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Network

  • 19761976
  • RR
  • 2h 1m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
157K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,893
789
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
William Holden, Robert Duvall, Faye Dunaway, and Peter Finch in Network (1976)
Watch {VideoTitle}
Play trailer2:59
4 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Drama

A television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchor's ravings and revelations about the news media for its own profit, but finds that his message may be difficult to control.A television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchor's ravings and revelations about the news media for its own profit, but finds that his message may be difficult to control.A television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchor's ravings and revelations about the news media for its own profit, but finds that his message may be difficult to control.

IMDb RATING
8.1/10
157K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,893
789
  • Director
    • Sidney Lumet
  • Writer
    • Paddy Chayefsky(by)
  • Stars
    • Faye Dunaway
    • William Holden
    • Peter Finch
Top credits
  • Director
    • Sidney Lumet
  • Writer
    • Paddy Chayefsky(by)
  • Stars
    • Faye Dunaway
    • William Holden
    • Peter Finch
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 429User reviews
    • 183Critic reviews
    • 83Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Top rated movie #219
    • Won 4 Oscars
      • 20 wins & 26 nominations total

    Videos4

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:59
    Official Trailer
    'Network' | Anniversary Mashup
    Clip 1:09
    'Network' | Anniversary Mashup
    How Gallows Humor Helped Charlize Theron Make 'Bombshell' Feel Real
    Clip 2:45
    How Gallows Humor Helped Charlize Theron Make 'Bombshell' Feel Real
    Does 'Joker' Exist in a Scorsese-Verse of Films?
    Clip 2:53
    Does 'Joker' Exist in a Scorsese-Verse of Films?

    Photos117

    Robert Duvall, Ned Beatty, and Peter Finch in Network (1976)
    Faye Dunaway in Network (1976)
    Peter Finch in Network (1976)
    Faye Dunaway and Peter Finch in Network (1976)
    Faye Dunaway in Network (1976)
    Faye Dunaway in Network (1976)
    Peter Finch in Network (1976)
    Faye Dunaway in Network (1976)
    William Holden in Network (1976)
    Faye Dunaway, Bill Burrows, and Jordan Charney in Network (1976)
    Faye Dunaway and Peter Finch in Network (1976)
    Peter Finch in Network (1976)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Faye Dunaway
    Faye Dunaway
    • Diana Christensenas Diana Christensen
    William Holden
    William Holden
    • Max Schumacheras Max Schumacher
    Peter Finch
    Peter Finch
    • Howard Bealeas Howard Beale
    Robert Duvall
    Robert Duvall
    • Frank Hackettas Frank Hackett
    Wesley Addy
    Wesley Addy
    • Nelson Chaneyas Nelson Chaney
    Ned Beatty
    Ned Beatty
    • Arthur Jensenas Arthur Jensen
    Arthur Burghardt
    Arthur Burghardt
    • Great Ahmed Kahnas Great Ahmed Kahn
    Bill Burrows
    Bill Burrows
    • TV Directoras TV Director
    John Carpenter
    John Carpenter
    • George Boschas George Bosch
    Jordan Charney
    Jordan Charney
    • Harry Hunteras Harry Hunter
    Kathy Cronkite
    Kathy Cronkite
    • Mary Ann Giffordas Mary Ann Gifford
    Ed Crowley
    Ed Crowley
    • Joe Donnellyas Joe Donnelly
    Jerome Dempsey
    Jerome Dempsey
    • Walter C. Amundsenas Walter C. Amundsen
    Conchata Ferrell
    Conchata Ferrell
    • Barbara Schlesingeras Barbara Schlesinger
    Gene Gross
    • Milton K. Steinmanas Milton K. Steinman
    Stanley Grover
    • Jack Snowdenas Jack Snowden
    Cindy Grover
    Cindy Grover
    • Caroline Schumacheras Caroline Schumacher
    Darryl Hickman
    Darryl Hickman
    • Bill Herronas Bill Herron
    • Director
      • Sidney Lumet
    • Writer
      • Paddy Chayefsky(by)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    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. —Bruce Janson <bruce@cs.su.oz.au>
    • media
    • television
    • television network
    • satire
    • ranting
    • 169 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • "NETWORK"... the humanoids, the love story, the trials and tribulations, the savior of television, the attempted suicides, the assassination -- it's ALL coming along with a galaxy of stars you know and love!
    • Genre
      • Drama
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • R
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Director Sidney Lumet and screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky claimed that the film was not meant to be a satire but a reflection of what was really happening.
    • Goofs
      Every one of Howard Beale's shows has the same studio audience (note the man in the black vest, with long hair and a beard).
    • Quotes

      Howard Beale: I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's worth, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TVs while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be. We know things are bad - worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, 'Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone.' Well, I'm not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get mad! I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot - I don't want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street. All I know is that first you've got to get mad. You've got to say, 'I'm a HUMAN BEING, God damn it! My life has VALUE!' So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell, 'I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!' I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta get mad!... You've got to say, 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Then we'll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it: "I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"

    • Crazy credits
      Paddy Chayefsky's credit in the opening credits says "by Paddy Chayefsky" (rather than "written by Paddy Chayefsky" or a variant thereof).
    • Connections
      Edited into Amérique, notre histoire (2006)

    User reviews429

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    Prescient...
    It is the only word I can come up with to describe this masterfully savage satire, and IMHO, it's the only word that need be used.

    Once I had seen ALTERED STATES and read the novel, I was hungry to find out more about the late novelist/playwright/screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky, and sought out this movie. It blew me away years ago, but I find it even more stunning now. Not just because of the writing, Sidney Lumet's taut direction or the Oscar-caliber performances by everyone involved, all of which are almost beyond being lauded with superlatives.

    But what knocks me out is how Chayefsky seemed less to be writing from the power of his imagination, than channeling Our Times Now. As if he was capable of some form of mental time travel; able to look into the Nineties and beyond to see the coming of SURVIVOR, or Maury Povich, Jerry Springer, Bill O'Reilly and Paris Hilton. Even HE probably didn't know how he knew, but he sure as hell felt it and wrote it down for us to marvel over today.

    Sure, there are political and cultural analogies throughout the picture that are dated. But the core of his vision remains startlingly clear and eerily prophetic. As for Howard Beale, there is not one single "celebrity" who mirrors that character today, but maybe he is a composite of several different personalities with whom we have become all too familiar in the world of "news-fo-tainment." Or maybe he simply hasn't materialized yet. Maybe that is just how far ahead of its time NETWORK really was.

    After all, being "mad as hell" nowadays has so many more layers of meaning than it did nearly thirty years ago...
    helpful•130
    25
    • cchase
    • Aug 28, 2005

    FAQ3

    • Is "Network" based on a book?
    • How does "Network" end?
    • Any recommendations for a female character as annoying as Diana Christensen?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 27, 1976 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Televizijska mreža
    • Filming locations
      • CFTO-TV Studios, Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $3,800,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $23,689,877
    • Gross worldwide
      • $23,690,757
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 1 minute
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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