Truman

This solid, theatrical caliber bio of President Harry S. Truman covers much ground and offers Gary Sinise giving one of his finest performances to date.

An Emmy-winning production, this also boasts lavish period detail and a strong supporting cast (lead by Diana Scarwid as Bess Truman). It also features one of my all-time favorite character actors, Richard Dysart. He plays Secretary of War Henry Stimson and is quite memorable in an otherwise minor supporting role. All in all I gave this an IMDb '10'. Even with a whitewash of some details, this has to be one of the best presidential bios ever. They obviously put lots of time, money and effort into it.

After seeing Gary Sinise in this movie he became one of my favorite actors. I live in Independence, the proud hometown of Harry S. Truman. I was fortunate enought to meet Gary, who is one of the friendliest actors around. ( Only said hi but he smiled and said hi back with such warmth.) I think he's a great actor who will hopefully be around for years to come!!

I knew that I was going to be interested in this film from the beginning, having read and enjoyed David McCullough's book of the same name. What I wasn't expecting was the incredible performance turned out by Gary Sinise as Truman. While I thought that he was the *only* good thing about the film Forrest Gump, I still wasn't completely sold on his acting ability. This film changed my mind, because I felt like I was watching Truman himself in action. I can't even fathom the amount of research he must have put into his role, but he was amazing.

As for the film itself, it was very well done, used stock footage well (although I would swear that I caught a glimpse of FDR in some footage after he had supposedly died) and was a good overview of the very lengthy source it came from. Having read the book, I would have liked to have seen the film act as more of a thesis than a summary, so while adding another hour may have alienated some in terms of length; it would have provided a more in-depth portrayal of a sometimes underrated president.

--Shelly

Gary Sinese goes a great job portraying the farmer who became a president- a man who could make tough decisions and live with them. Though surrounded by corruption, he never stooped to it. His letters to his wife are touching- since Bess did not cotton to Washington society. The whole movie- from his early days in haberdashery to the Korea and MacArthur are documented very well. I also liked the touch of his defending he daughter Margaret against the music critic of the Washington Post- He was a strong man- stubborn as a Missouri mule but also a man of intergrity.

Harry Truman was an American president of rare integrity. Steadfastly honest and loyal to his friends, his causes, and his own heart, and born into a lower middle class farming family, Truman stands out as a real anomaly in 20th century American politics. Like similar men of profound integrity, such as John Adams, his presidency was a turbulent time of great triumphs for freedom and democracy and huge problems for ethics, nationalism and human rights. And as the symbol and scapegoat of those times, Truman, again like Adams, played his role - whether cast as hero or villain - with profound dignity. This film tells his story from his enlistment in the armed forces during World War One, at the age of 33, to his retirement from politics about 35 years later.

The characters of this film are portrayed sensitively and authentically. Truman and his wife, and the controversial Generals Marshall and MacArthur are particularly impressive. In some cases - particularly the Trumans themselves - this must have been a fairly difficult effort. Truman was not a very dramatic and flashy person, and his wife was fairly detached and private. Sinise and Scarwid play the parts and the relationship perfectly.

Since the study of history is a big part of my career, I am writing from a slightly unusual perspective. "Truman" has all the pedigree for what should have been a really powerful biographical film - a great lead actor, a solid supporting cast, a good production team, a great story and a very strong writing team. And it is refreshing to see such an accurate portrayal of a true hero of American politics and such a vivid realization of his times. Despite all of this, I feel that Truman could have been a better film - more dramatic, more visually powerful and more poignant. Somewhere between the script and the directing, a bit of cinematic art was lost and never quite recovered. Historiographically, this is a satisfying film, but it does not go too far past "satisfying".