1994 was an absolutely astonishing year for cinema, and many of my favourite films of all time were released that year – Pulp Fiction, Ed Wood, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Chungking Express all made their mainstream debuts over the course of that one extraordinary year. However, in all honesty, there was a film I watched very recently that I found absolutely astonishing in every way, a film that left me almost entirely speechless for a number of reasons. The film is Robert Redford’s Quiz Show, a biographical account of the NBC quiz show scandal of the 1950s. Quiz Show is a film I almost completely ignored, as it never quite appealed to me for any reason (granted, I did not look into it too much), and my apathetic initial dismissal was unfortunate, as I found the film to be absolutely tremendous in several ways. It is a film that could have been dreadfully dull or an unmitigated disaster, but all the forces worked together in terrific serendipity to create one of the most extraordinary films of the 1990s. Quiz Show really is that fantastic.

The film is based on the true story of the NBC quiz show Twenty One, one of the most popular primetime television shows amongst audiences ranging from the working class to the high-brow elites who look upon it with scornful exteriors and delighted interiors. Herbie Stempel (John Turturro) is the reigning champion, and he becomes a hometown hero to his small working-class Jewish community who consider him to be one of their most glowing successes. Unfortunately, Herbie is also extremely Jewish, and his image is contradictory to what the studio tells him to do. They pay him to take a dive on the show so they may install the dashing Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes), the WASP-ish son of a beloved intellectual and a member of one of the most prestigious families in the United States. The plan succeeds, and Charles becomes an endearing primetime icon, while Herbie sinks into bitter obscurity, now nothing more than a figure of amusing trivia. However, his bitterness leads him to testify before a grand jury, where he reveals that the producers of the show supplied contestants with answers so that they may proceed week-to-week, becoming a part of the cultural atmosphere. These shocking revelations are brought to the attention of Richard Goodwin (Rob Morrow), a lawyer who investigates the allegations. These allegations threaten to tarnish the reputations of everyone involved, and hopefully bring about a new set of standards of decency for broadcasting, where truthfulness is positioned to be superior to entertainment.

Quiz Show just seems like any conventional biographical account of mid-twentieth century entertainment, particularly television. It evokes images of films such as Man on the Moon, Auto Focus and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. These kinds of films have the ability to be absolutely incredible (as in the case of the former), or disparagingly mediocre (such as the latter). Perhaps this was what held me back from seeking out Quiz Show because it seemed so utterly conventional, and just did not appear to be anything particularly special. Added to that, while he has grown to be quite respected as a filmmaker, Robert Redford is not the most consistently great director and he has rarely impressed me (his superb attention to the hidden nuances of the human spirit in Ordinary People aside). However, Quiz Show is a brilliantly-constructed and thrilling biographical drama, filled with fantastic performances and many incredible moments that elevate this film to truly being something akin to a masterpiece. I don’t know exactly what the reason behind this film’s success was, but the various elements were harmoniously in sync, and the film soars to almost impossibly staggering heights.

A film like Quiz Show invests quite a bit in the performers, and the actors often are responsible for the potential success or failure of a film, especially when it as character-driven as this film. Perhaps the focal character of the film is Charles Van Doren, played remarkably by Ralph Fiennes, an actor I have openly admitted to admiring tremendously, apparently never having given a less-than-great performance, even when the film itself is somewhat middling. In Quiz Show, Fiennes is supported by a terrific script, which only makes his performance all the more tremendous. Playing the supremely-gifted intellectual character of Charles, Fiennes is able to convey the conflict and inner-turmoil that he feels, struggling in the shadow of his father who is clearly far more acclaimed and beloved, setting an impossibly-large shadow that befalls Charles. Fiennes is absolutely brilliant in the role, playfully manipulating the image of the New England intellectual to great effect. He has great chemistry with Rob Morrow, which helps drive the film forward, considering Morrow is not particularly strong in his portrayal of the investigator in charge of bringing down the network and reforming television. He has some great moments, but he just isn’t capable of giving as good a performance as some of the other actors in this film.

John Turturro has, for the longest time, been one of the most consistently brilliant actors working today, and whether it is through his numerous contributions with Joel and Ethan Coen (with his leading role in Barton Fink being one of the great performances of the 1990s), or through elevating the most dreadful of Adam Sandler comedies (he was the sole redeeming factor of Mr. Deeds, even if no one should ever have to endure that film) or in any of his other terrific performances throughout his career. Quiz Show has one of his most fascinating performances yet, a portrayal of Herbie Stempel, an everyman who rode extremely high while the audience loved him, and then faced a humiliating downfall after they were through with him. Turturro is one of the central characters in the film, and while it may shift its focus towards Fiennes’ performance as Van Doren, Turturro is a constant presence throughout the film, being a constant juxtaposition to Fiennes’ character. In Turturro’s hands, Stempel is unadmirably decent (he only serves as the catalyst of the events because of his own selfish desire to show his knowledge, rather than for the greater good), and extremely likeable without being particularly ethical. Its a great performance by a great actor, who goes unfairly unrecognized for his plethora of marvellous performances.

The central performances in Quiz Show consist of Fiennes’ Van Doren, Morrow’s Goodwin and Turturro’s Stempel, but there is an ensemble of wonderful performers that all aid in representing the incredibly complex true-life story. Theatrical and cinematic thespian Paul Scofield is remarkable as Charles’ well-meaning but distant father who has high aspirations for his son, who simply finds himself singularly unable to commit to choosing the path of morality when faced with the temptation of fame and fortune. Scofield’s performance is an example of a supporting performance I absolutely adore: initially, it is nothing particularly special or remarkable, but it silently adds emotional gravitas and narrative credibility to the story, even when it isn’t entirely obvious. Scofield was a great actor, and Quiz Show offered him a character different to those he had played before, and he approached the role with the same tremendous gusto and enthusiastic control of truthfulness that defined his career and made him an incredibly respected actor. David Paymer and Hank Azaria are terrific as the sleazy executives, both giving relatively simple but still extremely nuanced portrayals of the characters. Quiz Show is worth it for the various cameos by established figures and relative newcomers that populate the film. There are appearances from the likes of Martin Scorsese and Barry Levinson (both of which I feel were cast simply for the novelty of having two great filmmakers giving small, albeit notable, performances in a film by an actor-turned-director), as well as a very young Ethan Hawke in a very small appearance as a pensive student. The entire ensemble of this film is nothing short of astonishing.

As good as the ensemble of the film was, Quiz Show succeeds in one particular aspect, and one that deserves only the highest kudos: it is one of the most well-written films of the 1990s. In his debut screenwriting venture, writer of the film Paul Attanasio crafted something extraordinarily special. This film is filled to the brim with rapid dialogue (delivered with expert ease by the talented cast) and meaningful meditations on the nature of truthfulness, fame and success. Quiz Show is set in the 1950s, and it often feels like Attanasio captured the zeitgeist of that period, where films and television shows were just slightly more eloquent, more crackling with energy and just slightly detached from reality, and considering he was a relative newcomer at the film that this film was made should be enough to warrant the highest acclaim to the writer. Even beyond the dialogue, the film is extremely well-written, with Redford and Attanasio working together to keep this film tense and thrilling, but also avoiding cliche and taut cinematic conventions that have plagued other films of this ilk. Quiz Show moves at a rapid pace, and it is done through some of the most brilliant writing committed to screen in the 1990s, a decade where innovation was certainly the driving force behind cinematic storytelling.

I was not expecting to enjoy Quiz Show as much as I did. It was far from a traditional biographical film, and it evolves into something incredible. It serves a bilateral purpose: firstly as an account of the true-life scandal, and secondly (and most notably) as a meditation on the culture of truth, a scathing look at the corruption that comes with fame and fortune, and an unrelenting critique of beloved institutions and the possibility of manipulation and deception that can come from trusted sources. Redford made nothing short of a masterpiece here, with terrific performances from a great cast and an extraordinary screenplay. It is an exciting, positively thrilling film that kept me captivated throughout, and I found myself becoming lost in this tremendously fascinating story. It is a fantastic film, and most certainly one of the great cinematic achievements of the 1990s.