that time a director guessed the future
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
- With commentary on freedom, surveillance, trust, and the human want for omniscience, The Truman Show (1998) remains one of the most prescient pieces of media ever created. Here's why.
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The Truman Show
Jim Carrey
Ed Harris
Truman
Laura Linney
Meryl
Reality Television
Reality TV
POV
Cinematography
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So...25 years later...how do you think The Truman Show has aged???...Lucky guess or brilliant foresight?
More like a cautionary tale. Cause now billions of people volunteer to become Truman but sometimes don’t see the horror of what it means to be constantly watched.
Great video.
Like fine wine
@theloneranger07 The Truman Show -> Surveillance -> Cinematography Choices -> Hidden Cameras/POV -> Halloween/other examples from other media -> the extra level of meta cinematography in Truman Show -> omniscient viewership -> foreshadowing the intrusive nature/structure of reality TV before it became huge in the 2000s.
@@SceneItReviews 👏👏👏 Bravo!
Easy to forget that this was Carrey's first attempt at a mostly serious role. And not that he wasn't well compensated; but he accepted a paycheck that was only 60% of his going rate because he wanted the role so much.
This and Eternal Sunshine are my favorite roles of his, he’s just so wonderful
He got 12 million dollars and asked for 20 million
@@LifesNeverHumDrum Eternal Sunshine is one of my favorite movies, period. It cuts so deep. I love it when science fiction - or speculative fiction - is used to highlight emotional truths.
And the result is this is my favourite performance of his, an absolute masterpiece, everyone was firing on all cylinders for this one
@@LifesNeverHumDrum Another Eternal Sunshine fan, here. When I first saw it as a Junior in highschool, it immediately became my favorite movie, and not just Jim Carrey movie
Love the social commentary bit at the very end...the entire world is captivated by Truman's tense escape...but after a few seconds of dead air when the broadcast ends they all flip the channel for something new!
It's funny, I remember sitting in the theatre watching him go through that door, leaving that "fake" world behind and entering into the real world, and I expected to follow him, because I didn't consider myself one of those Truman Show peeping toms, I cared about Truman and ... in a second I realized the trick I'd just played on myself.
yep and doing a reality production is quite hard. Honestly, majority of your film is unusable. Out of the 24 hrs of uncorrupted filming, only about 5-10 mins will ever make it. This is why "reality" shows are often faked. A lot of improv than anything. Think WWE and how they do their shows. That's how majority of reality shows were like. Simulated and sometimes rehearsed. The only thing that came close to ACTUAL reality TV are those competition shows like the cooking shows. The things where there's a host, they know they're filmed, and they know they're contestants and know that there is a challenge. Hardly reality but that's how organic you are going to get from being raw.
If you've seen Boondock Saints they had a similar ending, by ending with "people on the street" interviews.
My favorite part is the last line of the movie: “What else is on?”
Perfectly represents trends and how they can be dropped in a second.
And thank goodness there was never a Truman Show 2. That ending, that wonderful hopeful ambiguous ending is perfect.
The casting of Jim Carrey for this role was just *chefs kiss* perfect
I agree he was a strong pick, but considering how...tame this role is compared to his others, I really have to give the script and director more credit for this one.
I think a more understated performance (Carrey or not) would have been next level.
"Cue the Sun" , such a brilliant yet terrifying moment
1998: The Truman Show was a dystopian science fiction story
2024: Nothing dystopian about it.
This reminds me of a quotes from The Incredibles 2:
"You don't talk, you watch talk shows. You don't play games, you watch game shows. Travel, relationships, risk; every meaningful experience must be packaged and delivered to you to watch at a distance so that you can remain ever-sheltered, ever-passive, ever-ravenous consumers who can't free themselves to rise from their couches, break a sweat, never anticipate new life."
this adresses the fourth wall so well and breaks it at the same time, damn
Considering how many people slack off Incredibles 2, it frustrates me no one defends the stronger aspects of it like this line. Shame the villain's motivations weren't as complicated as the quote
Jim Carrey is a once in a lifetime ball of energy. Even his semi-dramatic acting is so sharp, always on point. Such commitment to the roles.
Jerry Lewis
@@alreadybanned-pe6seRobin Williams
When I saw it in theaters in 1998 I thought intrusive reality tv was pretty far fetched. Clearly I was wrong.
never underestimate how terrible we can make everything
1984
Fahrenheit 451
Brave new world
Where they intersect...
YOU ARE HERE
still one of my favorites movies and an amazing one to bring us into the next century; the way the tension builds and builds before the movie turns on its head and cuts to the perspective of a 60 minutes type interview of the production was such a unique writing style
i think it holds up as one of the great american films of the modern era and delivers great scenes, acting and music tucked in with its bizarre but pretty great cinematography
By an Australian director too
I don't like some of the overly dramatised bits, and I think that's the reason it's not an all time classic. It's near perfect movie and the talk between Ed Harris and Truman before he leaves will never leave my mind.
@@netaro1890 ok
I think that rather than predicting the future the movie influenced it.
I remember after it’s release at being shocked at people talking about creating something like the Truman show, thinking at people so dumb as not to pick up on the warnings it was issuing.
Lo and behold, reality TV showed up a few years later. It wasn’t a coincidence.
Ah yes I have created the torment nexus just like in the book "please don't create the torment nexus."
So you think...a movie...influenced....a consumer culture?
@@BornToBeUai You think a movie from 1998 that made 4x it's 60 million budget and is still beloved by millions today *didn't* influence consumer culture?
@@sly-shotyes, I do.
"reality TV showed up a few years later"
MTV's 'The Real World' [itself not an original idea] would like a word.
Truman show is such a good movie 🍿
Let’s not go over the top… it’s a good movie. A genuine 7 out of 10.
and nozrep, to your comment below: yeah some people think the movie catwoman is great too. Go out and watch some movies, you’ll see how it humbles the Truman show.
yes!
@@latenightlogicall in the eye of the beholder. And I behold that I am not over the top in agreeing with the person when they it is such a good movie. Well plus also it is in my individual, personal top 5, I do behold!🎉😂 I do declare!
So unique
It’s not a movie, that’s why
The Truman Show is such a great movie, Jim Carey's performance deserved an Oscar
This is one of those rare movies that I actually re watch once every year or two because it’s just so damn well done. Brilliant when it came out, and still brilliant today.
I love all the small details in this movie. It hasn't aged a day. I like when you can see Phillip Glass (the composer of the score) sitting at the piano playing in the control room. He's just kinda in the background.
oh my god I didn't know it was actually him, that's so cool!
@@oof2073 Yeah, when I noticed it was him, it was a pretty cool moment.
The look of content determination on Carrey's face after the boat storm, it makes me well up every time. Nothing can stop me now. Natascha McElhone was great casting too, memorable expressive eyes.
I think her voice is underrated too. She speaks so little, but her voice sticks in your mind.
The Truman Show literally established its very own unique subgenre of horror.
I still cry every time I see this film
I think "Jennicam" was probably where they got the inspiration for this btw, she started live streaming her entire life in 1996. She was on Letterman the year this came out.
interesting! just googled her - what a fascinating time the late 1990s were haha. And I think the script was started in 1991, so I assume that was before Jennicam?
@@SceneItReviewsProbably yeah.
also there was the 'Real World' on MTV - which was mentioned in the video - years before that
Ed Harris is the greatest supporting actor. This, enemy at the gates, Apollo 13, and many more
One Jack to another, just to say, the work you're doing is some of the best on this platform. Very exciting to see the genre in such good hands!
You going to make videos again? Love your stuff brother
Cheers legend! Your videos are constantly popping up in my recommended so I appreciate it ✌hope you're making a triumphant return soon!
even if his world was fake, he really was the one true man
“*You* were real. That’s made you so good to watch.”
There was a movie that came out several months later called EDtv, that was much, much, more prophetic in foreshadowing the near future’s form of entertainment. It’s often overlooked because of the Truman Show’s massive success prior and it being considered similar, but if you go back and watch it, it nails the reality tv craze to a T. I’m not even saying it was as good of a movie, but considering it was released only 9 months later, it too would have fell into the same pre-reality television era.
My first thought when I saw the Truman Show was that it was an updated version of P. K. Dick's novel "Time Out of Joint". The premise is different but they are both about a man trapped in a fake town constructed by powerful forces to exploit the man for their own purposes, with people around him pretending that the town is real. The premise of the Truman Show is more relevant to our present dystopia, but it does have the advantage of being made almost 40 years later.
That was actually the first PKD story i ever read, a year before the Truman Show came out. I definitely noticed the similarities
Should have won an oscar
This movie still holds up to this day in my opion.
Social commentary. The public is just the last to know.
Jeez, this channel is such a treasure! Great job!
Recently rewatched it. Peter Weir was at the top of his game in this era. Because of this we got Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine and Man on the Moon.
I had to laugh when you showed the clip of the "perfect sunset" because it had the wrong moon phase for where it was in the sky as well as both the sun and moon being way too big.
Do you think they wrote fake science text books in case Truman was interested in the moon or astronomy? I guess they would've just steered him away from it.
The Truman show was loosely inspired by a French Canadian film that came out 5 years earlier. As the script was shopped around Hollywood for adaptation rights, it later gave birth to EDtv. That came out after Truman Show.
Lequel?
It’s based on a stage play too
The fact that this movie was shot on film adds considerably to the risk taking made on the director’s part (though that was a given in the 90s).
How so?
The movie turned out great, I'm glad he didn't go the 1984 or V for vendetta route
Lmaoo when she said she was an actress playing an actress playing a character I realised how the actors pulled it off so well
The camerawork was insane
I was working at Paramount Studios when they filmed the boat stuff and the walk up the blue sky. We called it the B-tank, and they had re-painted the more normal looking sky to what is seen in "The Truman Show." Hightened reality. However our current world puts celebrity above all else. Most of us are not smart enough to realize that reality shows are just as scripted as everything else. It has spawned personal narcissism and selfishness. From CZcams creating some of the worst people around (and some good people too) to reality shows helping to put a dimwitted demagogue in our White House. (i.e. The Celebrity Apprentice) And everyone eats it up, in that case, just like the Truman Show. The tragedy of Jim Carrey is he was so good at the rubber face comedy stuff that he was never taken seriously as an actor. "The Truman Show" worked because it tip-toed on that fine line between comedy and drama.
It really was upsetting to see how naturally successful a sleazy reality TV star was at running for President.
You were there?? That's so cool! I saw some of the behind the scenes footage of the big 'wall' they had to run the boat into, and they still had to work out a way to shoot it without getting the reflection of the real sky in the background - very fun creative practical filmmaking! And couldn't agree more - it's so strange that people voluntarily watch shows that are predicated on the idea of spontaneity and "liveness" when they're clearly as artificial as scripted television.
It's considered a classic today, but NETWORK probably predicted the future of our media world better than anything I can think of. As a film buff I'm sure you've seen it, but if you haven't, it's a must see. @@SceneItReviews
How'd you like your gas prices in 2023?
@@ioannisgiannas9875 What exactly do you believe the President's job to be? Do you think that somehow it has something to do with gas prices?
Tons of valuable insights, and I love the way you present your thesis. Your explanation of the cinematographic techniques used to make this unique film absolutely shine is truly enlightening.
However, I disagree with your basic premise that The Truman Show is some kind of foreshadowing of the future, intentional or not.
The main reason is that reality TV is mostly scripted, except perhaps for some of the skill-based competitions like Project Runway (although these are highly engineered regardless, from what I understand). The contestants know that they are on television and are actively participating in the drama. Truman of course is not in on it and is not there of his own will.
If anything, the movie is in the same vein as other movies of the Y2K era, such as The Matrix and Office Space: "I'm stuck in a box. I need to get out!"
I see the link you are making between the two, but I think the fundamental message of The Truman Show is pointing in a completely different direction than the nature of reality TV.
Regardless, wonderful presentation. Thank you for all the hard work you put into this, I learned a lot about one of my favorite films!
Agreed, Truman is not a direct corollary for modern reality participants (except maybe Ronald on Jury Duty??).
However, I feel like all the other characters, the producers, and the audience's appetite for an 'artificial reality' are pretty accurate to the modern appetite for Reality TV. Especially the way in which the producers have the power (in real time) to manipulate Truman's world and present the in-world characters however they want.
Jim Carreys best film. Not his FUNNIEST. But his best.❤
Agreed. The Majestic was also good.
@@englishgalmd Yes! Really enjoyed that film. Extremely underrated.
It has subtle comedy, but primarily its a mystery/drama. It's actually hard to pinpoint what style it actually is !!
So, choosing to hire a really whacky over the top comedian like Carrey, I think was a huge risk, that paid off incredibly well.
This film will go down (or has) in history as a modern classic. It's SO well filmed, written, prophetic, everything, charming, touching..
Also, Paul Giamatti can add another classic to his acting CV. Although its only a small part, he's still great. He's incredible in everything he does. One of my favourite actors.
Sideways and John Dies at the End are standouts for his acting,
That movie made me so paranoid
You'll never see a film like The Truman Show or Pleasantville in theaters these days. They won't make movies like this anymore.
I remember watching this in my film class and then suddenly yelling out ‘oh my god, the clouds aren’t moving!’ And everyone was like ‘ooooohhhhhh’
One of my favourite films. This and Eternal Sunshine are easily his best roles. I watch them regularly, along with Groundhog Day and Pleasantville. It's more akin to putting on a favourite record than being in the right mood to watch a film. There's something about an unreal concept set in a real world that draws me in. I'd love to know about more films that fit into that category. I guess Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Amelie, Pan's Labyrinth, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, most Studio Ghibli films, Your Name, Akira / Stranger Things also fit the bill. All fantastic, timeless productions.
One thing I love is the holiday attendant coming out the room with a napkin on her neck & I always assumed she was coming out from just eating but she’s coming out from having her makeup done 😂
Picnic at Hanging Rock, Truman Show, AND Master and Commander? One of the low key greats.
These videos seem like those “The Simpsons predicted the future” videos. No, the showed us what was already happening. Remember, “You don’t need to be a weatherman, to know what direction the wind is blowin’”.
Oh, how I love this movie so much...
Gen X, "What a dystopia". Gen Alpha, "I wanna be Truman"
pardon why would someone wanna be truman? genuinely asking
@@oof2073 When most of your social interaction is through a screen via para-social relationships with influencers, you come to see fame as the true value of a person.
@@AndrewClunn ah, i see
im glad I watched this not knowing what the plot was and slowing finding out along with Truman
So happy to hear Runaway Quartet by Moments as background music. Really love the piece.
Still my favourite movie of all time. So well done, and it doesn't hurt that it really taps into my absolute hatred of reality TV!
Never heard of Truman show but if it has Jim Carrey I should check it out. He was great in Sonic
The Truman Show is an actual piece of art you can take seriously. Sonic(or any other movie like that) isn't even close to being in the same league. McDonald's vs a Steak dinner.
One of those movies I just wish I could forget, just to discover it again…
Natascha criminally underated
jury duty was crazy
Truman show is my comfort movie
Right up there with The Matrix and Groundhog Day for me as far as films that keep you up all night wondering.
One of my favourite movies. Probably in my top 5 movies of all time.
I’m stopping this video to go rewatch this movie
The ending editing was a nice sendup
one of the best movies of all time
I know sci fi movie from 70's with selfie stick in it...that is the real future guessed.
Absolutely brilliant film! Still have my original VHS copy!
if i am not mistaken the book written by some author in the 1990s that almost predicted the invention of iphones to a ‘t’ accurately had already published that book. I mean just, like, societally culturally et ceterally….. all those items and things were conglomerating and begetting the additional future things almost all at the same time. You like, comparatively how, various ancient cultures around the globe all built pyramid structures around the same times or whatever and had like, no contact with each other due to the spherical oblong nature of this planet which we inhabit
I see what you did there 😉
I have loved Peter Weir since I saw "Picnic At Hanging Rock" in the mid-70s at the Nuart Theater in the westside of L.A. He has made so many great movies, in some many different genres.
having rewatched this movie over the years I've found it's different every time, and you made me realize that it actually became MORE unsettling, whereas Children of Men I'm almost desensitized to the violence and almost more comfortable with the plot and setting there, whereas Truman Show something feels way more OFF than I detected before.. it has a lot to do with the camera work, I'm likely more aligned with being able to immerse myself in that liminal space of the "observer" behind truman, idk it's just strange how these movies are not perfect, but still achieve that meta level of dynamic transformation just right.
and when I say they aren't perfect I mean there is no 1:1 adaptation here, if you go over that threshold you enter the more whimsical imaginative, stylistic space, and at the perfect 1:1 it's just a reality show or something without any way for the creative mind to get lost in, so by creating this almost NEAR perfection, .8 to 1, we get this space where the mind can literally inhabit and build on the imagination of the work.
One of my all time favourite movies
The best of Jim Carrey along with Eternal Sunshine
You should do a video analyzing the Safdie brothers work very underrated 👏👏
Truman behaved like Jim Carey because all through his childhood he was rewarded when he did something that made people take notice. People smiled when he did something a little off the wall, whether they realized they were doing it or not.
This movie was ahead of its time, but not so much as to alienate the audience, just enough to be amazing. And it still is.
Still love this movie
I could watch it again!
Love this movie. When I was a kid, it was one of my go to movies when I was sick lol
They really should have done a follow-up. Though I'm not sure (nor anyone could know) how he would behave in the real world.
The movie was inspired by JenniCam. About a year earlier Jennifer Ringley set up web cams all over her apartment that showed everything she did 24-7. Of course there was no video streaming then but they uploaded a still photo once per minute.
Someone else mentioned this, but the first draft of The Truman Show was written in '91, so it definitely predates it.
Jim has talked about how prophetic this movie is
I think not only did this guess the future of 'reality tv' but of thr constant filming people take upon themselves like on family channels. Children grow up with their life broadcast out to the world- whether they are told about it or not, they will not understand the truth/ real ramifications till they're much older. A very scary thought
The truman show is an excellent piece of cienmatography but also a terrifying (pre) retrospective on modern television and how it's all fake.
The Truman Show Is Forever Amazing.
Top 10 movies of all time.
This is essentially CCTV
Surveillance stuff
Which exists
And ten years later, the channel that was supposed to be based on discovery, that once aired shows about science, technology, the earth, and space, became nothing but dirty crab fishermen literally 24/7 save for one single, extremely begrudged episode of Mythbusters every other Wednesday.
And it hasn't stopped since...
The "sponsor" segments are uncanny now.
i love this movie with all my heart
Watching the Truman Show through a lens of how we consume social media today is startlingly scary.
The Ultimate Method acting experience?
Like 1984, it’s supposed to be a warning, not an instruction manual.
Many of us experienced this in 2020. Actually looking around at what we could see with our eyes vs what was controlled by the “directors”, we got that awful feeling as we first couldn’t fathom the hideous nature of the control and feeding lies to keep the production rolling. We questioned ourselves, first, and then when we tried to share that with some of the willing and unwilling actors, they thought we were just paranoid. It’s chilling and I wish it were all just interesting fiction.
In hinsight, everything predicts the future.
Reality TV existed well before this movie. You hand American family in 1971 for instance. And the 90's the tv reality explosion really started.
I thought thought this video was going to be talking about the low key smart phone in portrait mode like it's playing a CZcams short at 1:33.
Side note: Another movie that surprisingly nailed it out of the park is PCU.
Still brilliant by any measure.
The Truman Show sequel should have them reboot the show with another person and Truman teams up with the old director to stop it
The old directory didn't want it to end. He just wanted to make good tv.
I feel like some kids of family clogging channels are gonna watch this movie and really relate
In addition to modern day reality tv shows, even scarier, perhaps, is the film’s parallel to things such as family channels on CZcams where children, like Truman, are literally raised surrounded by cameras under the watchful eye of strangers on the internet. Yes, they are actually able to see the cameras but most likely unable to comprehend the true significance of the camera and what it means until they’re older and already have their whole childhood on the internet. Scary times….
1:03 theres a word for this…and it starts with a P
In 1998 it was a fun comedy. In 2023 it's a thriller.
I saw it back then and I saw it some months ago.