"Network" (1976)

Rank on the AFI List: #64

WHAT I ALREADY KNEW ABOUT THE MOVIE:
1) It was about a TV network
2) It stars Faye Dunaway
3) The famous line: "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!"

LET ME EXPLAIN...
I found it sadly funny that, being a movie that satirizes TV executives doing anything they can for better ratings, this didn't seem too far off from what television (specifically TV news) has actually become.  Regardless of your opinion on cable news (or which channels are fair and which are biased), this movie illustrates a transition from straight news to opinionated political grandiosity that is present on cable news today.  It was fascinating to watch this satire from 1976 in 2010.

Something that made this movie stand out to me was all the monologues.  I think every character had at least one major monologue pertaining to their view on life, the media, and the messy web that entangles them.  Several characters gave multiple monologues.  I appreciated these because you really got to know who the characters were, and one monologue toward the end helped sum up the point of the movie, which really helped me enjoy it more than I would have had it not been included.

I also thought the film was poignant in having characters without heart and soul; they're people going about life without any real care or compassion for others.  It's as if working in television has taken away what makes them truly human.  Sounds a bit like what happens when we watch too much television, doesn't it?

What makes this a "Top 100" Movie?
For one thing, it's a very well-done satire on a topic related to cinema (television).  It also seemed like it was an "anti-establishment" film that focuses on waking "a sleeping giant", which I could see might be considered significant and controversial for America (especially in the 70's).  It also had good acting (though I wasn't that impressed with Peter Finch as Howard Beale, though he won the very first posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor).  It was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, winning four: three for acting and one for writing.

Complaints:
I can't really put my finger on it, but how the movie moved along seemed a bit slow and dull at times.  And like I said earlier, had it not been for a monologue toward the end, I would have been a bit lost on the point of the movie.

LET ME SUM UP...
"Network" is an interesting film to watch in today's media climate because what was satire in the 70's is very close to reality in the 21st century.  It was well acted (Faye Dunaway's performance was my favorite) and well written with a TON of character monologues.  Not exactly the most entertaining film, but it's an interesting statement about the media.

MY RATING: 6/10

TOTAL # OF FILMS WATCHED: 74