X
- 1976
- TV-MA
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
- 2 h 1 m
- 1976
- TV-MA
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
- 2 h 1 m
Summary A devastating commentary on a world of ratings-driving commercial TV that is getting more on target every day, Network introduces us to Howard Beale (Finch), dean of newscasters at the United Broadcasting Systems (UBS). Having heard that he will soon be dumped by the UBS for "skewing too old," Beal announces to his viewers that he will c...
Directed By: Sidney Lumet
Written By: Paddy Chayefsky
- 1976
- TV-MA
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
- 2 h 1 m
- 1976
- TV-MA
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
- 2 h 1 m
Network
8.3
Where to Watch
Summary A devastating commentary on a world of ratings-driving commercial TV that is getting more on target every day, Network introduces us to Howard Beale (Finch), dean of newscasters at the United Broadcasting Systems (UBS). Having heard that he will soon be dumped by the UBS for "skewing too old," Beal announces to his viewers that he will c...
Directed By: Sidney Lumet
Written By: Paddy Chayefsky
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 16 Critic Reviews
83
81% Positive
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
13% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
6% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 16 Critic Reviews
83
81% Positive
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
13% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
6% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
[A] prescient and sharply drawn comedy about the depths to which one unscrupulous station will sink.
This still-prescient vivisection of modern culture’s vapidity crackles with the nervous energy of midtown’s hothouse broadcasters.
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 88 User Ratings
8.3
88% Positive
77 Ratings
77 Ratings
9% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
3% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 88 User Ratings
8.3
88% Positive
77 Ratings
77 Ratings
9% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
3% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
One of Sidney Lumet's best movies, Network serves as a messy, biting satire of the television networks of the 1970s. Even so, it is incredibly and sometimes frightfully relevant even today. Faye Dunaway, Robert Duvall, Peter Finch and company are an extremely well put together ensemble that elevate Paddy Chayefsky's script to new heights. One of the best films from the 1970s, and a must watch for serious cinephiles.
Report
Network can be faulted both for going too far and not far enough, but it's also something that very few commercial films are these days. It's alive. This, I suspect, is the Lumet drive. It's also the wit of performers like Mr. Finch, Mr. Holden, and Miss Dunaway.
It's a dark, dark comedy that ruthlessly skewers the news industry on a stake, then roasts it alive.
Good campy fun from the combined talents of Paddy Chayefsky and Sidney Lumet; Chayefsky was apparently serious about much of this shrill, self-important 1976 satire about television, interlaced with bile about radicals and pushy career women,
He hardly bothers with the characters; the movie is a ventriloquial harrangue. He thrashes around in messianic God-love booziness, driving each scene to an emotional peak.
What best spices up this satire is its sinister resemblance to reality: television, which uses the most Machiavellian means to engage the public. The character played by Peter Finch is one of the most difficult to forget.
Report
One of the most important American films of the Seventies, Network is messy and takes on more than it can properly chew, but the writing, directing and cast are top notch. The reason it's so good may well be its willingness to take risks. They don't always work but the net effect, sustained in this film, is it's got something to say that's worth thinking about. Flashes of humor with characters and situations that are vividly recognizable. Of its time and --40 years later-- timeless?...
Report
A tough nut to crack. Great dialogues (and even better monologues!) and acting. Seemingly, it's daringly revealing. Some points it rises hit eerily close to home (esp. during this covid craze). But, it's still programming. And I've a feeling I missed the gist of it (apart from the usual: spreading despair, nihilism, atheism and moral rot). The melodrama arc is not believable and way too meta. The movie's focal point, the Howard Beale character, feels an artificial stooge. Strange one, for sure.
Report
This is the most effective satire film I've ever watched. It's thoroughly devastating, and that's because it doesn't work on one level. While Network's wry humor is very sharp and truly sore, it's the sympathy I had for Howard Beale, Peter Finch's character, that got me. Actually, the movie's obvious flaw is that the aspect that is focused on, which is the political satirical one, is underdeveloped, or let's say that all small changes that happen don't make the story any better, instead, they made the satire less sharp, and made me less interested in the story.
By contrast, the character of Beale is continuously developed, and it's character arc is painful to witness from the very beginning to the end. However, what really made me engaged despite the semi-hollow main plot are two things:
the first thing is the intelligent dialogue; it should be listed in top 10 movie dialogues of all-time. It easily can trick us as the plot is very well-developed.
The second thing is the characters, not only Howard Beale, but almost every character is a three-dimensional one. Specially when I was totally invested in all the characters, and how couldn't I with, maybe, the greatest cast ensemble performing the roles?
Of course, Peter Finch is great, and balances very well between his moments of wrath, and his moments of psychopathic coldness. But, c'mon, his performance is far cry from De Niro's in Taxi Driver, which is arguably the best performance in film. The performances that standout for me are William Holden's as Max Schumacher, he really deserved to win the Oscar, and Faye Dunaway's performance as Diana Christensen, which I think this is her best performance ever even better than her performance in Chinatown , and, fortunately, she took the Oscar for this role as the Best Actress in a Leading Role. Robert Duvall also, and as usual, gave a terrific performance. Needless to say, the entire cast is phenomenal!
I want to say that I love Sidney Lumet direction. He always shot the conversations in his movies in a way that make us feel they actually happen in real life, and 12 Angry Men and Dog Day Afternoon are the finest examples. But in the case of Network, there are some scenes that don't need to be shot this fast, they needed a little more focus, a little more dramatic feeling. The result is some scenes that could have been more effective if they were less rushed, also, there are some acting, which is great, that seemed to be over the top. And that's just because the direction, not the acting itself, except one scene in which the acting was really hammy. Also, the ending is rushed, but it's very shocking. With that being said, Lumet established a disturbing atmosphere, that due to it, nothing in this movie would have worked.
All in all, I enjoyed watching this movie that left a bitter taste in mouth, because of nothing but its accuracy which made it very relevant nowadays. And despite all its major flaws, Sidney Lumet made a satirical drama that still one of a kind.
(8/10)
Report
Production Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Release Date Nov 14, 1976
Duration 2 h 1 m
Rating TV-MA
Genres
Tagline "NETWORK"... the humanoids, the love story, the trials and tribulations, the savior of television, the attempted suicides, the assassination -- it's ALL coming along with a galaxy of stars you know and love!
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 4 Wins & 10 Nominations
Golden Globes, USA
• 4 Wins & 5 Nominations
BAFTA Awards
• 1 Win & 9 Nominations
