CriticSociety- film reviews

Review

Network

Director

Sidney Lumet

Year

1976

Rating

Reviewed by

Gon C Curiel a.k.a. Groucho

Review date

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Paddy Chayefsky is one of America’s most prolific and important screenwriters in the history of Hollywood, also a celebrated playwright, famous for his cutting edge scripts that seemed to be as sincere as they were mordant. One of his most memorable later works is Network, a satire of the world of television that can be seen now as a prophetic piece, well ahead of its time. This is Chayefsky in his whole extent, genius from start to finish, sharp to the last consequences, witty, fun, and daring. Most certainly one of the most brilliant scripts ever filmed and an excellent film for many more reasons. It’s one of my personal favorites, too, in case anyone gives a damn.

The story deals with a television network, the Union Broadcasting System (UBS), which is far behind ABC, CBS and NBC in both respectability and ratings. When the Communications Corporation of America (CCA) takes over that company and the management gets involved in most departments, looking to improve the ratings one way or another, some people feel invaded and others feel relieved.

The story doesn’t deal directly with this though. This is the story of Howard Beale (Peter Finch), a once great anchorman who has now lost what made him so good and gets fired from the network. His friend and boss Max Schumacher (William Holden) breaks him the news and Howard states he will kill himself on the air. What seemed to be a drunken prank of depressive sorts gets serious when Howard goes on and announces this on his show. The result is sensational, but the network won’t have it, and wants Howard off the air. The audience’s interest increases, however, when Howard is given another shot, just to go out with dignity, and he screws up again, skyrocketing ratings.

How this turns the network into a freak show infuriates the current management, but the VP assigned by CCA, Frank Hackett (Robert Duvall), has a more progressive way of seeing things, and the hotshot in charge of programming, Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway), teases him into letting Howard stay on the air and continue his madman romp; she wants to take over the show. It seems farfetched to say the least, as Howard is clearly losing it, but people love him and it may be UBS’ only hope. Diana has extreme ideas about the future of television and also develops a TV show featuring real terrorists as stars. She sees Beale as a goldmine and won’t let him go easy.

Interests collide, pride gets in the way, and ethical issues emerge. The old ways of television, here represented by the more mature people who have been working for decades in the industry, seem obsolete when compared with the new ways of the people who won’t stop at anything to get good ratings, be it for the spotlight or for the money. To be perfectly fair, they understand the audience better, but the ends don’t necessarily justify the means, and it’s too reckless to be harmless. Beale’s crazed speeches go far—he’s as mad as he’s intelligent—and once his tirades endanger the best interests of CCA, everyone goes as mad as hell.

The film is fascinating in so many levels it’s hard to even think of them all, leave alone including them in a review. First of all, even though it deals with corporate management and how it encourages dehumanization in favor of business, this is a story of people, and how every single person has a different way of seeing things, and how they act when motivated by their own particular hopes and dreams. Old school vs. new breed, mostly. The central relationship, for instance, goes on between Max and Diana, who have an affair. He’s all ethics and principles, yet he cheats on his wife. Even so, they’re so different both at work and in their personal lives, that their fling just can’t work out in the long term, because people are people, and how they act is who they are, at work and at home and most everywhere else. This is what makes the movie work so well, and every character is fascinating, from the “mad prophet of the airwaves” Howard to the greedy Hackett to the ruthless Diana to the mostly moralistic Max.

The performances are as fascinating. It’s just outstanding how perfect the casting is and how every actor got the exact touch for their characters. Everyone is absolutely unforgettable. In fact, a couple of actors deserve special mention: Ned Beatty and Beatrice Straight. They’re onscreen only a couple of minutes each but their performances are indelible. Of course it helps that their scenes are probably the best in the movie. Straight plays Max’s wife, heartbroken when we get to meet her, and Beatty plays Mr. Jensen, President and Chairman of CCA, who lectures in a wild and articulate manner about how the world of corporations holds the ultimate truth, how everything is related and connected to it, and how the whole planet in which we live is nothing but a business.

Yet, my favorite scene (and I think I share this with most people) is one that still gives me the shivers every time I watch Network: Howard compels his audience to yell “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”, and millions of viewers stick their heads out their windows and do it. The scene is supposed to be funny and ironic, but it also turns out quite poignant. It’s easily Finch’s most famous screen moment, in what was to be, quite eerily, his final performance on film before his sudden death.

This is one of the rare cases where the screenwriter commands a movie. Director Lumet allows the script to speak by itself by not getting in the way; his work is so flawless you hardly notice it. The only music comes from TV shows or eventual spots, and everything else from photography to editing simply obeys the perfect balance of the screenplay. That’s a tribute to the indescribable work of Mr. Chayefsky’s.

Outrageous, precise and universal, Network is a classic and a must-see.

Gon C Curiel en Twitter | CriticSociety en Twitter | CriticSociety en Facebook

Share on Facebook | Share on Twitter

Other reviews of Network (1976): Morris

Review

Network

Director

Sidney Lumet

Year

1976

Rating

Reviewed by

José Ruiloba a.k.a. Morris

Review date

Tuesday, May 27, 2003

My story with this movie is quite embarrassing. When I was a lot younger I couldn’t wait to see it. I had heard so many good things about it that I went out and bought it. Then the moment to see it arrived and surprisingly I didn’t quite love it. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. I even thought of giving the movie away to someone. But luckily I stayed with it and caught it again recently. The experience was totally different. Now the love was real.

Howard Beale (Peter Finch), a news anchorman in decay, suddenly explodes and tells his live audience that he will commit suicide in one week time in front of the camera. Craziness ensues, and even though Beale is first seen as a threat, he quickly becomes a money magnet as network honcho Frank Hackett (Robert Duvall) is convinced by ruthless Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway) that Beale could become the angry prophet the public so desperately needs to identify with. TV executive Max Schumacher (William Holden) does not think his friend Beale should be exposed to such a thing, but he still finds the time to fall in love with Diana.

I can’t start praising this movie without mentioning, first and foremost, the mastermind behind such an intelligent, witty, real, poignant and in-your-face script: Paddy Chayefsky. The legendary writer was at the peak of his form when he wrote Network’s script after working several years on television. Director Sidney Lumet then came in to bring Chayefksy’s vision to life and did so in an impeccable way.

So what’s so great about Network? I guess it is its resonance. The movie satirizes, albeit in serious mode, the behind-the-scenes world of television. It takes a stab at the world of big companies looking for profits, producers looking for hits and audiences looking for something to relate to. Television could be considered the most powerful and influential form of mass-reaching media of the twentieth century and there’s a lot at stake. That’s why some people will not stop at anything to get the highest rating possible. And I mean that literally.

Performance-wise I consider Network to be one of the best-acted movies of all time. There’s not a false note to be found in any performance, and as a matter of fact even the smallest role is impressively performed. Beatrice Straight and Ned Beatty are a proof of that, both receiving Oscar nominations (and a win in her case) for barely a few minutes on-screen. But then there’s Peter Finch, who is unflinchingly good as Howard Beale; Faye Dunaway, deliciously over-the-top in the role of a woman who can’t hold anything together in her life except her work; William Holden, extremely good as a troubled soul trying to ultimately reach happiness; and Robert Duvall, extraordinary as a top executive always wanting more.

Network is as good as they come!

“I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!”

CriticSociety en Twitter | CriticSociety en Facebook

Share on Facebook | Share on Twitter

Other reviews of Network (1976): Groucho