The Truman Show 4K Ultra HD Review

THE MOVIE — 4½/5

Truman (JIM CARREY) is the star of a television show that has chronicled his life from birth up until now. The director Christof (ED HARRIS) has built an entire world for him to live in, which there is no deaths or disease, and Truman is safe from harm. His whole life is scripted, which as Truman lives his life he is starting to notice more and more.

One day while starting his car, he notices a light fall from the sky. He examines it and is unable to figure out exactly what it is. He shrugs it off and drives to work while the radio comes on to let him know that it was a freak plane accident. He once again lets it go and continues on with his job and returns home to Meryl (LAURA LINNEY) who is his wife. Meryl shamelessly plugs items when they are in the house, which Truman doesn’t catch on to until later in the movie.

He knows that something is wrong about his life, and soon discovers that everything is scripted. Every time he tries to leave the island something comes up, there are no available trips or the bus stalls he tries to get on. Frustrated, he begins to go crazy until his best friend Marlon (NOAH EMMERICH) calms him down and lets him know that everything is okay. Truman starts to remember about a girl he once knew from a long time ago that captivated him and let him know that his life is all for television, that nothing is real. He sets out to try and escape from the fantasy he is living on.

On the comedy side, The Truman Show delivers. Carrey is hilarious in most of the scenes he is in, with his little quips and his attempts to leave the television set. The movie also has a serious side to it, in the fact that his entire life is basically a lie. It’s sad that his best friend Noah only comes over in the time of a crisis with a six-pack of beer and lies to his face every time he talks. His wife also does a great job at trying to conceal the lie throughout the film.

Overall, this is a movie that if you haven’t seen it yet, you’re missing out on one of the best movies from the 90’s. Even if you’ve seen it before, this is a film that can be re-watched over and over again as each time it’s still a joyous movie to view.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 3½/5

This release comes with a glossy slip cover and inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy.

The Making of The Truman Show (41 minutes) — Comprised of two special features, this chronicles how the film was made and interviews with the cast. It’s a great look into the film and how it came to be. If you enjoyed the film then by all means check this out.

The Visual effects of The Truman Show (13 minutes) — The visual effects of the movie are detailed and how they added to it. For some reason there’s an annoying green bar on the right side during this feature. Otherwise once again another interesting extra that is worth a look.

Deleted Scenes (13 minutes) — 4 scenes that didn’t make it into the movie.

VIDEO – 4½/5, AUDIO – 4¼/5

Paramount releases The Truman Show onto 4K Ultra HD where it’s presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 2160p high-definition transfer. I’m not sure if any work was done or if the studio just took the original negative and scanned it in 4K resolution, but whatever the case, this is an okay upgrade over the DVD. Detail on this was good albeit not entirely exceptional while colors look nicely balanced. I won’t say it’s a significant update but it’s not bad either.

This also got a minor upgrade in the audio department going from a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track to a newer Dolby Atmos track. Outside of a couple scenes, most notably the finale, I don’t think the Atmos track really was a major difference from the old track. Even so, dialogue comes across with good clarity and there was some decent depth however I didn’t blow my socks off.

OVERALL — 4/5

The Truman Show is a great movie and has staying power in the age we live in and features a wonderful performance from Jim Carrey showing his range and ability to do dramatic roles as well as comedy.