Quiz Show

Play trailer

Quiz Show

PG-13

1994

2h 10m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

97%

Tomatometer

116 Reviews

87%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Queens-born Herbie Stempel (John Turturro) becomes an unlikely hero after winning on America's beloved game show, "Twenty One." When the network decides to bring in a more telegenic contestant, the WASP-ish Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes), Stempel takes aim at the show, announcing that the game is rigged. Congressional investigator Dick Goodwin (Rob Morrow) is brought in to examine the claim that winners were given the answers. Goodwin wrote the book on which this true story is based.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Directed with sly refinement by Robert Redford and given pizazz by a slew of superb performances, Quiz Show intelligently interrogates the erosion of public standards without settling on tidy answers.

Read Critics Reviews

Michael Wilmington

Chicago Tribune

The movie hums, purrs and shines. But it's also full of contradictions. A big budget picture about mass media fakery that's somewhat rigged itself, a docudrama that stretches the facts, an exposé on class prejudice that almost succumbs to [that] vice.

Rated: 3.5/4

Feb 13, 2024

Full Review

Kenneth Turan

Los Angeles Times

Fiennes' ability to project the pain behind a well-mannered facade, to turn intellectual and emotional agony into a real and living thing, is devastating. Impressive as the film is... Quiz Show would have been a very different experience without him.

Feb 13, 2024

Full Review

Dave Kehr

New York Daily News

For all of its occasional naiveté, this is a movie that practices what it preaches: It's a fine, worthy film, devoid of pandering or commercial compromise, that allows a number of talented people do some very good work.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 13, 2024

Full Review

Joe Baltake

Sacramento Bee

Robert Redford's soft-spoken, intelligent but never less than entertaining movie reminds us of exactly what we've been missing -- a story that seems utterly fresh and a filmmaking style best described as civilized.

Rated: 4/4

Feb 13, 2024

Full Review

Stephen Hunter

Baltimore Sun

What's so good about Robert Redford's sleek version of the story is how delicately such issues as motive and emotions are sketched, and how ambiguity, not glib moralizing, is prized.

Rated: 3.5/4

Feb 13, 2024

Full Review

Gary Thompson

Philadelphia Daily News

If you were truly shocked when you found out NBC blew up a "faulty" truck in order to get exciting video, well, then Quiz Show may chill you to the bone. Everyone else can enjoy it simply as an example of impeccable moviemaking.

Rated: 3.5/4

Feb 13, 2024

Full Review

Read all reviews

Lorenz L

Intriguing look at how network television was corrupt from its inception, with some excellent performers and writing. Unfortunately, Redford neglected to reign-in John Turturro who is so overblown compared to the rest of the cast that he threatens to tank the entire show every time he opens his mouth to unconvincingly scream another line.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/25/25

Full Review

David F

This is a kind of old school drama based on a true story full of quirky characters and a fascinating story about a 1950s game show where the producers were picking winners and losers based on the ratings. It’s a serious drama with a ton of talent in front of and behind the camera.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/01/25

Full Review

Gina R

Robert Redford's soft-spoken, intelligent but never less than entertaining movie reminds us of exactly what we've been missing -- a story that seems utterly fresh and a filmmaking style best described as civilized.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/19/25

Full Review

Stephen C

Based on a true story in 2 1/6 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/08/25

Full Review

thiago s

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, o filme tem cenas fracas, a história é mais ou menos, o elenco é mais ou menos, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, e os personagens até que são fraco.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/29/25

Full Review

Rosana B

Dramatizando os escândalos do quiz show Twenty-One da década de 1950, adapta as memórias de Richard N. Goodwin, um advogado do Congresso dos EUA que investigou as acusações de manipulação de resultados pelos produtores do programa... Adorável adaptação, muito cativante, comovente e até revoltante, os responsáveis pela fraude no fim terminaram milionários, os dono e patrocinador nada sofreram e os participantes marcados para o resto de suas vidas, injustiça imperou...

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/29/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Robert Redford

Director

John Turturro

Herbie Stempel

Rob Morrow

Dick Goodwin

Ralph Fiennes

Charles Van Doren

Paul Scofield

Mark Van Doren

David Paymer

Dan Enright

Medicine Man

17%

46%

Medicine Man

Watchlist

Powder

50%

69%

Powder

Watchlist

A Civil Action

65%

55%

A Civil Action

Watchlist

The Horse Whisperer

73%

72%

The Horse Whisperer

Watchlist

Blue Chips

41%

51%

Blue Chips

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

New on Netflix October 2019

Lethal Weapon, Carrie, Dazed and Confused, and More Certified Fresh Movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime

View more photos

Synopsis

Queens-born Herbie Stempel (John Turturro) becomes an unlikely hero after winning on America's beloved game show, "Twenty One." When the network decides to bring in a more telegenic contestant, the WASP-ish Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes), Stempel takes aim at the show, announcing that the game is rigged. Congressional investigator Dick Goodwin (Rob Morrow) is brought in to examine the claim that winners were given the answers. Goodwin wrote the book on which this true story is based.

Director: Robert Redford
Producer: Robert Redford, Michael Jacobs, Julian Krainin, Michael Nozik
Screenwriter: Paul Attanasio
Distributor: Buena Vista Pictures
Production Co: Baltimore Pictures, Wildwood Enterprises, Hollywood Pictures
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 14, 1994, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $24.8M
Runtime: 2h 10m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

Most Popular at Home Now