THE TRUMAN SHOW
Rating: 
Original Review: If there was an award for Most Intelligent Original Score, then The Truman Show would win hands-down. Combining an original underscore by German/Australian composer Burkhard Dallwitz with the minimalist music of Philip Glass and the lush orchestrations of Wojciech Kilar and Frederic Chopin, this Milan release of the soundtrack to the brilliant Peter Weir movie is a winner all the way. The intelligent thing about The Truman Show is similar to the soundtrack release of Shine a couple of years ago - it is not really in the brilliance of the music itself, but more in the way in which it is used.
The Truman Show is all about a giant con, in which a man named Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) is adopted at birth by a giant media corporation and who lives his life in Seahaven Island, in actual fact a enormous TV studio, surrounded by actors who Truman thinks are his friend and co-workers. Truman is unknowingly on TV 24-hours a day, filmed by thousands of hidden cameras controlled by the God-like Christof (Ed Harris), but slowly begins to question his existence in his seemingly idyllic suburban home. The really clever thing about The Truman Show is the fact that, as you are listening to the score, you are never quite sure whether you are listening to the music from Truman Show the Movie, which we, the audience, are watching, or whether you are listening to Truman Show the TV Show, which the movie is about, and which we, the audience, are watching along with all the characters in the movie. It's a quite mind-boggling concept, but which is pulled off perfectly by the combined efforts of Weir, Dallwitz and Glass, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy.
Take, for instance, the cue 'Reunion', which underscores the scene where Truman is reunited with his supposedly long-dead father. It is a beautiful, but typically syrupy Hollywood-style emotional theme, but what is brilliant about this cue is the fact that you actually see it being performed on-screen, and the overly-gushing stringwork is actually called for by Christof to manipulate the emotions of both sets of viewers - the viewers of the TV show in the movie, and the viewers of the movie in the cinema. You could write an entire thesis on the use of music in audience manipulation, but the average soundtrack listener, although they would probably find it interesting, is probably only bothered about one thing: does the music sound good? The answer to this is undeniably yes. To me, Dallwitz's compositions represent Truman's individuality and emotion, and are a terrific combination of atmospheric synthesisers bolstered by strings, pianos, percussion and, occasionally, a solo vocalist. Highlights include 'It's A Life', the Titanic-esque main title, 'Drive' a pumping, guitar-led track for Carrey's manic car chase, the aforementioned 'Reunion', the vibrant 'Truman Sets Sail', the wonderfully powerful and dramatic 'Underground/Storm', which accompanies Truman's final desperate attempt to escape from Seahaven, and the awesome finale 'A New Life', which has an amazing skittish violin solo but which, sadly, did not make the final cut of the film.
Glass' works are a mixed bag of existing tracks from films like Powaqqatsi, Mishima and Anima Mundi, along with a couple of new original tracks - 'Dreaming of Fiji', 'Truman Sleeps' and 'Raising The Sail'. His unique style of blended electronics, subtle acoustics and minimalist repeated textures excellently represent Truman's world - a perfect, symmetrical, dream-like place of control and order, where not a thing is out of place and everything is predictable and highly structured. As a soundtrack listening experience, The Truman Show is highly enjoyable, and the works of Dallwitz and Glass sit together perfectly as a prime example of a quality contemporary soundtrack. However, as I have said, The Truman Show's brilliance lies with it's context within the film - not for a long time have I come across a more inspired usage of music. I hope it gets an Oscar nomination next year, for this fact alone.
Track Listing:
- Trutalk (1:18)
- It's A Life (1:30)
- Aquaphobia (0:40)
- Dreaming of Fiji (1:54)
- Flashback (1:19)
- Anthem - Part 2 (from Powaqqatsi, written by Philip Glass, conducted by Michael Riesman) (3:50)
- The Beginning (from Anima Mundi, written by Philip Glass, conducted by Michael Riesman) (4:06)
- Romance - Larghetto (2nd Movement from Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Opus II, written by Frederic Chopin, performed by Arthur Rubinstein) (10:42)
- Drive (3:34)
- Underground (0:56)
- Do Something! (0:44)
- Living Waters (from Anima Mundi written by Philip Glass, conducted by Michael Riesman) (3:48)
- Reunion (2:26)
- Truman Sleeps (1:51)
- Truman Sets Sail (1:55)
- Underground/Storm (3:37)
- Raising the Sail (2:13)
- Father Kolbe's Preaching (written by Wojciech Kilar, performed by Orchestre Philharmonique National de Pologne, conducted by Kazimierz Kord) (2:26)
- Opening (from Mishima written by Philip Glass, conducted by Michael Riesman) (2:14)
- A New Life (1:58)
- Twentieth Century Boy (written by Marc Bolan, performed by The Big Six) (3:07)
Running Time: 56 minutes 46 seconds
Milan 74321-60822-2 (1998)
Music composed by Burkhard Dallwitz. Additional music by Philip Glass. Special vocal performances by Earl Boen and Jim Carrey. Recorded and mixed by Don Murray. Edited by Bunny Andrews. Mastered by Ron McMaster. Philip Glass' selections produced by Kurt Munkacsi. Album produced by Burkhard Dallwitz and Peter Weir.
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