EDTV, it came out around the same time than Truman Show. Its about reality-tv, but not nearly as multilayered and multidimensional masterpiece as The Truman Show.
Also Pleasantville has people living in a TV show.
Those two comes to mind and are closer than those listed by Movie Chat similar movie algorithms.
The Thirteenth Floor
shareLogan's Run (1976)
shareFree Guy. Currently out and the top movie. It's the bastard love child of TRUMAN SHOW and Tron. Interestingly, Jim Carrey,from this TRUMAN SHOW, and Ryan Reynolds, from Free Guy, both come from the same country, Canada..😀 ., Also, a MAJOR difference in TRUMAN SHOW is no one, except his (UNMARRIED) girlfriend, is actually on Truman Burbank's side, where in FREE GUY, Guy, and the others by the end rally, if you will, together on Free Guy's side, QUITE unlike this flick, where only Lauren/Sylvia tries to let our hero Truman in on it.
And OF COURSE EdTV, out around the same time, only with everyone in on it..
I didn’t think of the Tron side, but that’s a good reference, and instead of an evil cpu they add the Dude character.
shareRequiem for a Dream, Magnolia, Memento, What Dreams May Come, and Happiness (1998) are well-told stories with strange happenings, but they're not as closely similar as the suggestions by other posters (EdTv and Pleasant Ville). If you haven't seen the ones mentioned and liked the Truman Show, you probably won't be disappointed.
shareWhat Dreams May Come is fantastic. It's a really creative movie, and I found it quite moving. It's a great adventure/fantasy with some real heart to it, and it's a shame it's not more well-known. Of course, post-Robin Williams' suicide, it's a much darker story.
shareAgreed What dreams may come, was a movie to remember! Thanks for the suggestions. Happiness was amazing too btw. Have to rewatch that, it is also a bit traumatizing.
shareI haven't seen Happiness, so I'll check it out. Well, I'll add it to my ever-expanding list of recommended films I sometimes manage to watch one or two of...
shareStranger Than Fiction is pretty close, I think.
The Prisoner is a TV series that has the same idyllic town/prison thing. It gets a lot weirder, though.
Dark City has some of the "trapped" themes, but it has a very, very different tone.
I never saw Dark City until long after I was a fan of The Truman Show, even though it was released earlier the same year (1998). The second half of Dark City, where the main characters are searching for Shell Beach, reminded me a lot of The Truman Show. Also, the themes of questioning your past and memories, and if your life has been manipulated without you knowing it comes up in both movies.
shareYeah, that's why I recommended it there. But I added the "different tone" note because I don't think they're really similar in that way. But if somebody's looking for a good reality-questioning movie, that's a great example.
shareJennifer Connelly stands at the end of a pier looking out to the ocean in both Dark City and Requiem for a Dream. She also does this in "House of Sand and Fog"
sharetry Ascension 3 part series from 2014
shareJim Carrey's other movie The Majestic is really similar in terms of pacing, and mystery. I would recommend that as it is very similar in feel although the themes are very different.
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