Quiz Show (1994)
90%RT Audience Score: 87%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 4 Oscars
6 wins & 36 nominations total
Robert Redford refracts the sociopolitical and moral issues posed by the subject material through a purely entertaining, well-acted lens.
Quiz Show is a movie that will make you question your morals and choices, but don’t worry, it’s not as heavy as it sounds. With outstanding performances and beautiful cinematography, this film tells the story of a game show scandal in the 1950s. It’s a media morality tale that will keep you engaged from beginning to end. Plus, it’s refreshing to watch a movie with no violence or sex, and still be thoroughly entertained. Robert Redford did a great job directing this urbane and witty picture, and the cast, including Ralph Fiennes and John Turturro, couldn’t be better. So, if you’re looking for a smart and enjoyable movie, Quiz Show is the answer.
Production Company(ies)
Mass Distraction Media, Radical Media, Vulcan Productions,
Distributor
Buena Vista Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Fordham University – 441 E. Fordham Road. Rose Hill, Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for some strong language
Year of Release
1994
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 10m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 14, 1994 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 13, 2004
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
Quiz Show, PG-13, Drama, 1994, Robert Redford, Paul Attanasio, starring John Turturro, Rob Morrow, Ralph Fiennes, Paul Scofield, David Paymer, Hank Azaria, directed by Robert Redford, produced by Robert Redford, Michael Jacobs, Julian Krainin, Michael Nozik, reviewed by David Ansen, Nell Minow, Owen Gleiberman, Quentin Crisp, Don Shanahan, Fico Cangiano, Quentin Curtis, Cole Smithey, genre: drama, box office: $24.8M, MPAA rating: PG-13, game show, corruption, true story, sociopolitical, moral issues, congressional investigator, rigged game, answers, television, intellectual, WASP-ish, Queens-born, hero, telegenic contestant, network, Charles Van Doren, Herbie Stempel, Mark Van Doren, Dan Enright, Albert Freedman, sound mix: surround, stereo
Worldwide gross: $24,822,619
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $50,219,270
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,323
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 5,476,474
US/Canada gross: $24,822,619
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $50,219,270
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,068
US/Canada opening weekend: $757,714
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $1,532,950
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,231
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $31,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $62,716,887
Production budget ranking: 657
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $33,773,043
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$46,270,660
ROI to date (est.): -48%
ROI ranking: 1,677
Rob Morrow – Dick Goodwin
Ralph Fiennes – Charles Van Doren
Paul Scofield – Mark Van Doren
David Paymer – Dan Enright
Hank Azaria – Albert Freedman
Director(s)
Robert Redford
Writer(s)
Paul Attanasio
Producer(s)
Robert Redford, Michael Jacobs, Julian Krainin, Michael Nozik
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 4 Oscars
6 wins & 36 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (57) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (55) | Rotten (2)
Quiz Show is superbly shot (by Michael Ballhaus), and the acting ensemble could hardly be better.
March 4, 2019
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
February 14, 2012 | Rating: A+
Nell Minow
Movie Mom
TOP CRITIC
September 7, 2011 | Rating: A
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Outstanding drama about morals and our choices.
December 28, 2010 | Rating: 5/5
Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
This is an outstanding drama that provides an excellent opportunity for examining the way that people make moral choices.
November 17, 2007 | Rating: A
Nell Minow
Beliefnet
TOP CRITIC
Acutely observed, beautifully performed, lovingly directed media morality tale that resonates far beyond its 1950s setting.
November 8, 2007 | Rating: 5/5
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Quiz Show must be praised because it is a film with a strong story line, characters with whom the audience can sympathize, a climax and a resolution with no violence and no sex. Mr. Redford… must be congratulated on achieving this unusual feat.
April 21, 2022
Quentin Crisp
Christopher Street
While extremely well-made, the movie is, essentially, the grandest story possible of a loud slap on the wrist.
April 12, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Don Shanahan
Every Movie Has a Lesson
Robert Redford’s real-life cautionary tale about games, money and fame, is as relevant today as it was then. [Full review in Spanish]
August 1, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/5
Fico Cangiano
CineXpress Podcast
It is an urbane, witty, smartly acted, sometimes meandering picture.
December 1, 2017
Quentin Curtis
Independent on Sunday
Both dramatically and historically important with fine turns by Fiennes and Turturro, directed by Redford.
March 23, 2008 | Rating: 5/5
Steve Crum
Video-Reviewmaster.com
December 14, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com…
Plot
An idealistic young lawyer working for a Congressional subcommittee in the late 1950s discovers that TV quiz shows are being fixed. His investigation focuses on two contestants on the show “Twenty-One”: Herbert Stempel, a brash working-class Jew from Queens, and Charles Van Doren, the patrician scion of one of America’s leading literary families. Based on a true story.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
John Turturro stars as Herbie Stempel in Quiz Show.
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