“Network” is screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky’s satirical look at the goings-on behind the scenes of a fictional television network. The film is best known for its outstanding performances, in particular Peter Finch as the news anchor having angry outbursts on air (“I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”), Faye Dunaway as the driven network executive, and Beatrice Straight as the wife of the news division chief. All three won Oscars for their efforts; Finch passed away before the Academy Awards ceremony and was awarded posthumously. Straight’s performance holds the record for the shortest (five minutes) for an Academy Award winner. Chayefsky won the film’s fourth Oscar.
Director Sidney Lumet (“12 Angry Men” 1957) was superb at the helm, directing Finch, Dunaway, Straight, as well as William Holden, Robert Duvall, Ned Beatty, Lane Smith, Conchata Ferrell, Wesley Addy, Jordan Charney, William Prince, Darryl Hickman, Kathy Cronkite (daughter of newsman Walter Cronkite), and Lee Richardson as the narrator. “Network” was successful in theatrical release for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and United Artists.
Network (1976)
cinema
My Review
“Network” is screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky’s satirical look at the goings-on behind the scenes of a fictional television network. The film is best known for its outstanding performances, in particular Peter Finch as the news anchor having angry outbursts on air (“I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”), Faye Dunaway as the driven network executive, and Beatrice Straight as the wife of the news division chief. All three won Oscars for their efforts; Finch passed away before the Academy Awards ceremony and was awarded posthumously. Straight’s performance holds the record for the shortest (five minutes) for an Academy Award winner. Chayefsky won the film’s fourth Oscar.
Director Sidney Lumet (“12 Angry Men” 1957) was superb at the helm, directing Finch, Dunaway, Straight, as well as William Holden, Robert Duvall, Ned Beatty, Lane Smith, Conchata Ferrell, Wesley Addy, Jordan Charney, William Prince, Darryl Hickman, Kathy Cronkite (daughter of newsman Walter Cronkite), and Lee Richardson as the narrator. “Network” was successful in theatrical release for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and United Artists.