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The Truman Show (Blu-ray)
Year:
Rating: PG
Distributor: Paramount
The Disc: 4.0
At the time, the concept was outlandish: a TV network adopts a baby boy and films his development from foetus to adulthood as the centrepiece of an elaborately staged, 24/7 live telecast programme called The Truman Show. The show's star, Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey), remains completely unaware that his idyllic life is a tightly controlled, ultra-rehearsed stage show, complete with extras, lighting rigs and fake scenery. His wife, Meryl (Laura Linney), and best friend, Marlon (Noah Emmerich), are actors who have lived their lives as part of the show, and they do their best on a daily basis to discourage Truman from exploring the world beyond his picturesque home town. Apart from showcasing Carrey's then-untapped dramatic ability, Australian director Peter Weir and New Zealand screenwriter Andrew Niccol (Gattaca) brilliantly crafted a story of the human condition and our genetically programmed desire for self-determination. The Truman Show was not only prophetic in its forecast of the reality TV phenomenon, but is also deeply profound and moving. For this release, the HD video transfer is pristine, with punchy, crisp visuals that are an astonishing improvement over the film's original DVD release. Philip Glass' terrific score benefits hugely from the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio, which has been beautifully rendered, creating an all encompassing home theatre experience. It is, however, a little tainted by the ludicrous lack of extras, with little more than a handful of reasonably interesting featurettes and deleted scenes.