Network was nominated for 10 Academy awards and winning best actor for Peter Finch, best actress for Faye Dunaway, best supporting actress for Beatrice Straight, and best screenplay for Paddy Chayefsky. Some say this movie is satire, but I’m starting to think that author Paddy Chayefsky was receiving television broadcasts from our time in the 1970s. The classic movie is now available in a two-disc special edition loaded with features that take a closer look at the movie’s history and how it was made.
Network is the story of Howard Beale (Peter Finch), the senior anchor on the UBS evening news for 15 years (think Dan Rather). He’s told by the president of the news division, Max Schumaker (William Holden), that he’s been fired and has two weeks of newscasts left. Instead of giving the usual farewell address at the end of that evening’s news, Beale announces that in two weeks time he will commit suicide during the evening news. This effectively makes Beale not the news announcer but the subject of all the other networks newscasts.
Beale apologizes to Max and is allowed to go on the air for his final broadcast. He announces that he isn’t going to kill himself, but that he’s just run out of bullshit. Max, stinging from finding out that his budget has been cut and he was not told about it until the annual stockholders meeting, allows Beale to carry on with his rant. Again this makes Beale not the teller of news, but the subject of every newscast and this time making the cover of the New York Times. The suits want Beale canned but up and coming TV programming executive Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway) gets a look at the ratings Beale is producing and thinks she smells a ratings bonanza.
UBS Network head Frank Hackett (Robert Duvall), on Christensen’s advice, lets Beale have a commentary segment on the news. The novelty wears off and Beale’s ratings begin to drop again. However, one evening Beale hears a godlike voice and goes on another rant about truth that both shows his insanity but is also hilarious. Before his next broadcast Beale spends the day walking around in the rain in his pajamas and raincoat. When he goes on the air that night he gives the speech that is in my opinion one of the greatest in movies.
“I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore” is the line that everyone remembers but the whole speech is golden. The ratings explode and the mad prophet of the airwaves is given his own network show, but what happens when the ratings start to fall?
Network was written as satire, but it is eerily true as reality television has taken over the news and most every other kind of show. In the 1970s the evening news was sacred and there would be no thought of it as entertainment. Nowadays everything has entertainment value. Paddy Chayetsky might’ve been a soothsayer. Network is a favorite of mine and features excellent performances from Finch (who died shortly after the film and was the first person to win a posthumous Academy award), Holden, Dunaway, Duvall and Ned Beatty (as the Lord God Jehovah basically and his speech is just as fabulous as Beale’s iconic speech in my opinion).
The movie is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Warner Brothers has produced a wonderful two disc special edition (Still mad as hell after 30 years). Disc one has the feature and special features include a great commentary with director Sidney Lumet and the theatrical trailer.
Disc two houses the rest of the special features. First up is the “Making of Network” that runs 90 minutes and features interviews with producers Howard Gottfried and Philip Rosenberg, director of photography Owen Roizman, director Lumet, editor Alan Heim, and actors Faye Dunaway, Lance Henriksen (who has a small part), Ned Beatty, and Kathy Cronkite (Walter’s daughter, who has a small part in the movie).
Veteran anchorman Walter Cronkite even pops up in his own segment to discuss Network. Second is a 14-minute segment of the Dinah Shore show with Paddy Chayefsky (Steve Lawrence and Anne Bancroft also appear) but it might’ve been nice to have the whole episode. Last up is a 54-minute program from Turner Classic Movies called Private Screening with Sidney Lumet. Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne sits down with Lumet for an interview and retrospective.
Network is a film that was ahead of its time and produced one of the greatest film speeches in movie history. This two-disc edition belongs in every mad prophet of film’s DVD library. Network is available as a separate release but it is also part of a box set called Controversial Classic Volume 2 : The Power of the Media. This set contains Network, Dog Day Afternoon, and All the President’s Men in new two disc special editions.
Network Two Disc Special Edition is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
Controversial Classic Vol. 2: The Power of the Media is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
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