Network
Academy Award × 4·AFI #64·National Film Registry
Rent/Purchase
When veteran anchorman Howard Beale is forced to retire his 25-year post because of his age, he announces to viewers that he will kill himself during his farewell broadcast. Network executives rethink their decision when his fanatical tirade results in a spike in ratings.
What critics thought
Network arrived as both a critical flashpoint and a cultural provocation — widely praised for its ferocious performances, satirical ambition, and Paddy Chayefsky's scalding screenplay, but a vocal minority found that same script self-righteous and exhausting, more sermon than satire. The film's portrayal of Arabs as villains also drew serious scholarly criticism. Decades on, audiences have largely sided with its admirers, even as the debate over whether it persuades or merely harangues never quite went away.
“outrageous ... brilliantly, cruelly funny, a topical American comedy that confirms Paddy Chayefsky's position as a major new American satirist”
Vincent Canby·The New York Times
“The cast of this messianic farce takes turns yelling at us soulless masses”
Pauline Kael·The New Yorker
“slick, 'adult', self-congratulatory, and almost entirely hollow”
Chris Petit·Time Out
“the movie is too sternly, monotonously preachy for either persuasion or casual amusement”
Gary Arnold·The Washington Post
Genres
Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorSidney Lumet
StarringFaye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, Robert Duvall, Wesley Addy
ComposerElliot Lawrence
Network
Academy Award × 4·AFI #64·National Film Registry
When veteran anchorman Howard Beale is forced to retire his 25-year post because of his age, he announces to viewers that he will kill himself during his farewell broadcast. Network executives rethink their decision when his fanatical tirade results in a spike in ratings.
What critics thought
Network arrived as both a critical flashpoint and a cultural provocation — widely praised for its ferocious performances, satirical ambition, and Paddy Chayefsky's scalding screenplay, but a vocal minority found that same script self-righteous and exhausting, more sermon than satire. The film's portrayal of Arabs as villains also drew serious scholarly criticism. Decades on, audiences have largely sided with its admirers, even as the debate over whether it persuades or merely harangues never quite went away.
“outrageous ... brilliantly, cruelly funny, a topical American comedy that confirms Paddy Chayefsky's position as a major new American satirist”
Vincent Canby·The New York Times
“The cast of this messianic farce takes turns yelling at us soulless masses”
Pauline Kael·The New Yorker
“slick, 'adult', self-congratulatory, and almost entirely hollow”
Chris Petit·Time Out
“the movie is too sternly, monotonously preachy for either persuasion or casual amusement”
Gary Arnold·The Washington Post
Genres
Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorSidney Lumet
StarringFaye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, Robert Duvall, Wesley Addy
ComposerElliot Lawrence
Rent/Purchase