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Network (1976)

post #1 of 21
4/10/08 at 2:35am
Thread Starter 
So friggin' perfect, and is still frighteningly prevalent in this day and age. Everybody's at the top of their game. Each time I watch this movie I think that William Holden was robbed of the Best Actor Oscar from the much more showy Peter Finch, but then again, Finch does such a damn good job as the "mad prophet".

The final meltdown between Holden and Dunaway is definitely a highlight, as is the "meeting" between Finch and Ned Beatty, and of course, any scenes that Peter Finch and William Holden are in, which is pretty much the entire film. The meeting between the UBS lawyers, and the radicals over the rights of the ir tv show.

Also, is it just me, or does that one radical, who shoots Beale at the end, suspiciously look like Tim Robbins?

Great dialogue too.

Hackett: It's a big fat big titted hit!

Schumacher: Tell Mr. Hackett to go fuck himself!

Laureen Hobbs: Well Ahmed, you ain't gonna believe this, I'm going to make a tv star out of you, just like Archie Bunker you gonna be a household word.

Ahmed: What the fuck are you talking about?

Schumacher: He's saying that life is bullshit, and it is, so what are you screaming about?

(Ahmed fires pistol in the air): Man, give her the fucking overhead clause.

Jensen: You have meddled with the primal forces of nature Mr. Beale, and I won't have it!

and of course, Howard Beale: I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!
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post #2 of 21
4/10/08 at 3:14am
"Valhalla Mr. Beale!"

One of my favorite movies, just fantastic. It's simply stunning how to the letter Paddy Chayefsky's predictions were.

It's been said so many times but I'll say it again, 1976 was one of if not the best crops of best picture nominees and somehow Rocky wins. The height of the Academy's bullshit.
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post #3 of 21
4/10/08 at 3:40am
This has got to hold a record for most actors from the same movie nominated for an Oscar. Finch, Holden, Dunaway, Beatty, and Straight--has any other movie been so thoroughly nominated?
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post #4 of 21
4/10/08 at 3:49am
So fortuitous its spooky and an utter classic to boot.

I adore the shit out of this movie.
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post #5 of 21
4/10/08 at 6:48am
Network is easily one of the all-time greats. The acting and dialogue are top notch.

And I agree: It's pretty amazing how this satire became so dead-on right.
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post #6 of 21
4/10/08 at 8:55am
God this is one of those "big ones" that I still haven't seen. Fuck that, I'm renting it tomorrow.
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post #7 of 21
4/10/08 at 11:28am
I wonder how many current television execs look up to this movie for all the wrong reasons, much like the guys in Boiler Room worshipped Wall Street.
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post #8 of 21
4/10/08 at 11:55am
Spot on movie, just a great flick. I have not watched it in years, so its about time to revisit.

Any movie have a shorter full sex scene then this?
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post #9 of 21
4/10/08 at 12:31pm
One of the greatest ending lines in a movie. It was my sig for a while. Not to mention Ned Beatty owned his scene. Perhaps one of the great monologues on par with Alec Baldwin's in Glenn Gary
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post #10 of 21
4/10/08 at 12:53pm
Everything about this movie is perfect, spot on, top of the game. If you haven't seen it, you should.
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post #11 of 21
4/10/08 at 12:54pm
I had meant to see it when it was shown at the New Beverly but was so tired.

One of these days I need to revist it, seeing how it's been a few years.
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post #12 of 21
4/10/08 at 3:05pm

I was floored the first time I watched this and continue to discover a new revelation each time I go back to it, reminds me to check out more works of Paddy Chayefsky. Ned Beatty's amazing in this for what little screentime he has. That boardroom meeting has never managed to become unstuck in my mind after watching it so many years ago.

 

Quote:
What do you think the Russians talk about in their councils of state, Karl Marx?

Edited by Andrew Joe - 2/1/11 at 4:00pm
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post #13 of 21
4/10/08 at 3:59pm
Great, great film. One of my all time favorites. It definitely hasn't lost any of its cogency or depth over the years, and I doubt that it ever really will.

Also, it makes for an excellent double feature with "The Insider." "Network" predicts what that movie is actively criticizing. I guess it should be noted that these two films offer some small bit of hope for journalists and the citizens who love them. Holden escapes Dunaway, and Mann seems to hint at some vital force that could save us all. It just won't be found in the popular media.
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post #14 of 21
4/10/08 at 5:28pm
I'm waiting for the first scathing, Chayefsky-esque satire about the Internet.
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post #15 of 21
5/10/08 at 7:26pm
Finally saw this today, and was totally blown away by the amount of modern relevance it has today. Superb flick.
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post #16 of 21
5/10/08 at 8:28pm
Just watched this a couple of weeks ago. Respect the hell out of this film. It 's probaly a masterpiece. Just leaves me cold. I can't explain it. I WANT to love it. Have revisited numerous times with near same result each time. (I have similer reaction to BRAZIL, so it's probaly me) It's right after the Beatty-Finch confrontation that it loses me. Is the satire & cynicism-no matter how smart and on point-all too much? For me, yes. <Wow! Good jobI! 'm damaging my credibility on day one! >
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post #17 of 21
6/1/08 at 1:01am
Just rewatched this a couple of minutes ago and wanted to shout from a very high mountaintop how much I love this movie. But, it's late, and the closest mountain to my Dad's house is half an hour away, so this thread will have to do for now. This film is totally on the nose about the media, but its amazing how much deeper the film's themes run than simple satire.

Chayefsky and company are dealing with some pretty big stuff in this film, and its amazing that we don't discuss the films larger themes of dehumanization and regaining one's own humanity. On the whole, it seems that the film is rather optimistic, but it still comes from a very bitter place (albeit one that hasn't completely lost hope).

Really, I think its because of these themes and sentiments that the film was able to be so prescient about the current state of news media (or the media in general). The veneer of the news media is only the films surface, though, and its unfortunate that most audiences don't dig deeper into this film to find out why it still resonates, and probably will for years to come. Of course, when the surface is this deep, that's kind of hard to do.

EDIT: Not really worth a new post, but here's a a nice piece by Ebert about the film.
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post #18 of 21
1/16/11 at 12:59am

My favorite movie of the 1970's followed by Taxi Driver and Chinatown.

 

Paddy Chayefsky, the writer of Network, died on August 1st 1981, the same day that MTV premiered. I don't think that this is a coincidence.

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post #19 of 21
1/16/11 at 11:33am

If Devin ever writes another "Perfect Movies" column, this would be a shoe in.   Utterly perfect from start to finish.

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post #20 of 21
1/16/11 at 11:50am

finally gave this a watch and was mesmerized from beginning to end.

 

Amazing film that is perfect in this day and age.

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post #21 of 21
1/18/11 at 1:02am

Yeah nothing short of amazing. No use saying anything else as everyone already has. If you haven't head over to Netflix now, they have it instant streaming in HD. Seriously see it now.

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