Network (1976)

Film: Network

Director: Sidney Lumet

Country: USA

Released: November 1976

Runtime: 121 minutes

Genre: Satire

Studio: MGM

Influenced: Oliver Stone, Spike Lee, Aaron Sorkin, Richard Donner, David Fincher, Martin McDonagh

Sidney Lumet had a long and distinguished career in Hollywood, with one of his early classics the courtroom drama 12 Angry Men (1957), but he's now arguably best remembered for his mid-70s run of hits, collaborating with Al Pacino on tense crime dramas Serpico (1973) and Dog Day Afternoon (1975) and then producing what is for me his masterpiece, Network. Written by celebrated screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky, the concept for the film emerged from Chayefsky's observations about the power of TV and the increasing influence of the media in American society. The film revolves around Howard Beale (Peter Finch), a veteran news anchor whose ratings have been declining. He is informed by his boss, Max Schumacher (William Holden), that he will be fired due to poor viewing figures. On the night of his firing, the two old friends get "properly pissed” (nice to see Americans using the word correctly!) and the next day Beale announces during a live broadcast that he will commit suicide on air in a week's time.

Network is a satire of the media landscape and its obsession with ratings and audience share. The characters of Frank Hackett (Robert Duvall) and Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway) represent the dark heart of the US media, with Hackett the capitalist hatchet man and Diana the exploiter of countercultural rage with her sensational and violent programming. Diana's relentless pursuit of ratings leads her to introduce controversial shows such as "The Mao Tse-Tung Hour" and "The Death Hour"; a critique of media sensationalism and the erosion of ethical standards in the pursuit of profit. There's lots of dark and irreverent humour too, like when Diana is pitched various programme ideas, all of which feature the “crusty but benign" character trope. Beale's announcement of his intention to commit suicide on live TV marks a pivotal moment in the film, capturing public attention and setting the narrative in motion.

This shocking revelation creates a media frenzy and UBS executives decide to exploit Beale's mental breakdown for ratings. They give him a new show called "The Howard Beale Show", where he expresses his unfiltered opinions and rants about the state of the world. Beale becomes, as he himself states in the film, "an angry prophet denouncing the hypocrisies of our times". He says he feels "vivid" and "flashing" – almost as if he’s escaped the Matrix – but his boss Max thinks he’s having a mental breakdown. One of the film's most iconic moments is Beale's "I’m as mad as hell and I’m not gonna take this anymore" monologue on air, where he encourages viewers to vent their frustrations by opening their windows and shouting the same words to the world outside. The film is full of such pearls of dialogue ("we struck the mother lode", "we’re in the boredom killing business", "we’ll tell you any shit you want to hear", etc) and the film is a prescient depiction of the merging of news and entertainment.

Network was released at a time of economic hardship (oil crisis, high inflation, high unemployment) and in the film Beale talks about the apathy of people content with their toasters and TVs and disengaged from politics. Chayefsky's screenplay delved into themes such as media manipulation, corporate greed and the dehumanisation of people in pursuit of profit. There's a brilliant diatribe by Ned Beatty's character Arthur Jensen at the end of the film about how nothing matters or means anything apart from dollars (according to him, there is no America or democracy, only companies like IBM, which are the true "nations"). Network's themes and messages have remained relevant over the years, with its commentary on the commodification of news and the ethical compromises made for higher ratings still relevant today. The film received widespread critical acclaim and garnered ten Oscar nominations, winning four, including Best Actor for Peter Finch's posthumous performance as Beale.