Truman (1995 film)

Truman

Genre	Biography Drama
Based on	Truman by David McCullough
Written by	Thomas Rickman
Directed by	Frank Pierson
Starring	Gary Sinise Diana Scarwid Tony Goldwyn Colm Feore
Music by	David Mansfield
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Anthea Sylbert Paula Weinstein
Producer	Doro Bachrach
Production locations	Independence, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri Leavenworth, Kansas Lee's Summit, Missouri Topeka, Kansas Weston, Missouri
Cinematography	Paul Elliott
Editor	Lisa Fruchtman
Running time	135 minutes
Production companies	HBO Pictures Spring Creek Productions
Budget	$8 million
Original release
Network	HBO
Release	September 9, 1995 (1995-09-09)

Truman is a 1995 American biographical drama television film directed by Frank Pierson and written by Thomas Rickman, based on David McCullough's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1992 book, Truman.^[1] Starring Gary Sinise as Harry S. Truman, the film centers on Truman's humble beginnings, his rise to the presidency, World War II, and his decision to use the first atomic bomb. The film's tagline is "It took a farmer's hand to shape a nation." The film aired on HBO on September 9, 1995.

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Cast

Gary Sinise as Harry S. Truman
Diana Scarwid as Bess Truman
Richard Dysart as Henry L. Stimson
Colm Feore as Charlie Ross
James Gammon as Sam Rayburn
Tony Goldwyn as Clark Clifford
Pat Hingle as Boss Tom Pendergast
Harris Yulin as General George C. Marshall
Leo Burmester as Frank Vassar
Amelia Campbell as Margaret Truman
Virginia Capers as Elizabeth Moore
John Finn as Bob Hannegan
Željko Ivanek as Eddie Jacobson
David Lansbury as Lt. Jim Pendergast
Remak Ramsay as Dean Acheson
Marian Seldes as Eleanor Roosevelt
Lois Smith as Madge Wallace Gates
Richard Venture as J. Lester Perry
Daniel von Bargen as General Douglas MacArthur
Michael Murphy as Dinner Speaker (uncredited)

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an 89% rating based on reviews from 9 critics.^[2] Steve Crum of the Dispatch-Tribune Newspapers rated it 5 out of 5, calling it a "Superb production with memorable Sinise performance in title role."^[3] TV Guide said, "Over-applauded by many critics, Truman is sturdy, standardized biographical moviemaking elevated by incontestably brilliant acting. Unfortunately, this cavalcade of facts and figures is conceived and executed impersonally like a docent delivering a speech in front of the waxworks at a Presidential museum. … [The audience lacks] a sense that Truman's travails have been shaped on screen by a filmmaker's passion. … Truman offers the satisfaction of textual thoroughness and seamless storytelling, but few flashes of inspiration or imagination."^[4]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
1996	American Cinema Editors Awards	Best Edited Motion Picture for Non-Commercial Television	Lisa Fruchtman	Nominated	^[5]
	American Society of Cinematographers Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Movie of the Week or Pilot	Paul Elliott	Won	^[6]
	Artios Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Movie of the Week Casting	Mary Colquhoun	Won	^[7]
	CableACE Awards	Movie or Miniseries		Won	^[8]
	CableACE Awards	Actor in a Movie or Miniseries	Gary Sinise	Won	^[8]
	Directors Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Specials	Frank Pierson	Nominated	^[9]
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television		Nominated	^[10]
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television	Gary Sinise	Won	^[10]
	Golden Reel Awards	Best Sound Editing – Television Movies of the Week – Sound Effects & Foley	Brady Schwartz and Jeffrey Kaplan	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Made for Television Movie	Paula Weinstein, Anthea Sylbert, and Doro Bachrach	Won	^[11]
		Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special	Gary Sinise	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special	Diana Scarwid	Nominated
		Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries or a Special	Thomas Rickman	Nominated
		Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries or a Special	Mary Colquhoun	Won^[a]
		Outstanding Editing for a Miniseries or a Special – Single Camera Production	Lisa Fruchtman	Nominated
		Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries or a Special	Ashlee Petersen, Gordon J. Smith, Russell Cate, Evan Penny, Joe Ventura, Raymond Mackintosh, Heidi Seeholzer, Louise Mackintosh, and Benjamin Robin	Nominated
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Miniseries or a Special	Reinhard Stergar, Wayne Heitman, James Bolt, and Joel Fein	Nominated
	Producers Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television	Paula Weinstein, Anthea Sylbert, and Doro Bachrach	Won
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries	Gary Sinise	Won	^[12]

Notes

^ Tied with Robi Reed-Humes for The Tuskegee Airmen.

References

^ J. O'Connor, John (September 8, 1995). "TV WEEKEND; Harry S Truman, Late Bloomer". The New York Times.
^ "Truman". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
^ Crum, Steve (July 6, 2006). "Dispatch-Tribune Newspapers". Dispatch-Tribune Newspapers.
^ "Truman Reviews". TV Guide. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
^ "Nominees/Winners". IMDb. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
^ "The ASC Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography". American Society of Cinematographers. Archived from the original on August 2, 2011.
^ "1996 Artios Awards". Casting Society of America. October 15, 1996. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
^ Margulies, Lee (September 11, 1996). "CableACE Nominations Are Dominated by HBO". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
^ "48th DGA Awards". Directors Guild of America Awards. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
^ "Truman". Golden Globe Awards. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
^ "Truman". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
^ "The 2nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards. Retrieved March 10, 2023.

External links

Truman at IMDb
Truman at AllMovie

Awards for Truman

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie

The Ages of Man (1966)
Death of a Salesman (1967)
Elizabeth the Queen (1968)
Teacher, Teacher (1969)
A Storm in Summer (1970)
The Andersonville Trial (1971)
Brian's Song (1972)
A War of Children (1973)
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974)
The Law (1975)
Eleanor and Franklin (1976)
Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years / Sybil (1977)
The Gathering (1978)
Friendly Fire (1979)
The Miracle Worker (1980)
Playing for Time (1981)
A Woman Called Golda (1982)
Special Bulletin (1983)
Something About Amelia (1984)
Do You Remember Love (1985)
Love Is Never Silent (1986)
Promise (1987)
Inherit the Wind (1988)
Day One / Roe vs. Wade (1989)
Caroline? / The Incident (1990)
Separate but Equal (1991)
Miss Rose White (1992)
Barbarians at the Gate / Stalin (1993)
And the Band Played On (1994)
Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1995)
Truman (1996)
Miss Evers' Boys (1997)
Don King: Only in America (1998)
A Lesson Before Dying (1999)
Tuesdays with Morrie (2000)
Wit (2001)
The Gathering Storm (2002)
Door to Door (2003)
Something the Lord Made (2004)
Warm Springs (2005)
The Girl in the Café (2006)
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007)
Recount (2008)
Grey Gardens (2009)
Temple Grandin (2010)
Downton Abbey: Series 1 (2011)
Game Change (2012)
Behind the Candelabra (2013)
The Normal Heart (2014)
Bessie (2015)
Sherlock: "The Abominable Bride" (2016)
Black Mirror: "San Junipero" (2017)
Black Mirror: "USS Callister" (2018)
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2019)
Bad Education (2020)
Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square (2021)
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022)
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2023)

Producers Guild of America Award for Best Long-Form Television

World War II: When Lions Roared (1994)
Truman (1995)
Prime Suspect: The Lost Child (1996)
Miss Evers' Boys (1997)
From the Earth to the Moon (1998)
Tuesdays with Morrie (1999)
Death of a Salesman (2000)
Band of Brothers (2001)
Live from Baghdad (2002)
My House in Umbria (2003)
Angels in America (2004)
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2005)
Elizabeth I (2006)
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007)
John Adams (2008)
Grey Gardens (2009)
The Pacific (2010)
Downton Abbey, series 1 (2011)
Game Change (2012)
Behind the Candelabra (2013)
Fargo, season 1 (2014)
Fargo, season 2 (2015)
The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016)
Black Mirror, season 4 (2017)

v t e Works of David McCullough
Books	The Johnstown Flood (1968) The Great Bridge (1972) The Path Between the Seas (1977) Mornings on Horseback (1981) Brave Companions (1991) Truman (1992) John Adams. (2001) 1776 (2005) The Greater Journey (2011) The Wright Brothers (2015)
Films presented or narrated	Brooklyn Bridge (1981) Smithsonian World (5 episodes, 1984–1988) The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God (1984) The Statue of Liberty (1985) Huey Long (1985) The Congress (1988) The Civil War (9 episodes, 1990) American Experience (23 episodes, 1991–2006) Coney Island (1991) D-Day Remembered (1994) Seabiscuit (2003)
Adaptations	Truman (1995) John Adams (miniseries) (2008)

v t e Films directed by Frank Pierson
The Looking Glass War (1969) The Neon Ceiling (1971) A Star Is Born (1976) King of the Gypsies (1978) Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture (1990) Citizen Cohn (1992) Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee (1994) Truman (1995) Dirty Pictures (2000) Conspiracy (2001) Soldier's Girl (2003)