Critic Reviews

Quiz Show (1994) Rank 4 Reviews

Expert Review Summary
Movie critics combined give Quiz Show (1994) a score of 3.1839 out of 4
based on (85) reviews
Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating
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Reviews by Score:
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Moviemom's reviewMoviemom's review
This true story takes place in the early days of television. One of the most popular and successful program formats was the quiz show, in which contestants competed for huge cash prizes by answering questions. Charles Van Doren (played by Ralph Fiennes) ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at Moviemom's review
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Entertainment Weekly (Owen Gleiberman)Entertainment Weekly (Owen Gleiberman)
Working from a superb script by Paul Attanasio, Redford has caught the way a show like Twenty-One offered a carny-barker version of the American Dream. ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at Entertainment Weekly (Owen Gleiberman)
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Movie Hell (Michael J. Legeros)Movie Hell (Michael J. Legeros)
The year is 1958 and most of the country is watching NBC to see if reigning game show champion Herbie Stempel (John Tuturro) can beat newcomer Charles Van Doren (Ralph Finnes) on the popular game show "Twenty One." But what no one knows is that the ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at Movie Hell (Michael J. Legeros)
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Movie Gazette (Gary Panton)Movie Gazette (Gary Panton)
There was a time when game show cheating comprised of a little more than strategically-placed coughing. That time, according to the fantastic 'Quiz Show', was the 1950s - a period in time when, believe it or not, the manipulation and humiliation of ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at Movie Gazette (Gary Panton)
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for San Francisco Chronicle (Peter Stack)San Francisco Chronicle (Peter Stack)
Robert Redford's exceptionally handsome and provocative Quiz Show manages a trick that few films even dare try -- to take a hard look at personal and public moral issues and still provide dazzling entertainment. ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (Peter Stack)
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Max HoffmannMax Hoffmann
A common complaint amongst film critics is "why aren't there more literate scripts available?" QUIZ SHOW gives signs of hope that the art of writing isn't dead in Hollywood and that we need not only look to independent films for thoughtful content. Paul ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at Max Hoffmann
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Scott RenshawScott Renshaw
There is a certain irony to the involvement of Robert Redford in the making of QUIZ SHOW. Much like QUIZ SHOW's anti-hero Charles Van Doren, Redford became a star based on nothing so much as his golden boy good looks and charm. There is perhaps even more ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at Scott Renshaw
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Ben HoffmanBen Hoffman
Everyone probably remembers or has heard of the quiz show, "Twenty-One," that swept the country's TV viewers in the mid-1950s, and of the accompanying scandal when it was found the program was rigged with some of the contestants being given the answers. ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at Ben Hoffman
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Cinema in Focus (Denny Wayman and Hal Conklin)Cinema in Focus (Denny Wayman and Hal Conklin)
When a person sells their integrity, they seldom realize its true value until it is gone. This lesson is painfully demonstrated in Paul Attanasio’s “Quiz Show.†Nominated for Best Picture, “Quiz Show†is the true story of the 1950’s ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at Cinema in Focus (Denny Wayman and Hal Conklin)
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for The Movie Mom (Nell Minow)The Movie Mom (Nell Minow)
This true story takes place in the early days of television. One of the most popular and successful program formats was the quiz show, in which contestants competed for huge cash prizes by answering questions. Charles Van Doren (played by Ralph Fiennes) ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at The Movie Mom (Nell Minow)
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller)filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller)
Recently, the producers of the hit prime time game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" were faced with criticism and falling ratings. They had been relying upon phone surveys to screen their contestants. Since the questions were presumably devised by ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller)
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Parent PreviewsParent Previews
Quiz Show reminds me of the time I was on stage with twenty other people and a popular hypnotist "made" us do ridiculous things. I wasn't hypnotized, and I would swear that none of the others with me were either. We were doing it for fame, and were pawns ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at Parent Previews
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for As the Reel Rolls (Malcolm Clark)As the Reel Rolls (Malcolm Clark)
Herbie Stempel (John Turturro), Van Doren's nerd-like predecessor as current `champion' on Twenty-One, eager to be famous and rich, has willingly succumbed to the manipulative blandishments of show producers Dan Enright (David Paymer) and Albert Freedman ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at As the Reel Rolls (Malcolm Clark)
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 3.60 out of 4 stars for Washington Post (Hal Hinson)Washington Post (Hal Hinson)
Quiz Show is engrossing, smart and morally complex. Nothing else out of Hollywood this year can hold a candle to it. ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at Washington Post (Hal Hinson)
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 3.60 out of 4 stars for Variety (Todd McCarthy)Variety (Todd McCarthy)
Robert Redford's handsome, smartly constructed new film stands likely to capture the imagination of the educated, culturally inclined public. ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at Variety (Todd McCarthy)
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 3.60 out of 4 stars for Rolling Stone (Staff(Not credited))Rolling Stone (Staff(Not credited))
Redford blows the dust off a 35-year-old scandal about rigged TV quiz shows and makes it snap with up-to-the-minute relevance. ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at Rolling Stone (Staff(Not credited))
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 3.56 out of 4 stars for Austin Chronicle (Steve Davis)Austin Chronicle (Steve Davis)
Although the stellar contributions to this supremely intelligent film are many, there's no mistake that the presence of director Redford dominates the film. ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at Austin Chronicle (Steve Davis)
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 3.52 out of 4 stars for The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Rick Groen)The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Rick Groen)
One of those rare films that manages to be both terrifically entertaining and consistently thoughtful, it turns an apparently tame deception into a very rich metaphor. ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Rick Groen)
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 3.52 out of 4 stars for Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Robert Redford has directed Quiz Show as entertainment, history, and challenge. ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 3.52 out of 4 stars for ReelViews (James Berardinelli)ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
One of the reasons that Quiz Show is so extraordinary is because it spins a story as compelling on the personal level as on the national one. ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for David LandersDavid Landers
QUIZ SHOW, an almost perfectly accurate true story, is based upon the events of the popular television show of the mid-50's, "Twenty-One". On this trivial game show, contestants were placed in isolation booths and then answered questions corresponding to ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at David Landers
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Austin Chronicle (Steve Davis)Austin Chronicle (Steve Davis)
Trying to pinpoint precisely when 20th-century America lost its innocence is a futile pursuit; it presupposes that this nation of contradictions initially had virtue to lose. Nonetheless, Quiz Show posits that the television game show scandal of the late ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at Austin Chronicle (Steve Davis)
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)
In the 1950s, quiz shows are all the rage and none is bigger than the juggernaut TWENTY-ONE, which is so popular that appearing on it can make almost anyone an instant celebrity across the country. Things seem less than peachy for the show when a young ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
"Why fix them? Why not just make the questions easier? The audience doesn't want to see the contestants - they want to see the money." Dialogue from "Quiz Show" Amilestone in the decline of American values came in the mid-1950s, when it was revealed that ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Quiz Show (1994) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for ReelViews (James Berardinelli)ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
1958. Television quiz shows like "Twenty-One" are ratings hits. Americans tune in every week to root for the charming, erudite Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes) in his quest to vanquish new challengers. Following his defeat of the previous champion, ...read the complete Quiz Show movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
 
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Quiz Show (1994)

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Ratings and rankings are based on number of movie, review scores, awards & other criteria.
Overall Rating:
3.2637
Quiz Show (1994) is ranked overall as  out of 4 stars
Avg Critic Score:
3.1839
Quiz Show (1994) is ranked overall as  out of 4 stars
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