Network (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
Howard Beale (Peter Finch), the dean of newscasters at the United Broadcasting System, is fired because he "skews old" in 'Network' (directed by Sidney Lumet). Sentimental network anchorman Max Schumacher (William Holden), Howard's best friend, is the man forced to deliver this bad news. Beale simply can't stomach the idea of losing his 25 yr. position as anchorman because of age, so in his next broadcast he announces to the viewers that he's going to commit suicide on his final program! Because of this patently insane & profane behavior, network head Frank Hackett (Robert Duvall, incendiary in one pivotal office scene early on) is all for kicking Beale out immediately.
But when it looks like the UBS is going to have its biggest ratings ever on the night of Beale's self-destruction, ambitious programming executive Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway) talks Frank into treating that fateful telecast as a huge event. Naturally, Howard doesn't commit suicide, but he does rant about the horrific state of the world & television, in particular. He ends his tirade by urging his viewers to "go to the window & shout as loud as you can: 'I'm mad as hell & I'm not going to take it anymore!'" With that, Beale becomes the hottest TV personality & Diana becomes the network's It girl. She comes up with plans to treat the nightly news broadcast as flashy entertainment (including a psychic), all built around the rants & raves of Howard Beale, now noted as 'The Mad Prophet of the Airwaves'.
William Holden's anchorman represents this story's moral conscience. And he's often beaten upon by Fay Dunaway's dominant fits & moods. Her goal is to uptick the network's ratings, boasting: "All I want out of life is a 30 share & 20 rating", for which she is willing to use disreputable means to get them. Obsessed with her career - which permeates every aspect of her life - Diana talks about her job non-stop ... even during sex with married Max. She assumes the masculine position (atop) & has an early orgasm. Efficient, rational, clinical, that's her; incapable of giving/receiving human emotions.
The entire cast is superb: Dunaway as a cold, ruthless TV programmer; William Holden as a conscientious, if adulterous anchorman; Robert Duvall as a shark-like network head; Ned Beatty as an Evangelical chairman; Beatrice Straight as Holden's suffering wife; and last but not least, Peter Finch as our mad prophet whose mad as Hell & isn't going to take it anymore. It's a great speech & Finch delivers it with iconic relish -- classic movie moment. Everyone is on their A-game; delivering their brilliantly-scripted dialogue passionately. That said, it was the piercing subtlety of William Holden's performance that stood out to me. Peter Finch won a posthumous Oscar as Beale, but Holden gave him a run for his $$.
This is a fairly entertaining film; even though it's predominantly set newsrooms & speaks of the enigmatic world of television ratings. It's daring, as well; as director Lumet makes the viewers part of the manipulative scheme. The character of Howard Beale skewed older, so what does the network do -- out with the old, in with the new (that's the case with any TV personality or television program). Beale - like the rest of TV culture - becomes disposable; an onward & upward mentality. There is also a racial angle to the film; as the William Holden character, whose Jewish, feels somewhat inferior among television's mostly catholic elite. Smart film. It looks good. There are some stagnant scenes here & there. But overall, it is WELL-worth seeing.
But when it looks like the UBS is going to have its biggest ratings ever on the night of Beale's self-destruction, ambitious programming executive Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway) talks Frank into treating that fateful telecast as a huge event. Naturally, Howard doesn't commit suicide, but he does rant about the horrific state of the world & television, in particular. He ends his tirade by urging his viewers to "go to the window & shout as loud as you can: 'I'm mad as hell & I'm not going to take it anymore!'" With that, Beale becomes the hottest TV personality & Diana becomes the network's It girl. She comes up with plans to treat the nightly news broadcast as flashy entertainment (including a psychic), all built around the rants & raves of Howard Beale, now noted as 'The Mad Prophet of the Airwaves'.
William Holden's anchorman represents this story's moral conscience. And he's often beaten upon by Fay Dunaway's dominant fits & moods. Her goal is to uptick the network's ratings, boasting: "All I want out of life is a 30 share & 20 rating", for which she is willing to use disreputable means to get them. Obsessed with her career - which permeates every aspect of her life - Diana talks about her job non-stop ... even during sex with married Max. She assumes the masculine position (atop) & has an early orgasm. Efficient, rational, clinical, that's her; incapable of giving/receiving human emotions.
The entire cast is superb: Dunaway as a cold, ruthless TV programmer; William Holden as a conscientious, if adulterous anchorman; Robert Duvall as a shark-like network head; Ned Beatty as an Evangelical chairman; Beatrice Straight as Holden's suffering wife; and last but not least, Peter Finch as our mad prophet whose mad as Hell & isn't going to take it anymore. It's a great speech & Finch delivers it with iconic relish -- classic movie moment. Everyone is on their A-game; delivering their brilliantly-scripted dialogue passionately. That said, it was the piercing subtlety of William Holden's performance that stood out to me. Peter Finch won a posthumous Oscar as Beale, but Holden gave him a run for his $$.
This is a fairly entertaining film; even though it's predominantly set newsrooms & speaks of the enigmatic world of television ratings. It's daring, as well; as director Lumet makes the viewers part of the manipulative scheme. The character of Howard Beale skewed older, so what does the network do -- out with the old, in with the new (that's the case with any TV personality or television program). Beale - like the rest of TV culture - becomes disposable; an onward & upward mentality. There is also a racial angle to the film; as the William Holden character, whose Jewish, feels somewhat inferior among television's mostly catholic elite. Smart film. It looks good. There are some stagnant scenes here & there. But overall, it is WELL-worth seeing.