Rating: Summary: A classic...has become more of a harbinger than a satire Review: A dead-on skewering the the television industry & the lengths people will go for high ratings. Considered an out-there satire when it was first released, it seems very much grounded in reality if you compare it to today's TV programming. Lorraine Hobbs & her band of terrorists...check out "Most Dangerous Robberies". The Death Hour...watch "When Animals Attack." The Howard Beale Show..."Jerry Spinger", anyone? Even though this film was released over 20 years ago, it is still a powerful piece of drama today.
Rating: Summary: Somewhere just beyond the reach of words Review: The most shocking and disturbing reality that this movie brought to my attention was that deep down inside I know that I'm going to watch television again someday after seeing this movie, and I'm not even going to feel guilty.
Rating: Summary: Quite simply, the best film ever made..... Review: In terms of acting, script, and social relevance, this film stands above them all. Sad, depressing, brutally honest, and screamingly funny, this film attacks every group in the corrupt comedy that is American life. Wonderful!
Rating: Summary: Required Viewing Review: Speaking as some one who works in the media, the ultra-black comedy of Network was and is frighteningly phrophetic, biting much closer to the bone than most viewers will ever realize. An outrageous but plausible scenario combine with calculatedly over-the-top performances to create a masterpiece of richly black satire, as wholesome as a slug of arsenic. Holden, Dunaway, and Finch are superlative throughout and the film has lost none of its power through the years. Required viewing for intelligent movie-lovers... and all those who believe what they see on tabloid t.v.
Rating: Summary: Ahead of it's time. Review: This masterpiece is even more relevant now than it was in '76. Pound for pound maybe the best screenplay of all time. This is the movie the grossly overrated "Truman Show" only wishes it could be.
Rating: Summary: Network Gains credibility with age Review: One of a series of American films to be produced during the mid seventies bisecting the machinations of the modern age, Network awoke screen viewers to the mesmerising and corrosive properties of television. The narrative is a triple tiered period piece adorned with the newsworthy jewels of the time (Patricia Hearst, Opec oil crisis, urban guerilla insurgencies) and is an early study in media manipulation of current affairs and a dig at the facile nature of shrill political bleeding hearts. (Watch for the great Ahmed Khan feeding his face with Kentucky Fried Chicken.) Finch presents the popular face of this film as demented newscaster Howard Beale and delivers a powerful performance resonant of his attitude towards the Hollywood movie machine. A seasoned stage actor, he refused to work in television throughout his career. Network brought him out of retirement after a series of lacklustre screen performances during the early 1970's for one last shot at success. He won a post humous Oscar for his efforts. Watch this one on television for maximum ironic impact and, to avoid the storyline flirting with the farcical during the latter half, turn the film off when Howard Beale urges the audience to do so. It is indeed a small screen picture.
Rating: Summary: Don't Watch It Review: I have to watch this movie for a film class. It really blows. Sidney Lumet is such a jab. He was so talented but too stupid to realize 5 minutes worth of music might have prevented audiences 20 years in the future from falling asleep while watching this film. Maybe it's just me, but I think everybody was overacting. The oscars that this movie won are a testament to the sheer insanity plaguing our contry in the 1970s. If you are old, watch this movie. If you are young(under 40) save your money and watch something with Shannon Tweed. At least then you'll have a reason why the movie is so bad.
Rating: Summary: Brilliant!!!! Review: This movie is the one for the ages. I mean, the writing by paddy chayefsky gives the most memorable lines in movis history. The directing makes you feel like it's taking place around you, right now. Kudos to the director who was robbed of an Oscar, Sidney Lumet. I'm blown away by the acting. Peter Finch gives the most wonderful performance as a crazy, I'm mad as hell anchorman who ends up being the most tragedic characters in movies. William Holden is the lone voice of common sense and reason. You can relate to him. Faye Dunaway makes the bitchiest woman look like Mother Teresa which makes her brilliant!! Robert Duval gives a finely tuned performance who deserved an oscar nomination but didn't get it. Ned Beatty gives the most famous monologues in the most professional and creative way. Beatrice Straight, gives the most moving performances to date and she did it in 4 minutes. She gave the best performance in this movie and I just wish she was in it more. She deserved that oscar and she should be proud. Watch the movie and you won't regret it.
Rating: Summary: SOCIAL SATIRE DOESN'T GET MUCH BETTER THAN THIS!!! Review: Back in the seventies, director Sidney Lumet was about as hot a director as they come. He directed "Scerpico", "Dog Day Afternoon", and my personal favourite, "Network"Working from a ingenious script by Paddy Chaefsky, the film explores the media circus in all it's lunacy. A world where an anchorman's pathetic menatl breakdown is seen by a struggling network as an opportunity to get a boost in ratings. Other films have tried to show the insanity of the media, but none have done such a terrrific job as "Network". Faye Dunaway and, posthumously, Peter Finch, won oscars for their performances. However, it's Wiliam Holden who really makes the greatest impression, as far as I'm concerned. Holden plays, probably, the only sane character in this picture, trying to maintain his dignity in an industry so starved for ratings it'll put absolutely anything on.
Rating: Summary: Scary..... Review: When will someone write an updated script for the moview based on the Web...keep the name though. The contridictions in the movie along with the self mokery make is a great film. Matt.
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