Network: Film Review

The late Sidney Lumet was one of the best directors of his time. He had a sharp eye for filming dialogue and making it just as intense as a bank robbery. He was able to take a movie about a group of men sitting in a jurors room arguing about the trial into a compelling and riveting character study with 1957's "12 Angry Men" Which showed the talent he would later bring to 1976's "Network" starring William Holden, Robert Duvall, Faye Dunaway, Peter Finch and Ned Beatty.

The movie opens with shots of Howard Beale as a news anchor giving the news. A narrator informs us that Howard Beale (played by Peter Finch) has just been fired due to poor ratings. After a quick scene out with his best friend and coworker Max Schumacher (William Holden) it cuts to the following scene:



That sets up the whole movie from there. The network, who has been taken over by a large conglomerate decides to keep Howard on the air, despite the fact that he is in the midst of a severe breakdown because the ratings are increasing. So begins the decline of ethics and morals of the station.

Max Schumacher disagrees with the decision and is angry that the station no longer cares about the news. His discontent makes him an enemy of the man in charge from the conglomerate company, Frank Hackett played by the always incredible Robert Duvall. These two dislike each other which leads to some great, tense scenes where we get to see both brilliant actor have at each other like the scene below where Hackett fires Schumacher:



Meanwhile Max has been having an affair with Diana (Faye Dunaway) who works for the network as well, and has been giving the news show in place of Max so she can keep Howard on the air, and keep his sensationalist rants in order to keep viewership up. Faye Dunaway is always great and she plays a woman who cares more about her career and job far more than her personal life and it seeps over into Max who is just looking for love. Until ultimately, the relationship falls apart leading to this incredibly well written and impeccably acted scene where Max leave her:




The movie shows the big corporations as morally bankrupt, who care nothing for actual human beings and only for the dollar sign these people represent. And it all comes out like a firecracker thanks to Sidney Lumet's incredible direction. It won multiple Academy Awards including Best Writing for Paddy Chayefsky, best Actress for Faye Dunaway and Best Actor for Peter Finch. It was also nominated for Best Actor for William Holden (whom I think was more deserving than Finch) Best Supporting Actor Ned Beatty, Best Cinematography, Best Picture and Best Director (all of which it should have won.) It is in the American Film Institutes top 100 movies of all time, and deserves to be higher on the list. It is a truly remarkable film, with a lot to say.