Quiz Show (1994)
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96% of critics liked it
(53 reviews) -
80% of users liked it
(29,347 ratings)
It's 1958, and the producers of the quiz show 21 have a problem. Their current champ, Herbert Stempel (John Turturro), has a phenomenal memory and a broad range of knowledge. He's also a pudgy loudmouth with a grating personality, so Herbert is encouraged to "take a dive" and allow… More It's 1958, and the producers of the quiz show 21 have a problem. Their current champ, Herbert Stempel (John Turturro), has a phenomenal memory and a broad range of knowledge. He's also a pudgy loudmouth with a grating personality, so Herbert is encouraged to "take a dive" and allow Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes), a handsome and charming college professor, to become the show's new champion. Audiences like Van Doren, and he's certainly not averse to the money he's winning, but the ethics of the situation begin to trouble him, especially when the show's producers begin to give him the questions in advance. Director Robert Redford and writer Paul Attanasio paint a telling portrait of how the network heads and advertising men who manipulated the quiz shows were also able to manipulate the responsibility for the scandal away from themselves. While on the surface a story about the scandal itself, Quiz Show is just as importantly about a turning point in the 1950s when TV and advertising began to change American character and culture. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Robert Redford
- Written By
- Paul Attanasio
- Genres
- Drama
- In Theaters
- Sep 14, 1994 Wide
- Studio
- Buena Vista Internationa
Critic Reviews
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Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Robert Redford's best and richest directorial effort...
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Michael Booth, Denver Post
Redford turns a dry subject into high art, matching the achievements of his other directing efforts in Ordinary People and A River Runs Through It.
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Derek Adams, Time Out
Perfectly pitched, the film brims with insight and wit. Highly recommended.
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Janet Maslin, New York Times
Mr. Redford has made a rich, handsome, articulate film about a subject truly worth talking about.
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Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
What Redford is saying isn't new, but it has rarely been said in a mainstream movie with this kind of passion.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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John Turturro
as Herbie Stempel
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Rob Morrow
as Dick Goodwin
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Ralph Fiennes
as Charles Van Doren
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Paul Scofield
as Mark Van Doren
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David Paymer
as Dan Enright
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Hank Azaria
as Albert Freedman
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Christopher McDonald
as Jack Barry
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Johann Carlo
as Toby Stempel
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Elizabeth Wilson
as Dorothy Van Doren
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Allan Rich
as Robert Kintner
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Mira Sorvino
as Sandra Goodwin
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George Martin
as Chairman
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Paul Guilfoyle
as Lishman
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Griffin Dunne
as Account Guy
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Martin Scorsese
as Sponsor
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Barry Levinson
as Dave Garroway
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Chuck Adamson
as Congressman Mack
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Bruce Altman
as Gene
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Timothy Busfield
as Fred
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Richard Council
as Reporter #1 (uncredited)
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Illeana Douglas
as Woman At Book Party
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William Fichtner
as Stage Manager
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Hamilton Fish IV
as Professor At Book Party
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Anthony Fusco
as Librarian
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Jack Gilpin
as Jack
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Merwin Goldsmith
as Writer At Book Party
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Ethan Hawke
as Student (uncredited)
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Nicholas Kepros
as Congressman Flynt
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Eddie Korbich
as Lighting Director
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Joe Lisi
as Reporter
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Michael Mantell
as Pennebaker
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Debra Monk
as Kintner's Secretary
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Bill Moor
as Congressman Rogers
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Jeffrey Nordling
as John Van Doren
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Vince O'Brien
as Edmund "Bunny" Wilson
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Stephen Pearlman
as Judge Schweitzer
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Grace Phillips
as Mrs. Nearing
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Reno
as Woman At Door
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Steve Ryan
as NBC Employee
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Ernie Sabella
as Car Salesman
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Carole Shelley
as Cornwall Aunt
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Bernie Sheredy
as Reporter
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Barry Snider
as Congressman Springer
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David Stepkin
as Queens Neighbor
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Neil Leifer
as Psychoanalyst
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Kelly Coffield Park
as Queens Neighbor
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Bill Cwikowski
as Challenger
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Shawn Batten
as Cornwall Cousin
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Byron Jennings
as Moomaw
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Douglas McGrath
as Snodgrass
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Gretchen Egolf
as Student at book party
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Pat Russell
as NBC Secretary
