Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Rexanne It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

jamariana This is one of the greatest films no one has ever heard of. It is unbelievably underrated, considering that it was directed by the well-known actor-turned-director Robert Redford and features such familiar faces as Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort in Harry Potter for the younger audiences) and John Turturro, who is actually a fabulous actor, even though nowadays he is mostly famous for his kooky supporting roles in comedies. This is one of my favourite movies of all time. It is amazingly well-written, well-acted, and features an actually interesting and unique story. The film's tagline "Fifty million people watched, but no one saw a thing" also has to be one of the greatest of cinematic history, almost on par with Alien's "In space no one can hear you scream."While on the topic, my absolute favourite line from the film has to be "I have flown too high on borrowed wings." I haven't even watched the movie in almost 4 years, but I still remember that line better than most other things. I absolutely fell in love with this movie because of that line. It's an amazing film. So amazing that it's a real shame that more people don't know about it. It makes it that much more of a special, hidden gem, but still. It'd be great if this movie was better appreciated. I love recommending it to people. It's honestly one of the greatest films made in the 1990's and possibly among the top 500 films of all time. Bravo.

OneEightNine Media I almost want to give this movie a 6 out of 10 but whatever, I'm never going to watch it again. If someone holds a gun to my head and tells me to watch it, I'll beg that they fast forward to the last 20 minutes or so. This film is based on a true story but whoever wrote the script for the film added so much in and turned this movie away from an interesting singular story into an abomination with multiple little subplots which bore you out of your viewing experience. It is a shame because Ralph Fiennes gives an excellent performance. Fiennes is the only reason you should watch this film. The scenes Fiennes has with whoever the actor is playing the father of his character, makes the film interesting. Why couldn't it just be a film about the Quiz Show and the relationship between a father and son? This movie could have been a memorable drama but I'm sure I'll forget it by next week. John Turturro literally stinks up the screen. His performance is just too cheesy and doesn't fit. The only other good thing I can say about this movie is that the end credits are the best part of the movie. If you're about to watch this on TV, do yourself a favor and change the channel.

SnoopyStyle It's 1958. Twenty-one is one of the most popular TV quiz shows. Producers Dan Enright (David Paymer) and Albert Freedman (Hank Azaria) run the show. Herb Stempel (John Turturro) from Queens is the reigning champ. However the sponsor doesn't feel that Stempel is a good TV personality. Columbia University instructor Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes) is fascinated with the show and tries out. Unscrupulous Enright and Freedman forces Stempel to lose on an easy question. Van Doren's TV success soon brings him out of the shadows of his renowned intellectual father. Stempel is frozen out and he goes to a grand jury. Richard Goodwin (Rob Morrow) is a congressional investigator who starts to investigate the game show.This movie is anchored by two amazing performances. John Turturro is at his jittery sweaty best. He provides the nervous energy while Ralph Fiennes gives the human fragility. It's a great character study of two fascinating personalities.

thinker1691 From exceptional Actor/Director, Robert Redford, comes this insightful but true story called " Quiz Show. " Based on the book written by Richard N. Goodwin, it entails the revealing truth concerning the quiz shows of Early Television. Taken from the pages of Goodwin's book it relates how a weekly prize winner but, later disgruntle loser, like Herbie Stempel (John Turturro) a Jewish contestant became an overnight success, winning a great deal of fame and fortune on a weekly T.V. show called '21.' Loosing ratings, he is selected by network corporate sponsors and studio heads to be replaced by a youthful handsome, more personable and attractive contestant named Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes). Reluctant to know the inner secrets of the game, Van Doren, is surprised to learn he is to be given the answer to the hidden questions before they are asked, he initially refuses. However due to the flux of fame and money, he succumbs to pressures and plays the rigged game. However, when government oversight official Dick Goodwin, (Rob Morrow) begins to investigate suspected fraud, everyone involved feigns ignorance of possible cheating. Through diligence and persistent questioning, Goodwin eventually discovers multiple layers of deception and clumsy attempts of corruptions and makes a good attempt to bring down N.B.C.'s executives. The movie is superbly directed and the cast is equally superior in their quest to excel. As it result this movie becomes a Classic and the cast which includes Paul Scofield, David Paymer and Martin Scorcese makes it what it is, a winner. Easily recommended. ****