Truman Show, The (DVD)

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And the man who ties it up is, also, the person who has the least direct interaction with the cast. Ed Harris as the creator, Christof, is marvelous. He´s completely wrapped up in the drama he´s manufactured and himself has a God complex, looking down on the world from his control room in the moon. Harris plays the manipulator role to perfection, understated yet egotistical.

Ultimately, as is evidenced by the movie´s coda, "The Truman Show" is just TV. The audience may have invested their hopes and dreams in Truman and his daily life, but at what cost? Have they eschewed personal interactions in order to witness the contrived meetings of Truman Burbank, where nothing is real? At the end of the day, though the audience cheered for Truman and his escape into the real world, the only person whose life it affects is the principal of the show. The actors are allowed to return to their ordinary lives and Christof may plan for the next incarnation of the program, or live out his days dejected that he couldn´t truly control his own creation. The world at large, however, returns to their lives. If they are focused on television, then they will find something else to fill that time in their lives. Another show, a real relationship or anything else of substance.

Video:
The Anamorphic widescreen presentation, in a 16:9 aspect ratio, looks clean. It suffers from a little bit of overscan, but it´s hardly noticeable outside a few scenes where writing is found on the outer fringes of the frame. Other than that, the transfer is magnificent. The color palate is vibrant and perfectly surreal, the lines are clean and it has excellent depth.

Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is pretty good. Aside from a few gimmicks the rear speakers are pretty much unutilized. The main three channels have a nice spread of effects, dialogue and music cues. A good dynamic range with no distractions like hisses, pops or crackles means a good audio track.

Extras:
If the studios are intent on double-dipping titles before the release of HD-DVD… this is they way they should do it. "The Truman Show" has a couple great documentaries, some deleted scenes, and promotional materials.

The first object is a 2-part documentary entitled, "How´s it going to end." Presented in Anamorphic widescreen (unexpected bonus!) these segments reflect on the story of the film, the nature of reality television, Jim Carrey as an actor and what he brought to the production and putting together one of the most interesting and different stories in years. The character motivation exploration is deep and director Peter Weir goes into what attracted him to the screenplay, what he changed and what he really thinks of the finished product. These pieces are excellent.

While many of the special effects in "The Truman Show" were practical in nature, the documentary "Faux Finishing" talks about the extra work that had to be create the finishing touches on the world of Seahaven.

There are a half-dozen deleted scenes that are either redundant or would have slowed the film´s pacing. That includes Jim Carrey being more explicit about his discovery of the phony world in which he resides (which was better when left enthymematic) and Carrey cutting loose.

Additionally there are a pair of trailers and a handful of TV spots, plus behind-the-scenes photographs that are presented without context. As per usual the DVD also forces a few previews for upcoming products on you, whether you want it to or not.

Film Value:
For whatever reason, "The Truman Show" isn´t valued as highly as it should. It came out at a time when nobody wanted to see a serious Jim Carrey. I admit that I watched it expecting to see "Ace Ventura." My opinions have grown and changed over the years, and as a companion to the outstanding "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "The Truman Show" showcases a true genius of the silver screen. Peter Weir knocks this film out of the ballpark and "The Truman Show" is honestly deserving a place in cinema history for its originality, charm and style.

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