Quiz Show (1994)

That was an excellent one.

Sorry, this movie sucks

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Smart, Deceitful and RuthlessA historically accurate and entertaining film, Robert Redford's Quiz Show is about the lies and deceit of reality television back in the 1950's. The two main characters are Herbie Stempel, a contestant who is unbeatable, but is pressured by NBC executives, Dan Enright and Albert Freedman, to lose to charismatic, Charles Van Doren. The movie progress with Richard "Dick" Goodwin trying to uncover the truth behind the quiz shows.The Quiz Show is an scrutinizing, remorseless portrayal of the American people. Charles Van Doren is willing to cheat to try and receive attention from his father and when he fails to do that he settles for the attention of the American people. Herbie Stempel is socially awkward, which make him willing to cheat for fame and recognition. Recognition of the fact that he was very intelligent, intelligence which he prided himself on. Richard Goodwin is a naive, newly graduated law student who thinks that law will bring justice to the corrupt system of reality television. Dan Enright and Albert Freedman are businessmen to their core, selling the product of reality television. Reality television wasn't about providing recognition to those who deserved it but selling the idea of money to the American people. They knew people watched the shows for the money and not for the questions, so instead of making the show about knowledge they made it about gaining the most viewers providing viewers with the most interesting contestants. The motives behind each of these characters makes them relatable to the audience, making viewers care about them and the plot. The whole movie in general was very real, the setting of 1950s America was very accurate, besides a few minor details. In general, the actors did phenomenal jobs portraying their characters, Ralph Fiennes execution of Charles Van Doren and David Paymer portrayal of Dan Enright were amazing, on the other hand John Turturro's representation of Herbie Stempel felt like a caricature.Paul Attanasio's screenplay is witty, smart, subtle yet ruthless, utilizes the power of foreshadowing and full of memorable dialogue. Despite it's failure in the box office, it's a critically acclaimed movie that is a must see for all.

More often than providing solutions, «Quiz show» uncovers questions not usually thought of. A work from a mainstream milieu and for a mainstream public, featuring renowned stars in the cast along with a celebrity as its director and producer, obeying to the most part of hollywoodian formal stereotypes, Quiz Show manages to be elegant in its aesthetics and narration, while taking the hardest of duties: to suggest truth. The truth this film suggests is that very little, if anything, of what TV shows (and, implicitly, the entire mass media system) present is as it appears; the only rule being the maximization of audience shares and money gains, while manipulating credulous masses by giving them «what they like to believe»; the only reality being market, the sole truth being untruth.While watching, I was touched by the suspicion that Redford is better a director than a performer. The course of the film is strewn with thought- inducing fine particulars. It is a film on a specific circumstance yet of general scope, that will be relevant as long as both shows and mass media system, and masses' short-sightedness, will be there

That is the crux of it. Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes) not only risked dragging his own name through the mud, but that of his father (Paul Scofield) and grandfather.It was easy to take the money under false pretenses, but the truth will always out. When it does, it is always messy and painful. The harm is sometimes irreparable. Charles was torn from the start, but he still gave in.Fiennes, Scofield, and John Turturro were magnificent in this Robert Redford directed film. It had the unfortunate luck to compete against Forrest Gump.

In the era of reality TV, we're used to the blurred line between fiction and non, but in the early days of television, the public was easily suckered in by the grandeur of that magical living room box. "Quiz Show" examines the public's right to the truth and perfectly captures an America bobbing in the wake of McCarthyism.Robert Redford brings his filmmaking pedigree to this adaptation of the Richard N. Goodwin book documenting Goodwin's (played by Robert Morrow) investigation that ignited the quiz show scandal of the late '50s. Paul Attanasio's screenplay weaves a story of TV bigwigs and little everyday men blinded by tastes of fame and money, along with the public deception they engaged in for their various reasons.The film begins predominantly with Herbie Stempel (John Turturro), a contestant on the popular NBC primetime game show "Twenty One." Herbie's long run on the show is about to come to a halt as the producers have seen their ratings plateau and want to bring in a new face to liven things up. Producer Dan Enright (David Paymer) tells Herbie he must throw the next show (in Herb's words, "take a dive") by flubbing an answer to a question as simple as who won the 1955 Oscar for Best Picture.Herbie is replaced with Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes), the unremarkable son of a wealthy Pulitzer winner with a mind for trivia. Enright and co-producer Albert Freedman (Hank Azaria) propose an agreement in which they'll feed Charles answers to questions he already knows. He's rich, the public is enthralled and the ratings go up — everyone wins.The film builds this story for awhile until Richard Goodwin comes into the picture as a member of the legislative oversight committee for the House of Representatives. Goodwin senses something is awry with these quiz shows and slowly uncovers the truth."Quiz Show" isn't suspenseful from start to finish given it's clear the fraudulent quiz show operation will be exposed at some point, but what's fascinating to watch is how these otherwise small men in Stempel and Van Doren deal with the situation as it unfolds. How warped their egos have become after they agree to commit the "slight" transgression becomes a factor in the film. Are they good guys or bad guys, or more appropriately, how black and white is this situation, really?Equally intriguing is how Goodwin goes about interrogating all the parties involved as if private eye solving a murder. He demands the truth and it becomes apparent as hearings begin to be held that the public does too. "Quiz Show" paints an honest portrait of "the business" back in the '50s, the way that the TV people in that age were so dedicated to the dollar and justified everything as "it's what the people want." Things haven't changed so much, however. We now willfully indulge in contrived situations, believing that what the TV shows us is in fact the reality. "Quiz Show," even today, reveals to us that while we demand truth and honesty as consumers, we also long to believe and prefer it to skepticism because it's so much easier. In that sense, how much of a scandal was this really?~StevenThanks for reading! Visit moviemusereviews.com for more!