Network (1976) - IMDb
Network
1976 R 2h 1m IMDb RATING 8.1 / 10 179K YOUR RATING Rate POPULARITY 1,273 267 Play trailer 2 : 59 4 Videos 99+ Photos Dark Comedy Workplace Drama DramaA television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchor's ravings and revelations about mass media for its own profit, but finds that his message may be difficult to control. A television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchor's ravings and revelations about mass media for its own profit, but finds that his message may be difficult to control. A television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchor's ravings and revelations about mass media for its own profit, but finds that his message may be difficult to control.
Director Sidney Lumet Writer Paddy Chayefsky Stars Faye Dunaway William Holden Peter Finch See production info at IMDbPro IMDb RATING 8.1 / 10 179K YOUR RATING Rate POPULARITY 1,273 267 Director Sidney Lumet Writer Paddy Chayefsky Stars Faye Dunaway William Holden Peter Finch 475 User reviews 130 Critic reviews 83 Metascore See production info at IMDbPro Top rated movie #238 Won 4 Oscars 20 wins & 27 nominations totalVideos 4
Trailer 2:59 Official Trailer Clip 1:09 'Network' | Anniversary Mashup Clip 1:09 'Network' | Anniversary Mashup Clip 2:45 How Gallows Humor Helped Charlize Theron Make 'Bombshell' Feel Real Clip 2:53 Does 'Joker' Exist in a Scorsese-Verse of Films?Photos 122
Add photo + 116Top cast 57
Edit Faye Dunaway Diana Christensen William Holden Max Schumacher Peter Finch Howard Beale Robert Duvall Frank Hackett Wesley Addy Nelson Chaney Ned Beatty Arthur Jensen Arthur Burghardt Great Ahmed Kahn Bill Burrows TV Director John Carpenter George Bosch Jordan Charney Harry Hunter Kathy Cronkite Mary Ann Gifford Ed Crowley Joe Donnelly Jerome Dempsey Walter C. Amundsen Conchata Ferrell Barbara Schlesinger Gene Gross Milton K. Steinman Stanley Grover Jack Snowden Cindy Grover Caroline Schumacher Darryl Hickman Bill Herron Director Sidney Lumet Writer Paddy Chayefsky All cast & crew Production, box office & more at IMDbProUser reviews 475
Review 8.1 179.3K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Summary
Reviewers say Network is acclaimed for its biting satire on television, exploring themes like media manipulation and corporate greed. Its foresight on reality TV and societal decay is often highlighted. Peter Finch and Faye Dunaway deliver standout performances, though some find the film uneven with slow pacing, preachy dialogue, and an exaggerated plot. Despite these flaws, Network is celebrated for its enduring relevance and dark commentary on media. AI-generated from the text of user reviews Enduring legacy Performance Thought-provoking Ambitious Dialogue Social commentary Dystopian elements PacingFeatured reviews
9 requiem1896A Cynic's Dream
This is one of those wonderful films where everything comes together. The acting and the writing is by far the most impressive elements of this film. William Holden and Peter Finch should have both received Oscars for their performances, instead of just Peter Finch. Faye Dunaway pulls of the most dynamic and emotional characters she has ever played.The true brilliance of this film is that all elements of it fade appropriately behind the actors and their messages. The film is completely a work of storytelling and, at least for the writer, stunning clarity of message and purpose. Political films come and go but few remain in the annals of film because of their effectiveness at their own message.
The cinematography, editing, sound, costume design, art direction and production design are all quite simplistic. In some scenes the film can be accused of being almost ugly. However this all lends to the back-washing of the film so as to allow the message to ring loudest. In my opinion, Sidney Lumet took this just a little too far and thus I give it a 9 instead of a 10.
This is certainly a film for the history books. Every connoisseur of film should be exposed to this movie at some point in their life. If you happen to be cynical, then you will love every minute of this movie as its stark view of life in the 1970 s (and onward) touches the hard of even the hardest of cynics. For those educators out there, GREAT film for classes on Media and Politics. 9 cchase
Prescient
It is the only word I can come up with to describe this masterfully savage satire, and IMHO, it s the only word that need be used.Once I had seen ALTERED STATES and read the novel, I was hungry to find out more about the late novelist/playwright/screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky, and sought out this movie. It blew me away years ago, but I find it even more stunning now. Not just because of the writing, Sidney Lumet s taut direction or the Oscar-caliber performances by everyone involved, all of which are almost beyond being lauded with superlatives.
But what knocks me out is how Chayefsky seemed less to be writing from the power of his imagination, than channeling Our Times Now. As if he was capable of some form of mental time travel; able to look into the Nineties and beyond to see the coming of SURVIVOR, or Maury Povich, Jerry Springer, Bill O Reilly and Paris Hilton. Even HE probably didn t know how he knew, but he sure as hell felt it and wrote it down for us to marvel over today.
Sure, there are political and cultural analogies throughout the picture that are dated. But the core of his vision remains startlingly clear and eerily prophetic. As for Howard Beale, there is not one single celebrity who mirrors that character today, but maybe he is a composite of several different personalities with whom we have become all too familiar in the world of news-fo-tainment. Or maybe he simply hasn t materialized yet. Maybe that is just how far ahead of its time NETWORK really was.
After all, being mad as hell nowadays has so many more layers of meaning than it did nearly thirty years ago 10 Sleepin_Dragon
They don't get much better than this.
Experienced, but disillusioned news Anchor Howard Beale blurts out one night that he wants to commit suicide live on air, he is fired, but the executives notice that his outburst had a positive affect on ratings, they decide to stick with the unstable news reader.Close to fifty years old, and still brilliant. Network is an impressive film, that holds up incredibly well, and still has a powerful message. It dares to discuss the way that people are ruled by a box in the corner of a room, and that people have a morbid curiosity in disaster and tragedy, we can t help but watch it.
Two hours fly by, it s fascinating from start to finish, it really does explore the darker side of humanity, the sheer exploitation that occurs for wealth.
When you think of all that s been seen on the small screen since then, this film was almost prophetic.
This boasts an awesome cast, including William Holden, Faye Dunaway and many more, but for me it s Peter Finch that steals the show,
One minor detail that s always struck me, the American decor of the 1970 s, some of it is so tasteful.
Even now it s still a phenomenal film.
10/10. 10 dead47548
One of the best of all time.
I can t put it more perfectly than Turner Classic Movies Robert Osborne who said What was originally a satire is a stinging mirror of television news today. I strain to think of a film that is a more brilliant take on society, and all of the flaws it has. It s obedience and entertainment by those who rebel, no matter how insane they are. The exploitation of those in peril for any kind of economic profit. And the fact that everything Beale preaches is completely true and completely bashes the people who are producing him. I was amazed by how much he sells out while continuing to rant about how terrible the people he works for are, and the fact that they just keep him on the air because they want ratings.It couldn t be more related to today. Turn on the news and you see videos of how horrific the war on terror is and how horrific American society has become, but it stays on the air because people don t want to see the good things in life. They care about the bad and the corrupt. People must have laughed it off back then, but it was such a foreshadow to the near future. The performances are just as brilliant as the social commentary. Each actor becomes so absorbed into their characters that you can t even tell they re acting. It feels like you re watching these people in their daily lives, interacting and becoming more and more corrupt. Finch and Dunaway easily give two of the greatest performances of all time. I could write 20 more pages about it s brilliance, but I ll stop now to keep me from rating. I just have to say that it s so rare to find a film as incredibly flawless as this. 10 kirkintha26
A rare honest movie
Network is a fantastic movie that illustrates just how the mob and the media can exploit even the best intentions for mutual profit.Howard Beale (Peter Finch) is an on-air personality that, after finding he is not bankable anymore, snaps and starts to speak his own uncensored, and highly inflammable commentary about the hypocrisy of modern life.
In his mad-hatter routine, somehow he sparks his audience s interest, and in a twist of fame finds himself, the not bankable as prime market share for prime time television. And naturally, his bosses and those who stand to profit from his actions, use his fame to better their own cause.
Beale s rise to stardom is only one facet of this intricate story about how the mob influences media. Throughout Network we as the audience are constantly shown, to nausea, how ruthless popularity and trend mold what we see as consumers of entertainment. Most of the main characters are in fact trapped in their roles - and powerless to the bottom line, which is that media relies on advertisement and ratings to generate revenue.
In fact, I believe that is what the point of Network is - this movie shows us, that news is entertainment, and how we as viewers (whichever demographic you are) are willing to suspend all common sense, class, independence, honor, integrity for a few moments of triumph or more pragmatically, how we relish tragedy.
Network is too heavy for most people - it is meant for people who do not like TV, who think that product placement is ridiculous, and in general do not like to think of themselves as a market . If you need your reality spoon fed to you, this movie is not for you.
However, if you have had enough, and wish to feel for a moment like you are an empowered free thinker, i would humbly suggest that this movie is for you.
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Edit Trivia Peter Finch was desperate to win the role of Howard Beale once he had read the script. He even offered to pay his own airfare to New York City for the screentest. But Sidney Lumet was concerned about Finch s Australian accent. Finch won the part after sending Lumet a recording of himself reading the New York Times with a perfect American accent. Goofs Every one of Howard Beale s shows has the same studio audience (note the man in the black vest, with long hair and a beard). QuotesHoward Beale : I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's worth, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TVs while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be. We know things are bad - worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, 'Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone.' Well, I'm not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get mad! I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot - I don't want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street. All I know is that first you've got to get mad. You've got to say, 'I'm a HUMAN BEING, God damn it! My life has VALUE!' So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell, 'I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!' I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta get mad! You've got to say, 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Then we'll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it: "I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"
Crazy credits Paddy Chayefsky s credit in the opening credits says by Paddy Chayefsky (rather than written by Paddy Chayefsky or a variant thereof). Connections Edited into Amérique, notre histoire (2006)Top picks
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Edit Release date November 27, 1976 (United States) Country of origin United States Language English Also known as Poder que mata Filming locations CTV Toronto Studios - 9 Channel Nine Court, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada (as CFTO-TV Studios, Control room and news studio scenes) Production company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) See more company credits at IMDbProBox office
Edit Budget $3,800,000 (estimated) Gross US & Canada $23,689,877 Gross worldwide $23,701,317 See detailed box office info on IMDbProTech specs
Edit Runtime 2 hours 1 minute Color Color Sound mix Mono Aspect ratio 1.85 : 1Related news
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