther syndrome.
@@bad-people6510 what was the name of the play?
There were a bunch in that era. Ed Tv was another around this time, then The Matrix. The idea of a dream isn't new though. It didn't create one, it just brought it to a more common awareness.
Jim Carrey was wonderful in this. Highly recommend him and Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Beautiful and sad film.
Eternal Sunshine is phenomenal and easily one of if not his best performance
Great double feature
YEAS
They’re watching Eternal Sunshine this coming week, I believe.
I still find it hard to believe that Jim Carey didn't even get nominated for an Best Actor Oscar for this film. It's one of the big snubs of the Oscars.
He won the Golden Globe for it that year (and Ed Harris won as Supporting Actor).
The Oscars have been a waste of time for decades. Hollywood coming together to self-congratulate itself. 🤮
@@bigdream_dreambig right. Jim also won another Golden Globe the following year for Man on the Moon
@@nsasupporter7557 another great show
Also wasn't nominated for Best Actor in Man On The Moon (1999) and Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004).
This movie was the first time we ever got to see Jim Carey in a dramatic role, and I was 100% on board with it. I have been a fan of this movie since its release. The Majestic was his next big dramatic role (and he was good in that too, but the movie itself was just... ok).
But "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"? Wow. Easily my most favorite dramatic role of his. And a movie that taps into the feeling of a realistic relationship (despite the bizarreness of everything else), both good parts and bad. It's also my favorite Kate Winslet role. Highly recommended.
Well, not true. Try to find the TV movie Doing Time on Maple Drive, he played an alcoholic, and it was his first major dramatic role. He was quite good in it.
You mean "The Majestic"?
Anyone who hasn't seen Eternal Sunshine absolutely should. It's so good. It's got a young Kirsten Dunst and Mark Ruffalo in it too if I recall.
People always seem to forget about "Man on the Moon" which was released a year after this and is an amazing movie.
@@realsies9387 Hey, I remember Man on the Moon. Paul Giamatti makes a comeback. Haven't seen it in a while though.
Yeah I agree with Simone about how horrifying the consent issues are between Truman and his wife. Even if the actress signed an ironclad contract as a naïve young college student, it doesn't excuse her continually doing something so wrong every single day. Compare it to a vastly more iron-clad contract: military service. Someone can enlist at 18 years old, signing away 6-8 years of their life (in the US) without the option to just leave (they'd literally be incarcerated if they tried)--but they are still accountable for their own actions if they follow unlawful orders. Regardless, Laura Linney was fucking amazing in this role.
Also, if you guys liked this movie and Wandavision, I highly recommend the 1998 film Pleasantville, starring practically everyone.
Pleasantville, definitely... Although I'd have to watch it again myself, it's been ages.
Echoing Pleasantville. The premise is unique & delightful, won't spoil it by saying anything more. Starring Tobey Maguire, William H Macy, Jeff Daniels.
In the original script it was even worse - the reason Truman's wife was pushing him to have a baby was because the viewers wanted it and the show was offering the actress a huge cash bonus to have a baby with him. Talk about disturbing.
I always took it as the wife was fame hungry. Only because if you compare the way she performs and the friend performs, his is more naturalistic whereas she's always playing herself up for the camera. Making sure her poses are perfect and all that. I guess it could be argued about her motives, it's just how I've always seen it
It's not a problematic consent as long as the contract is renewed and resigned. The likely narrative justification is something along the line of "if she decides to leave the show, they'll just write a story that gets Truman to divorce her and get a new wife". I mean you see this sort of thing in actual reality TV shows where participants could leave the show after a season and they simply make up some lame excuses and nobody really cares. I find the way they portrayed the audience at the end in this film to be the true gem: we're just exploiting these people the same way the executives and creators of the show are, only that we pretend we're innocent from not directly harming the subjects. But in reality, we the audience are the ones that directly fund this kind of shows, so by simply watching them we're implicated.
The cultural critique of this movie is so far ahead of its time it's a little scary. In a way the culture has only gone more in this direction as portrayed in the film in recent years - only now we're watching these shows on youtube, twitch and netflix. The craze for exploitative human interest stories only grew as mass media consumption went up. So long as the Romans attended the Colosseum the show had to go on.
“Gaslighting” is an actual movie. It’s where the term comes from, Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer, great classic psychological thriller
Today I learned..
Are you sure? Maybe it was a different movie?
Before the movie, it was a play.
There was no movie called Gaslight. It's a myth.
@@Thelatenightchipshopexperience Funny.
A long time ago, I was asked by a friend to be his trip-sitter while he tried Salvia divinorum for the first time. After a period of fairly normal, expected behavior, he turned to me and asked ‘How long has this been going on? How long have you known about this?” I replied that I had no idea what he was talking about and he gripped me by the collar and asked again, this time with greater intensity. I suggested that we go outside for a change of scenery and managed to calm him down. When the effects had worn off, he told me that at one point, the walls of the room suddenly opened up and pulled apart as if on rollers like on the set of a movie or TV show to reveal cameras and a working crew. He thought that his whole life had been like the Truman Show and he was just now finding out. I suppose that would have freaked me out too.
I have seen enough people on TH-cam take salvia to know that it is something I could never do. It looks terrifying
A buddy of mine had pretty much the same experience on Salvia back in the day, with the set walls collapsing and cameras being revealed.
It's a stupid ass drug, gives you nothing but a temporary psychosis. Fuck that shit.
It can be a bit scary, but it doesn't last very long@@LoSTRaMaiR
Pleasantville is another great movie that is focused around examining a 50's esque classic TV show theme. It's not a reality show concept like The Truman Show is but there is a real life twist to it that works really well. Really good movie.
I wanted to recommend thisone, too. It is basically the thematic counterpart to this one.
Love Pleasantville!
Pleasantville is a magnificent piece of art, with layer upon layer of meaning.
I love it as well, was surprised that a lot of people seemed to hate it.
@@Hiraghm I think you would find that that is not what they were trying to say. At least, not about the sex. Honestly, you could write a Master's thesis on the iconography and themes in that film.
I have seen this movie several times, and Truman's final line still makes me smile and tear up.
Basically as "Fuck you False God, I'm out of here lol" XD XD
He chose the gamble of real life that he never really felt over safety....he could die a day after but for him that experience of something he never felt that everyone else did matters more and that's the human spirit want for more truth overcoming the fear most of us would naturally have in the same situation feeling overwhelmed by the voice of god speaking to us after truly realizing your fear has come true which you don't want to be proven despite going to seek it...
Fantastic music for that moment too.
"Cue the sun." is the greatest movie line ever written.
th-cam.com/video/qrIEFGKlONg/w-d-xo.html
I also quite liked the “they’re actors!” Line
i loved the part with the director talking through the light in the sky "i'm the creator....of a tv show"
@@brandonwithnell612 A favorite of mine too. But in the years since I first saw it, my memory morphed the line into a much more obvious lean on the joke, like "I am the creator [pause while Christof takes a few beats] of a tv show". In the real version the pause is so subtle I sometimes think I'm forcing in a joke that isn't even there, although it's probably for the best. Glad you, George and Simone see it too :)
@@jerodast It's definitely deliberate, and just long enough.
What I find a fun thought is that Ed Harris' character here, while not a simple villain, is arguably more evil than the one in "The Rock" (another great movie of the time) which threatens to gas an entire city.
Also yes to OP.
Best lines, at the end Kristoff says to Truman "There's no more truth out there than the world i've built here for u, same lies, same deceit". And in Kristoffs interview "We accept the reality of the world with which we're presented".
It's interesting how everyone experiences movies differently. I was surprised you guys were laughing so much throughout the movie, especially the ending. I found it all so dramatic, powerful, and profound.
i mean they were laughing out of shock I guess
Same with me... everytime i keep balling throughout the end.
Exactly, it's a drama, not a comedy. This film is deep and dark. A brilliant satire. But not laugh out loud hilarious.
You should check out the deleted scenes, they really help explain the friend character a lot more and makes that scene right before the dad gets back even sadder.
@@LuckySmurf In terms of character, I think it kinda does, because there are hints throughout the movie that the character we see in the deleted scenes is the same kind of person as we see in the finished film, it is just easier to spot with the deleted scenes.
It reminds me of the Conan the Cimmerian story by Robert E. Howard: “Let teachers and priests and philosophers brood over questions of reality and illusion. I know this: if life is illusion, then I am no less an illusion, and being thus, the illusion is real to me. I live, I burn with life, I love, I slay, and am content.”
It reminds me of real life, but exaggerated with artistic licence, like The Matrix, 1984, etc......"People accept the reality with which they're presented"......Life isn't an illusion, but the version of reality presented is. 🙏
Classic Conan! Love the books, and the movie is basically a philosophy course with swordfights added
Well, that's my daily dose of epic as fuck. Nice quote.
@@andyroberts7328 Over the years, Conan had some great lines, "If I must die, it will be with an oath on my lips and cold steel in my hand, not on my knees in the dirt like a dog."
19:56 Marlon didn't give his entire life to be on the show, his parents did. There is actually a deleted scene that shows Marlon expressing distaste about being involved in the show. I'd argue he was a victim of The Truman Show too.
There was even a scene in the original script that showed Truman as the homeless person on the bike when they were searching for him. He turns around and runs into Marlon. Marlon stares at him, knowingly, then walks away. Meaning he let him go.
And when he was "sick" and had to stay out of school for a month? That was his vacation from the show. I'm sure the other major cast members had events engineered for them so they could leave the stage for extended periods.
He also got addicted to the alcohol he constantly had to drink for the adverts and over his conflict with lying to his best friend. Later when Truman escapes he actually catches him and lets him go too. I wish they would have kept those scenes because it is hard to believe that someone who grew up with him was just as rotten like the rest of those people. Only Sylvia really seemed to care for him, which is really sad and fucked up but they obviously wanted to paint a picture about society here, especially when at the time everyone was sitting in front of their TVs, like they today stare at their smartphones.
I love how Jim Carrey both played such dorky dickhead characters purely for the absurdity and at the same time played deeply psychological individuals that made us question ourselves.
A man of his character will always impress me even today with his artistic impression.
But his early shit will never cease to crack me up, it's like he's mocking us whilst embracing us so it's fine.
Much love for Jim.
When this came out, a bunch of my friends and I all watched it in the theater. We all walked out and, for awhile, we were all looking around for hidden cams, microphones, etc. It was a big joke amongst us, but at the same time, there was just a little bit of nervousness too.
Then, about 8 months later, The Matrix came out. And all we could do is remember The Truman Show...and ask ourselves 'What If?'
And people wonder why Gen X is so fucked up. We've been having a continuous existential crisis for over 20 years.
Speak for yourself... mine's been going on for almost 50.
gen z has existential crises for breakfast. i literally confronted my own mortality in preschool. back of the line's that way dude lmao
Le gen x when they see 2 movies.
(im literally fucked up maaaan)
When i was your age i had TWO continuous existencial crisis
Ironically there are about as many cameras filming you in public spaces nowadays. Plus people filming themselves and sending it to Google/Meta.
I think one thing I've wondered about is the breakdown in quality that makes it so Truman is more aware of the inconsistencies. We see the weather program fail along with the falling light.
To me, it seems like there may be a falling in quality due to lessening viewers. That may explain why Meryl is CONSTANTLY advertising (which she may not have done as consistently in the past.)
It may also explain their insistence on Meryl becoming pregnant to drive ratings back up; despite the actress who plays her not liking Truman at all.
I think it is more likely it is just difficult to keep all the tech running for so many years and parts of the studio are just breaking down can't be easy or cheap to keep a dome that size from rusting nevermind keep all the tech around it up to date.
The rain was intentional. Someone was trying to warn him. It worked. Just like the father character was trying to do.
The pregnancy was also likely another way to keep Truman trapped in town. He'd have to be willing to abandon his kid in order to escape.
@@GrohiikVahlokJul I was thinking the same thing. The dome is nearly as old as Truman, and he looks to be around 30-40, which means electronics, pipes, and even entire systems need to be constantly serviced and renovated. But how would you accomplish that without tipping Truman off? Not easily.
As for Meryl, it's pretty clear that both her and the best friend are emotional wrecks by the time the movie starts. She's desperately going through the motions, and he's drinking constantly. They're breaking down, just like the dome.
The entire movie people are glued to their tv’s watching him including an entire bar filled with people so the advertising had nothing to do with falling viewership, they had to do that because they couldn’t do commercials the normal way because the show is constantly rolling.
I saw a theory once that the pneumonia story that the best friend told at 19:57 (they edited out most of it), where he was out of school for about a month, was just them switching actors. I honestly think this is what the writers intended as it explains how they managed to get a kid to spend their entire childhood with truman, and it also makes the scene more impactful imo. Pretty disturbing
Whether they switched actors or not, his friend was definitely not in the dome during that month so something was going on.
Yeah, that's what I think too, he was away so that Truman wouldn't remember his face so much and replaced the actor. Because it's actually pretty reasonable to think that a child actor isn't great once they're older for example. :)
Something else that occurred to me, the kids in Truman's class got the same ridiculous schooling as he did, and grew up in that dome too. They're probably about as indoctrinated as he is, since they were young enough that they'd slip up once in a while.
@@AnnekeOosterinkall the other kids besides Truman were actors, actual child actors, by law they would have had actual education, tutors that come to set or something, but yeah if they listened and believed while they were acting on set totally possible. Then again if their parents became worried they could 'move away'
Actually, Marlon being out of school for a month with pneumonia was just a cover story for him taking time off from the show, similar to how he spent his summers hauling chickens for Kaiser. There's actually a promotional video (link below) that makes it clear that Marlin has been played by the same actor all the way through.
th-cam.com/video/UdR2jw3fGaE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=EM8Rjj3ijAEvQ0ir
Without a doubt, definitely one of Jim Carrey's finest performances. I've always had a soft spot for this movie, a very unique film and creative film.
Yes, this was his most popular dramatic movie. And one of the most popular movies of all time anyway.
For me the most poignant moment of the movie was when he was on the bus after everyone piles off and the driver comes up and apologises, it works on multiple levels as the driver feels genuine sympathy and sadness for Truman as they both know there is more going on but can't say it.
Wow, I’ve never watched anyone who didn’t know the central concept of the movie. It was all over the marketing, and for once it wasn’t a spoiler but an intended part of the experience. It’s fascinating to see someone who wasn’t a party to that experience react to the early movie.
I was thinking the same thing! Come to think of it, I kept thinking "wait, was it spoiled for us back then or do I just the know the concept so well that I thought it was." I actually love that about the movie. It wouldn't have worked as well as a mystery.
The whole intro is about telling you is a realty show about a man, and everybody else is a paid actor. this two.... my god they are slow
@@vitakinesis And they were laughing the whole time... to a DRAMA
That's one of my favorite things about watching all these reaction videos, many of the movies they see are now old enough that they just don't know any of the marketing or hype that we experienced. Like when people watch terminator 2 not knowing about the character twist.
On this one, I think George and Simone got overly caught up in the mechanics of how the Truman Show could actually work. Which is a bit weird, because the point of a satire is the ideas, rather than the minutiae of the set up. It's a bit like watching Star Wars and wondering all the way through how telekinesis could possibly work. But whatever, still enjoyed it (as always) with their stuff.
Simone as the new spokesperson for Starbucks: "Coffee. It's Good. It's la la la."
And the look of absolute horror on her face when she realizes the amount of gaslighting going on is precious.
I remember seeing this for the first time...when he walks into the elevator and sees the craft services table my stomach dropped.
To completely see the bottom fall out from reality is scary as hell. It's almost dreamlike.
Another one of those movies that became WAY too real.
Remember seeing this for the first time the same period we got one of those original Big Brother TV shows... we live in a weird world nowadays!
and now we have Twitch Streams...
Everybody loves this movie
Incredible concept, well executed, a great performance from Jim Carrey. Easily his finest moment. Love this movie.
This movie trigger psychiatric disorders in some people after watching it, imagining that their lives are also part of a script and that they are constantly being watched. The condition was named "Truman Syndrome", or "The Truman Show Delusion"
It’s a possible trigger moment to already existing conditions that may or may not be currently diagnosed. This film caused nothing
The disorder existed well before; the movie simply gave this condition a term people could instantly recognize.
"The Matrix Disorder"... Ha. Yeah, people have felt there's something wrong with the world for a loooong while.
Yep, there was some guy living in Australia(?) who, when he saw the planes hit the towers on 9/11, believed that it was faked as a "plot point" in his life. Traveled to New York to call their bluff, got a big surprise.
Not much of a delusion anymore. Between surveillance, data collection and advertising, we're all living in a sort of Truman show at this point.
People were also cheering when they realized he had escaped the show. How many show fans were hoping that might someday happen?
I love this movie, especially its subtle message to us about life.
I feel no sympathy for the wife. She is choosing to gaslight Truman his whole life and is contributing to this farce. She chose to be on the show, knowing what was involved, Truman had no choice.
When I first saw this movie, I laughed for the first 10 minutes - then I realised this was a tragedy and I was in tears for the rest of the time.
I thought that this was Carey's finest performance and it was a crime he didn't win an Oscar.
When I was a kid I used to have this thought all the time. What if my life is a TV show and everyone's in on it but me? Then I saw this movie and thought "Oh, ok, turns out it's probably just a thought everyone has. I don't need to worry about it".........unless they made this movie to make me think that
Same.
Well if you have anxiety you don’t have to think too far of what it would be like 🙃
I feel like I’m in season 9 of my life and the writers are just making ridiculous stuff happen to keep it interesting
When Truman is looking through the photo albums with the magnifying glass and he looks at his wife's ring... her fingers were crossed, hinting that she was not serious about her vows. :-)
Right, that was an established signal used I think by soldiers in Vietnam who would cross their fingers when they recorded coerced confessions.
But remember hand signals aren’t universal like in the Middle East a thumbs up is considered rude, so crossed fingers might not mean anything or something different in Canada
I didn't get that part when I first watched the movie, because I only knew of people crossing their fingers for luck.
Yeah, I'm not sure how common the gesture is, but it's basically a signal of false promises; if you cross your fingers while making a promise, you're lying and the contract is invalidated. Not sure about the origins of it, I assume superstition.
The concept that the ending presents, that you have to fight through the storm in order to get where you truly need to be is really empowering
Thanks for watching this one. It's an amazing film that shows all too clearly the destructive path that "Reality TV" was charting, by taking it the its logical (and most extreme) conclusion. It's also one of two incredible moves that showcased Jim Carrey's skills as a dramatic actor, the other being Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which is another "must see" film. For me the pinnacle moment is when Truman's "Best Friend" tells him that "...if everyone's in on it, I'd have to be in on it too." And Jim Carrey looks at him with a horrified, epiphanous expression as he realizes that "yes, even you'd have to be in on it!" Pure chills!
You’re forgetting Man on the Moon. That was another great dramatic performance by him. It’s a shame that Man on the Moon is so overlooked. Because when people think of dramatic Jim Carrey, they only think of Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
This music in the beginning is Mozart's "Rondo alla Turca"
It's been in public domain for a while now :)
“Wait so he’s not a bus driver? He just..”
He just plays one on TV.
Are you not Drake Remore?
"this is gaslighting the movie!" no simone, that would be the movie Gaslight :P where the moniker came from
this is like the saddest film for me, being watched your whole life by a lot of people without you knowing, used my your own father for his tv show, all the people you know are just fake even your friends and wife. The scene where his friend says “i will never lie to you” then cuts to the director saying his lines to him just breaks my heart
Don't forget, he has been the star of a major TV show for decades! At scale wages, they owe him a ton of money.
Notice how the travel agent still has her make up cloth on that she hast to takeoff. Because she had to quickly get ready, because she’s not used to being in that role, because nobody goes to the travel office.
When I was a kid, I always thought it was a napkin used as a bib. Later, I realized and had a big hearty laugh.
The second or third time I saw this film was on an intercontinental flight, and the sequences at the travel agency with "bad" messages were omited. I was prepared to notice that because also I had already noticed that the explanation for the falling light at the beginning was removed. It was fun to notice.
"This is gaslighting: the movie!" Funnily enough actually, Gaslight is Gaslighting: The movie. It's where the term came from (and the play the movie was based on)
I remember the first time I watched this movie, the scene in the town centre when he begins to realise something is going on gave me actual chills. Love this movie.
For me, though, the pivotal moment of the movie is the bridge scene when his best friend tells him he would never lie to him. That's the moment Truman realises he has literally no one on his side and you can see it on his face. The followup of his father coming back is just further confirmation of that fact and I believe at that point Truman realises he has to play along until he can find a way to escape.
The ending, when he steps through the door, is painted as a hopeful, uplifting moment, but if you think about it, from that point on, Truman would have extreme difficulty trusting anything that happens in his life. What if it's all just an extension of the show and/or whatever reality has been forced on him?
@@Jenacide Perhaps, but from Truman's point of view, he has no idea what any 'real world' should even be like. Would therapy even work in that situation? He has nothing to ground himself to, no way to say 'this is what normal should be like'. When your entire world has been proven to be false, how do you know whatever world you're subsequently presented with is real? It's the same issue as with the Matrix. What if you escape, only to find the world you escape into is simply another system of control? How can you ever feel like you've reached the outermost layer, so to speak?
@@Jenacide Can you imagine him being trusting enough to go to therapy? He'd be sure he was being filmed.
Kind of an odd reaction. You don't have to turn everything into a joke when there's nothing funny about a certain scene. I get why you do it, but its not necessarily. Overall I'm a fan of your movie reactions. This one just felt off.
The moment the bus doesn't hit him and he realizes it is impossible if the driver hadn't been focused on him completely, and how that affects him, is one of my favorite parts of this movie
@29:28 no we don't get to see what happens to him. That's the point. The Truman Show is over. The audience saw enough of his life. Now that he is free, we don't have access to him anymore. It's a beautiful and perfect ending.
I think the best decision was not letting the audience see Truman after he left the set, but we're left guessing what he did with his life. If we see what he does, then it's like his own audience still watching him; the whole point is no one watches him anymore, and he gets to live a real life.
the most twisted part of this already incredibly twisted movie is that it seems to imply that Christof does actually care about and love Truman in his own sick way. Christof created a world for Truman based on a 50s fantasy of the perfect world and says that in that world nothing can hurt Truman and that Truman prefers it to the real world, he asks him to stay in the end even though the show will be ruined and seems concerned at the thought of Truman going out into a world where Christof can't control everything to protect him, he even fondly reminisces on important moments in Trumans life.
Christof viewed Truman as a son and the relationship is reminiscent of how parents afflicted with Munchausen by proxy syndrome abuse their children by making them dependent so that they never leave, in this case Christof traumatized Truman at every possible turn to ensure he'd be too afraid to leave
I'm not a Jim Carey fan, but this movie was brilliant. Good reactions from Simone...nice commentary George.
Yes, everybody loves Truman Show! Even the non Jim Carrey fans love it. It’s his most popular dramatic movie, and one of the most popular movies of all time anyway
This movie was made before the term “reality TV” was coined. It really freaked out the actors when it all came true so quickly.
Also, when you cross your fingers while making a promise, the promise doesn’t count. That’s what Truman saw in the wedding photo.
Cops, the Real World and RoadRules were the only reality shows at the time and should all be punished for releasing such evil on the world
Reality TV had been around for a while by 1998.
Please watch the STAR TREK movies! 🖖
I think the ending is cool because it is the one part of his life we as the audience don't get so see.
Yes! Finally the voyeurs can't suck from him anymore.
Great point. After this I don't think he would put himself in the public eye for money like the hosts think. He'd either sue to get proceeds from the show that earned money off his back and/or put it all behind him and live in obscurity (like most of us)
Funnily enough Jim Carrey played Conan O'Brien for a skit and, of course, it was funny af.
What a magical film. I’ve loved it since I first saw it in the theater so long ago. I even found a ‘HOW’S IT GOING TO END?’ pin on Etsy…😁
2:26 I don't think classical music copyright striked usually, is it? :D
Reality TV got popular in the mid-90s, this movie was clearly in reaction to that phenomenon. But yeah, the design of the island and the costumes kinda have that retro feel to them.
Certified old person here: With regards to reality TV as a genre (something pseudo-scripted made for entertainment purposes, as opposed to a documentary series that wants to be educational), the first one that I personally know of was MTV’s _The Real World_ which started back to 1992. If there were others back in the ’80s, I don’t remember them.
That's my recollection as well. I believe Real World was first but reality TV didn't really take off as a genre until the summer of 2000 with Survivor, at least in the US.
@@PaulN504 Survivor was pretty major, but I recall dating "reality" shows like Blind Date taking off quickly too. I think entertainment wrestling shows in the 90s like WWE also count as reality TV in that events are scripted and wrestlers are really performers acting like they're wrestling for real.
@@suicunesolsan I’m not sure I’d consider wrestling a part of the “reality TV” genre since most reality shows are less scripted or not scripted at all for the most part (I know some claim they are scripted but given that they have to follow game show laws I doubt most of them are). While reality TV certainly existed prior to Survivor like you said it was after Survivor that it became a major phenomenon. Survivor was the first to air on a major network and after it reality TV was everywhere. I’m sure you remember that immediately after it every network was announcing new reality shows, some succeeded and many lasted only a single season.
“Bad boys, bad boys what you gonna do…”
Cops debuted in 1989 and is considered a reality show.
I have always liked to think that he ended up going to various countries for television appearances to talk about his experience and his transition into reality, and thus was able to fulfill his dream for travel and exploration.
I like to think he escaped into the second dome, where he does all those things you just mentioned, for a larger audience outside of the second dome.
I've always thought a follow up that covered the papparatzi and legal fallout would have been very compelling. Remember, Truman was adopted by the corporation. Truman was, almost in a twisted way, their child. There are ALL KINDS of things you could do with that theorhetical scenario.
Outright there's no way this movie would happen for real. It is the epitome of a high concept movie. You have to assume some big IFs at the start of the film. "What if a corporation *could* adopt a child and film his/her entire life?" Is one of the first ones.
As to Truman, although the movie ends on a happy feeling note, the reality is I don't think Truman would be a mentally stable human being. Along with having the fear of the water, which he may have partially shaken by the end, he would now have major social anxiety, paranoia, all kinds of issues that he'd have to deal with. Think about it. Every person he ever met for his entire life was lying to him. That is so massive. Even if he hooks up with that girl, and has a nice life and kids... Whew. There's going to be a lot of recovery going on.
It’s much easier to force love onto a guy than a girl. Men very rarely get shown a lot of attention so if you just have a pretty girl show him a lot of attention he’ll fall for it
20:14 that line has always sent chills down my spine. It's delivered with such emotion, yet completely and totally fake. Incredible moment.
So like.. if this had happened, and the "actor" playing the lead left the show.. having provided 20+ years of work, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week they would be entitled to a crapload of cash and failure to pay would be a lawsuit that would of brought down so many businesses. The way I imagine a company would get away with it is that they own his likeness since he was signed over before birth. But with consent laws and things being non-existent in that world it would probably be a very hard case to win when you have no money at all to fight against your oppressors with..
Though being the most famous person in the world, I'm sure many a company legal or otherwise would be willing to take on that price just for the marketing, even ignoring the parasocial relationship many people have likely formed with him over their lives.
This movie always makes me ponder how much free will we have. While we are free to do as we wish, how much of that is basically programmed by influences and things that happen in the rest of the world, and our fears. And that you really have to break through all that, which is not easy, to be truly free.
I always felt they stopped showing us Truman when he walked out the door, not so that we wouldn't see how he would be disadvantaged but, to demonstrate that his life is no longer for the viewing of others. It stopped because the Truman Show had ended. We're no more entitled to his life than anyone else.
Ahhhhh yesss....one of my all time favourite film!! Everytime I feel somewhat low I watch the end scene with Ed Harris speaking through the clouds 😅😅. What a fantastic & original film!
20:21 "This is like Gaslighting: The Movie"
Yeah, about that...
Might I refer you to the movie, "Gaslight" (1944), directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Ingrid Bergman. That's where the term "gaslight" originated.
the end of the 90's was a strange period, lots of different movies dealing with the exact same topic: "what if reality isn't what you think it is?"
Truman Show
The Matrix
Fight Club
Dark City
13th Floor as well...
But it started even a good bit earlier already (various Star Trek episodes dealt with it for example, such as TNG's Frame of Mind in 1993), it's just that at the end of the 90s, there were so _many_ movies about it.
@@Wolf-ln1ml this isn't the weird part though. the weird thing is they didn't just come in the same period, they all almost came out int he same year.
there's this thing where movies with the same concepts get released in waves (or at least pairs):
1. deep impact and armagedodn
2. A Bug's Life And Antz
3. No Strings Attached And Friends With Benefits
4. this is the end & world's end
also, another movie released in 1999 was eXistenZ
there is no end to this
Pleasantville
Some people complain that we don't see what happens after he goes through the door, but the point is that his life is his own now, and not belonging to everyone else.
I remember I was not laughing while watching this movie. It was a crazy experience for me.
I can't even begin to tell you how irritating it was to sit and listen to this guy talk about how bad Truman's *wife's* life must have been for this whole movie.
You mean the life she chose and continues to choose every moment? You mean the life where she is essentially r*ping Truman by sleeping with him under false pretenses? The life where she is complicit and actively involved in ripping away all freedom from this man and keeping him a *100% literal slave?*
You're worried about her life bro? Lunacy.
What I really love is that the music that plays while Truman is sleeping is called Truman Sleeps by Philip Glass (my favourite modern composer), and he’s actually there in the scene, playing the piece.
The amount of little details in this film is really staggering. Genius really.
You guys aren't familiar with "finger's crossed"? It means double cross, the person is lying.
Laura Linney also plays one of the main character in the 4 seasons of "The Ozark" TV Show on Netflix, where she also changes from scared to being fine in a blink of an eye.
10:33 I think the first reality show was MTV’s The Real World no? I believe it’s from the mid 90s
Fantastic reactions to a truly incredible film, that still amazes, to this day.
For a movie that touching you laugh way too much. Sure it's funny at times, but It's actually a sad story. But ok, still a good reaction :)
You should watch “Ozark” Laura is in that show, the whole cast is amazing 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
A guy forced to live a lie in fake world but you guys more worried about fake wife actress?! what does a man have to go through to get a little bit of sympathy.
28:07 why the laugh?
why they laugh so much in some of the serious and most dramatic scenes of the movie? this ppl know what they are watching?
"The Real World" debuted in 1992. So reality TV goes back at least that far.
You really need to watch EdTV., both the theatrical version and the deleted scenes that turn it into a different (and better) movie. That way you'll be perfectly set up for a new Twin Movies episode.
In 1971, PBS aired a 11-part docu-series "An American Family" -- as far as I can tell, this was the first attempt at what would eventually become Reality TV.
@@LlamaDungeon respectfully I have to correct you. candid camera witch is kind off a reality show came in 1948. "an American family" I think it came in 73
While Reality TV existed beforehand, it was mostly a niche thing, to the point most people barely knew it existed. Survivor is what really kicked off the Reality TV phenomenon
@@Eidlones I’d say Cops since it’s still running
@@andrewft31 Ah right COPS. Forgot about that. It was still more of a novelty though, really.
Excellent movie. I’d like to recommend Free Guy if you haven’t seen it yet.
Imagine the pure amount of trauma he'd have to fight through once he's in the outside world. On the surface level, there's trust issues... right? Questioning if his friends really like him, or just want to be near the infamous Truman. But then...on a deeper level... he might start questioning his reality *again*. Reading too deeply into the things people say and do, imagining scenarios where he could have been "re-captured" and put on TV again.
I wonder if that’s how celebrities feel when they meet new people after they become famous “what do they really want” has to cross their minds
Do you think the sun and moon can't be out at the same time? The moon is always there.
The funny thing is that the idea for "The Truman Show" was created to postulate the future television. When this was made most TV shows are scripted and it was impossible to think that the future of Television could be cameras just following the lives of real people on a daily basis. Who knew those types of shows would become the most popular TV shows. Foresight and vision on the part of the writers and director. Bravo
Reality TV shows and now Twitch streams...
Reality always go beyond Fiction
It was already happening lol perhaps you’ve heard of Cops, The Real World and RoadRules? All reality shows and all existed before the Truman Show
@@andrewft31 Yes I have. I never said Truman show was before those. I merely said the premis of "The Truman Show" is that reality TV would be the #1 media or have the#1 Show. Back then reality TV was seen as a side event.
12:59 "What is going on?" She had her fingers crossed. It's a childhood behavior: if you cross your fingers, it's okay to tell a lie (in this case, probably her vows).
If you enjoyed Ed Harris' performance I highly recommend watching Enemy At The Gates. It's a a World War II drama about two snipers playing a game of chess (figuratively). Ed Harris stars opposite Jude Law.
Great flick, but the book is better.
Bob Hoskins plays a cockney Russian lol
The first time I watched this somebody started talking about it the next day out of nowhere 🙃
"Hey Aabe, I just watched this crazy movie! Like, literally insane! Something like that could never happen! *Never. Happen.*"
Please watch "The Neverending Story"!
Loved that I came across this channel. A bit of trivia: After this movie released, some people became convinced their lives were fake. I was under 12 when this came out but even I was a bit spooked for a few weeks hoping my life was real. And, while there had been 'reality tv', it did not become what we know it as until 2000.
I love you guys, but something's a bit off about this reaction. This movie is incredibly sad and deep on its second half. Seeing you constantly laughing and joking kind of made it lose its meaning.
"There are some major consent issues here."
Ya don't say?
Why are you feeling bad for her ? She is lying to him his whole life
Yeah she signed up for I agree