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Network (1976)

121 min  -  Drama  -   27 November 1976 (USA)
8.2
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Ratings: 8.2/10 from 58,859 users  
Reviews: 279 user | 121 critic

A TV network cynically exploits a deranged ex-TV anchor's ravings and revelations about the media for their own profit.

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writer:

Paddy Chayefsky (by)
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Title: Network (1976)

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Top 250 #170 | Won 4 Oscars. Another 21 wins & 19 nominations See more awards »
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Faye Dunaway Faye Dunaway ...
William Holden William Holden ...
Peter Finch Peter Finch ...
Robert Duvall Robert Duvall ...
Wesley Addy Wesley Addy ...
Ned Beatty Ned Beatty ...
Arthur Burghardt Arthur Burghardt ...
Bill Burrows Bill Burrows ...
TV Director
John Carpenter John Carpenter ...
George Bosch
Jordan Charney Jordan Charney ...
Harry Hunter
Kathy Cronkite Kathy Cronkite ...
Mary Ann Gifford
Ed Crowley Ed Crowley ...
Joe Donnelly
Jerome Dempsey Jerome Dempsey ...
Walter C. Amundsen
Conchata Ferrell Conchata Ferrell ...
Barbara Schlesinger
Gene Gross Gene Gross ...
Milton K. Steinman
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Storyline

In the 1970s, terrorist violence is the stuff of networks' nightly news programming and the corporate structure of the UBS Television Network is changing. Meanwhile, Howard Beale, the aging UBS news anchor, has lost his once strong ratings share and so the network fires him. Beale reacts in an unexpected way. We then see how this affects the fortunes of Beale, his coworkers (Max Schumacher and Diana Christensen), and the network. Written by Bruce Janson <bruce@cs.su.oz.au>  

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

Television | Terrorist | TV Network | Television News | Rant  | See more »

Taglines:

Prepare yourself for a perfectly outrageous motion picture! See more »

Genres:

Drama

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

(USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Poder que mata See more »

Box Office

Budget:

$3,800,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$23,689,877 (USA) (1977)
See more »

Company Credits

Show detailed company contact information on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The on-air suicide scene was inspired by the real-life on-air suicide of anchorwoman Christine Chubbuck. See more »

Goofs

Continuity: Halfway through the first scene in Diana Christianson's office, the door, which had previously been open, is closed. Later, she walks over to the door and closes it again. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: This story is about Howard Beale, who was the news anchorman on UBS TV. In his time, Howard Beale had been a mandarin of television, the grand old man of news, with a HUT rating of 16 and a 28 audience share. In 1969, however, his fortunes began to decline. He fell to a 22 share. The following year, his wife died, and he was left a childless widower with an 8 rating and a 12 share. He became morose and isolated, began to drink heavily, and on September 22, 1975, he was fired, effective in two weeks. The news was broken to him by Max Schumacher, who was the president of the news division at UBS. The two old friends got properly pissed.
Howard Beale: [on the street] I was at CBS with Ed Murrow in 1951.
Max Schumacher: Must've been 1950 then.
[Beale nods]
Max Schumacher: I was at NBC, uh, associate producer. Morning News. I was just a kid. 26 years old.
[Not interested, Beale wanders off, until Schumacher stops him]
Max Schumacher: Anyway... anyway... they're building the lower level of the George Washington Bridge.
[Interested, Beale listens]
Max Schumacher: We were doing a remote from there.
Howard Beale/ Max Schumacher: [start to laugh and snicker in unison]
Max Schumacher: And nobody told me!
[Beale keeps laughing, very interested]
Max Schumacher: Ten after seven in the morning, I get a call, "Where the hell are YOU? You're supposed to be on the George Washington Bridge!"
[Beale and Schumacher exchange laughs]
Max Schumacher: I jump out of bed, throw my raincoat over my pajamas. I run downstairs and out into the street...
[Schumacher runs into the street]
Max Schumacher: ...hail a cab, and I say to the cabbie, "TAKE ME TO THE MIDDLE OF THE GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE!"
[Beale laughs]
Max Schumacher: And the cabbie turns around and he says...
[giggles]
Max Schumacher: ...he says "Don't do it, buddy! You're a young man! You got your whole life ahead of you!"
Howard Beale/ Max Schumacher: [shriek in hysterics, as Beale gives Schumacher a hug]
Max Schumacher: Didn't I ever tell you that one before?
See more »

Connections

Featured in A Decade Under the Influence (2003) See more »