CLASSIC MOVIES: NETWORK (1976)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brief Movie Synopsis [courtesy of Turner Classic Movies]:

Television programmers turn a deranged news
anchorman into "the mad prophet of the airwaves".
Winner of 4 Academy Awards, including
Best Actress (Faye Dunaway) and Best Actor (Peter Finch).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

REVIEWS:

"1976's 'Network', directed with the usual skill and greatness of Mr. Sidney Lumet, is just wonderful in all respects. This biting satire takes a vicious swipe at the medium of television, circa 1975-1976. From the very first scene, the tongue-in-cheek style of this great film never surrenders its grip on the viewer -- or is it really 'satire' at all? That's what director Lumet, I would imagine, wants the audience watching this film to keep asking themselves over and over again. There's just the right mix of straight-forward drama and outright satire placed into this motion picture. And the many over-the-top ravings and rantings from the collection of 'UBS Network' bigwigs, although seemingly somewhat silly and too broad, are written and acted out in such a way by this excellent cast of actors that the viewer can easily begin to believe that perhaps Mr. Lumet wasn't directing a satire at all."

-- David Von Pein; April 2006

"Network...is, as its ads proclaim, outrageous. It's also brilliantly,
cruelly funny. .... [It] can be faulted both for going too far and not far enough, but it's also something that very few commercial films are these days. It's alive. This, I suspect, is the [Sidney] Lumet drive. It's also the
wit of performers like Mr. Finch, Mr. Holden, and Miss Dunaway. As the
crazy prophet within the film says of himself, 'Network' is vivid and
flashing. It's connected into life."

-- Excerpt from The New York Times; November 15, 1976

ROGER EBERT'S 1976 REVIEW:

ROGER EBERT'S 2000 REVIEW:

"Sidney Lumet...is one of the most consistently intelligent and
productive directors of his time. His credits are an honor roll of good films,
many of them with a conscience, including '12 Angry Men' (1957)...
'Fail-Safe' (1964)...'Dog Day Afternoon' (1975)...[and]
'The Verdict' (1982). .... Few directors are better at finding the right
way to tell difficult stories. .... In 'Network'...it is [Lumet's] unobtrusive
skill that allows all those different notes and energy levels to exist
within the same film. In other hands, the film might have whirled
to pieces. In his, it became a touchstone."

-- Roger Ebert; October 29, 2000

SISKEL & EBERT: