Network

Sidney Lumet, USA , 1976, 121 minutes

Ratings have always governed the airwaves, and the enterprising vice-president of programming (Faye Dunaway) at UBS reckons a reality show studying terrorism will bump her network to the top. When the decision comes to sack old curmudgeon newscaster Howard Beale (Peter Finch), he announces he'll bow out of the industry by sticking a bullet in his brain on live TV. His outburst piques viewer interest, so the directors decide to promote him as "an angry prophet, denouncing the hypocrisies of our time". However as his broadcast jeremiahs turn against his employers, the order to terminate him on air fast becomes a definite possibility.

Though the film does boil down to a series of monologues filled with either vitriol or prophetic mumbo-jumbo, the film is both compelling and filled with scathing wit. One highlight is Dunaway riding a fellow executive to screaming orgasm as she recounts the latest ratings. In fact, while Finch gets most of the attention with his operatic antics, her character serves as the focal point for a provocative social comment on feminism, power and sex that has been addressed by critics for decades.

Scriptwriter Paddy Chayefsky predicted that the disreputable world of television was bound for a downward spiral, and with a hundred channels of garbage piped into some households today he appears to have created one of the most prescient movies ever. Despite the coruscating brilliance of Network's script, the performances deserve much recognition as the five Academy Award nominations for acting attest. A true contemporary classic.

Review by ?
Written for EUFS Programme Autumn 2005