Search - Network [Widescreen/Fullscreen]

A trenchant satire of "trash TV," Network seems to grow only more relevant with each passing year. Howard Beale (Peter Finch), the dean of newscasters at the United Broadcasting System, is put out to pasture because he "skews old." Network executive Max Schumacher (William Holden), Howard's best friend, is forced to deliver the bad news. Beale can't stomach the idea of losing his 25-year post as anchorman simply because of age, so in his next broadcast he announces to the viewers that he's going to commit suicide on his final program. Network head Frank Hackett (Robert Duvall) is all for kicking Beale out then and there, but when it looks as though the UBS is going to have its greatest ratings ever on the night of Beale's self-destruction, ambitious programming exec Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway) talks Hackett into treating that fateful final telecast as a special event. Naturally, Beale doesn't go through with it -- but he does begin rambling about the horrible state of the world in general and television in particular. He concludes his tirade by admonishing his viewers to "Go to the window and shout as loud as you can: 'I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!'" With that, Howard Beale becomes the hottest TV personality in America, and Diana becomes the network's fair-haired girl. She draws up plans to treat the nightly news broadcast as garish entertainment (complete with a psychic), all built around the rants of Beale, billed as "The Mad Prophet of the Airwaves." Network won Oscars for Paddy Chayefsky's screenplay as well as for three of four acting categories -- Dunaway for Best Actress, Peter Finch for Best Actor (in the only posthumous Oscar yet awarded), and Beatrice Straight for Best Supporting Actress, in one of the shortest-screen-time performances ever to win an Oscar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Faye Dunaway - Diana Christensen
William Holden - Max Schumacher
Peter Finch - Howard Beale
Robert Duvall - Frank Hackett
Wesley Addy - Nelson Chaney

1977	Best Actor (winner)	British Academy of Film and Television	Peter Finch
1977	Best Picture (nominee)	British Academy of Film and Television	Sidney Lumet
1976	Best Director (winner)	Los Angeles Film Critics Association	Sidney Lumet
1976	Best Screenplay (winner)	Los Angeles Film Critics Association	Paddy Chayefsky
1976	Best Director (nominee)	Directors Guild of America	Sidney Lumet
1976	Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama (winner)	Golden Globe	Faye Dunaway
1976	Best Screenplay (winner)	Golden Globe	Paddy Chayefsky
1976	Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama (winner)	Golden Globe	Peter Finch
1976	Best Actor (winner)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Peter Finch
1976	Best Actor (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	William Holden
1976	Best Actress (winner)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Faye Dunaway
1976	Best Cinematography (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Owen Roizman
1976	Best Director (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Sidney Lumet
1976	Best Editing (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Alan Heim
1976	Best Original Screenplay (winner)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Paddy Chayefsky
1976	Best Picture (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Howard Gottfried
1976	Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Ned Beatty
1976	Best Supporting Actress (winner)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Beatrice Straight
1976	Best Screenplay (winner)	New York Film Critics Circle	Paddy Chayefsky

A trenchant satire of "trash TV," Network seems to grow only more relevant with each passing year. Howard Beale (Peter Finch), the dean of newscasters at the United Broadcasting System, is put out to pasture because he "skews old." Network executive Max Schumacher (William Holden), Howard's best friend, is forced to deliver the bad news. Beale can't stomach the idea of losing his 25-year post as anchorman simply because of age, so in his next broadcast he announces to the viewers that he's going to commit suicide on his final program. Network head Frank Hackett (Robert Duvall) is all for kicking Beale out then and there, but when it looks as though the UBS is going to have its greatest ratings ever on the night of Beale's self-destruction, ambitious programming exec Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway) talks Hackett into treating that fateful final telecast as a special event. Naturally, Beale doesn't go through with it -- but he does begin rambling about the horrible state of the world in general and television in particular. He concludes his tirade by admonishing his viewers to "Go to the window and shout as loud as you can: 'I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!'" With that, Howard Beale becomes the hottest TV personality in America, and Diana becomes the network's fair-haired girl. She draws up plans to treat the nightly news broadcast as garish entertainment (complete with a psychic), all built around the rants of Beale, billed as "The Mad Prophet of the Airwaves." Max is disgusted at seeing his old friend turned into a freak; even so, he finds Diana fascinating and begins an affair with her. Eventually, Schumacher realizes that Diana is merely a ratings machine with legs and returns to his wife (Beatrice Straight). Meanwhile, the owner of the network (Ned Beatty), in his own way as loony as Beale, convinces the anchorman to begin preaching to the public a "You can't win, so why try?" philosophy. Paddy Chayefsky's Oscar-winning screenplay, if at times over-the-top, seems amazingly prescient about the future direction of network TV. In addition to Chafeysky's award, Network won Oscars in three of four acting categories -- Dunaway for Best Actress, Peter Finch for Best Actor (in the only posthumous Oscar yet awarded), and Beatrice Straight for Best Supporting Actress, in one of the shortest-screen-time performances ever to win an Oscar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

These movies have the touch and feel of Network [Widescreen/Fullscreen]...
3	Joe (R)
47	Wall Street (R)
1	An Unmarried Woman (R)
6	North Dallas Forty (R)
4	The Waterdance (R)
9	The Verdict (R)
S	Medium Cool (R)
7	Tin Men (R)
2	Blue Collar (R)
3	Harry and Tonto (R)
4	The Chocolate War (R)
11	Do the Right Thing [Widescreen] (R)
20	Slap Shot (R)
12	The Principal (R)
4	The Sunshine Boys (PG)
S	Autumn Sonata [Criterion Collection] (NR)
1	Save the Tiger (R)
21	The Color of Money (R)
These movies have the subject or theme of Network [Widescreen/Fullscreen]...
6	My Favorite Year (PG)
S	The Groove Tube (R)
1	The Image
1	The Mogul
S	A Face in the Crowd (NR)
16	Sunset Boulevard [Special Collector's Edition] (NR)
4	New York, New York [Special Edition] (PG)
6	Nashville (R)
S	Sweet Smell of Success (NR)
21	Postcards from the Edge (R)
3	Twentieth Century (NR)
1	The Front (PG)
10	Crimes and Misdemeanors (PG-13)
2	Tune in Tomorrow (PG-13)
9	Talk Radio (R)
S	Ginger and Fred (PG-13)
13	For the Boys (R)
1	FM (PG)
1	The Stand-In (NR)
9	Mo' Better Blues (R)
2	Gold Diggers of 1933 (NR)
These movies share cast/crew with Network [Widescreen/Fullscreen]...
41	M*A*S*H (R)
3	Prince of the City [Special Edition] (R)
4	Power (R)
24	The Towering Inferno (PG)
7	Q & A (R)
S	Midnight Crossing (R)
16	Running on Empty (PG-13)
5	A Stranger Among Us (PG-13)
16	Sunset Boulevard [Special Collector's Edition] (NR)
2	The Nun's Story (NR)
5	The Handmaid's Tale (R)
11	Family Business (R)
10	The Paper (R)
6	Nashville (R)
10	Stalag 17 (NR)
37	The Godfather [Widescreen] (R)
9	The Verdict (R)
21	Serpico (R)
13	Little Big Man (PG-13)
These movies were ripped-off by Network [Widescreen/Fullscreen]...
1	The Front Page
These movies are similar to Network [Widescreen/Fullscreen]...
1	Agency (R)
16	And Justice for All [Widescreen/Fullscreen] (R)
4	The Barefoot Executive (G)
8	Being There (PG)
S	The Big Knife (NR)
S	A Face in the Crowd (NR)
1	The Front Page (PG)
1	The Image
1	The Killing of Sister George (R)
8	The Player (R)
1	The Mogul
S	Sweet Smell of Success (NR)
1	Ace in the Hole
11	Quiz Show (PG-13)
16	Mad City (PG-13)
S	Beggars and Choosers: The Complete First Season (TV-MA)
22	The Insider (R)
3	Bamboozled [Widescreen] (R)
4	Series 7: The Contenders (R)
2	People I Know (R)
2	News at Eleven (R)
75	Thank You for Smoking [Widescreen] (R)