Quiz Show [DVD] [1995] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

It's difficult in this cynical modern world to imagine a time when TV had yet to be seen to pop its cherry, but that is exactly what director Robert Redford tried to do with Quiz Show, a movie based loosely on the rigging scandal that rocked American TV in the late 1950s. The film conjures a vanished world in which the innocent excitement of the viewing millions was in stark contrast to the ruthless manipulations of the big TV companies, who, behind their smiling and virtuous facades, would stop at nothing to maintain ratings and maximise profits.

It's New York City 1958, and Herb Stempel (John Turturro), an average joe from Queens, is the star of hit NBC quiz-show Twenty One. Know-it-all Herb is unbeatable and has amassed a considerable fortune in prize money. But when ratings level off, the show's sponsors demand a fresh face, so producer Dan Enright (David Paymer) persuades a reluctant Herb to take a fall in order to clear the way for a new quiz-show hero. Step forward dashing WASP academic Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes), whose Ivy League sophistication quickly makes him a media sensation and the perfect contrast to his uncouth opponent. But when Herb later yells "Fix!", he catches the attention of Congressional investigator Dick Goodwin (Rob Morrow), a young and ambitious lawyer who quickly suspects that Twenty One might not be as spontaneous as it looks.

Paul Attanasio's script deals mainly with the murky motivations and unforeseen consequences of the actions of the main players. Greed, envy, class conflict, and vanity are the ingredients of a drama that attempts to highlight the ease with which ordinary people can be seduced and corrupted by those who skilfully appeal to their baser instincts, and how TV, then as now, can make or break those people for its own ends without a twinge of conscience. Quiz Show, however, is not a film with a clearly defined sense of right and wrong, and it's the better for it. Although the amoral corporate TV machine cynically seeks to manipulate, the motivations of those attempting to call it to account are equally questionable.

The performances are good throughout, with John Turturro and Ralph Fiennes both investing their characters with a pleasing degree of substance. Turturro revels in his role as the wronged man, whose sense of injustice can never quite be squared with his willing complicity in a fraud; and Fiennes lends a suitably benign sneer to Charles Van Doren, a man who begins as someone simply toying with the blue-collar amusement that is TV but who is eventually forced to see it as a mirror in which his reflection is none too pretty. The unwitting catalyst for the above-mentioned two, Dick Goodwin, is actually the weakest of the main characters, for the simple reason that it's difficult to understand why he pursues his quarry so doggedly. Rob Morrow also comes dangerously close at time to playing his character as a sort of Bostonian Columbo.

The secondaries are all ably played, with Paul Schofield outdoing the rest with his turn as Charles Van Doren's distinguished father Mark, an otherworldly poet and doyen of the East Coast literary elite whose wry amusement at his son's vulgar celebrity soon turns to horror when its consequences strike too close to home. Such blue-blooded reserve is contrasted completely by David Paymer as Dan Enright - well supported by Hank Azaria playing his pit-bull assistant Albert Freedman - a smooth-talking huckster rarely troubled by moral considerations yet who is still sympathetic, if only because he's a member of the real world, unlike the Van Dorens and their ilk who look down wearily from their lofty heights. It's a stark social contrast that is neatly presented in this film.

Quiz Show, while not being quite as profound as it would like to be, is an enjoyable movie that looks sensational and is moderately gripping throughout. The glossy, chromium-plated world of 1950s America is a feast for the eyes and the recreation of the live early days of Television is impressive and exciting. The film is perhaps a little too long, and the ultimate payoff for all the dramatic build-up is somewhat tame, though the build-up itself is gripping enough to make us forgive its conclusion, but only just. All in all, Quiz Show is a meticulously constructed, beautifully acted and thought-provoking movie that is well worth two or so hours of your time.

In 1958 America the most popular form of entertainment was quiz shows and the most successfull was "Twenty-One". Champions of the show were national heroes. One such hero was Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes) a university professor and a product of America's most renowned literary family. People would tune in every week and watch in amazement at Charles drawing on his huge intellect and knowledge to answer the most obscure and difficult questions. No one would believe that this was a fix and the public only saw what the network and the producers wanted you to see. Herbie Stempel (John Turturo) a previous champion brings accusations against the network that this was a fraud which is dismissed but finally dug up by Dick Goodwin (Rob Morrow) a young lawyer working for a Congressional subcommittee.
Directed very well by Robert Redford and with fantastic performances from Ralph Fiennes and Rob Morrow but for me this film is all about the amazingly intense performance from John Turturo who literally eats the screen whenever he's on. Good performances also by David Paymer and
Hank Azaria as the shows producers.
This film superby captures the birth of popular television and the rise and fall of the first reality tv stars in an innocent era highly polished filmaking

Quiz Show is simply a fantastic view of not just the show 21, but of the entertainment world. By far the best part is at the end, when the case is being summed up by the people who run 21, and it brings up some interesting questions. Hardly ever has a movie with a subject matter so... sappy, ever had so much appeal. "The sponsers made money, we made money, the contestants saw more money than they ever will again, and the viewers were happy. Who's the victim?"