Quiz
Show (1994)
Staring: John Turturro, Rob
Morrow, Ralph Fiennes, Paul Scofield, David Paymer, Hank Azaria
Directed by: Robert Redford
Written by: Paul Attanasio
U.S.A Box Office: US$24.82m
Nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture,
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Paul Scofield), Best Director (Robert Redford) and Best
Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published (Paul Attanasio)
Clever, enjoyable, intelligent - it is such a shock that this film
did so poorly in the box office. Robert Redford does a wonderful job in capturing
and illustrating to the audience the American society during the late 1950s, the decade in
which TV first invaded the lives of Americans.
Quiz Show is a drama about the quiz show scandal in America during
the late 1950s. Herb Stempel played by John Turtorro is a know-it-all Jewish
contestant on the NBC's quiz show called "Twenty One", who has been on a winning
streak, partly because he has been given some of the answers. When the executives of
the show decide that his audience appeal is declining, they decide to replace him with an
attractive intellectual named Charles Van Doren. Stempel takes the news rather
poorly.
Meanwhile, America quickly falls in love with the charming and
handsome Van Doren. Blinded by fame more so than money, Van Doren, played by English
actor Ralph Fiennes, agrees to cheat. This results in a rise of popularity for the
show, becoming one of the most watch show in America. It also resulted in Charles
Van Doren becoming TV's latest celebrity. However, Stempel, still angered by getting
kicked off the show, blows the whistle on the whole set up. And with the help of a
congressional investigator played by Rob Morrow they brought the deception of the American
public to an end.
The script by Paul Attanasio brilliantly illustrates the innocence
of Americans during the 1950s by treating a minor incident such as a rigged quiz show as
if it was the Watergate scandal. Herein, lies perhaps the reason why the film did so
poorly in the box office. For a modern audience, the story just does not inspire
outrage. In an era, when the world's most powerful man can lie during his
impeachment trial and not be reprimanded for it, a rigged quiz show is just not perceived
as a national scandal. Rather, it makes you long for a time when innocence still
exists as such a level that a rigged quiz show could have been considered a national
scandal.
Quiz Show is a refreshing film, which veers away from today's tried
and successful formula of sex and violence equals box office hit. Rather it relies
on good acting and a polish script to entertain people. While not a big success in
the box office, it is still a film that offers enjoyment during a quiet Friday night for
movie buffs.
Rating: ***½
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