In one of his strongest performances, John Travolta plays Sam Baily, a museum security guard who holds visitors hostage in an attempt to win back his job when he falls foul of museum cutbacks. Dustin Hoffman co-stars as Max Brackett, a local news reporter who seizes the hostage situation as a chance to revive his flagging career and get back into the big time. Within minutes he is broadcasting live, within hours the entire nation is watching with baited breath. A timely, poignant examination of the role that the media plays in day to day lives in contemporary America, director Costa Gavras' Mad City is truly engaging in its search for and manipulation of the truth. Unrelenting, the film will make the viewer re-examine the way they watch the news on television.