Quiz Show

Colour, 35 mm
USA, 1994, 133 min
Section: Tribute to Robert Redford

Synopsis

Robert Redford’s fourth feature as a director (he does not act in the film) concerns the popular television phenomenon of quiz shows which, in the past, were broadcast live. Today, the game show craze is far from being an exclusively American affair as programs of this type have reached the same popularity all over the world, including the Czech Republic. Redford´s movie points out how easily such shows can become venues of manipulation or out-and-out fraud when television bosses worry more about ratings than they do about the game. Based on actual events, the story unfolds in 1957 when the still new medium of TV took the public by storm. When the quiz show’s ratings begin to slide, the management of NBC realizes that their current contest favourite, the paunchy and awkward Herbie Stempel, is no longer suitable. They find a replacement - an educated, and more to the point, good looking young man named Charles Van Doren. But soon enough it comes out that the winning contestant was confidentially provided with the questions prior to the show. The upshot is a scandal and later a trial in which the spurned Stempel demands satisfaction. Redford has here created a disturbing image: he demonstrates how dishonourable practices, if they become commonplace, can seem completely normal to those involved.