Network-1976
Director Sidney Lumet
Starring Faye Dunaway, Peter Finch, William Holden
Scott’s Review #1,481
Reviewed May 13, 2025
Grade: A
A conceptual film laden with intelligence and satire, Network (1976) is innovative, not easily digestible, but satisfying nonetheless. It pairs well with films like All the President’s Men (1976) or Spotlight (2015), with a focus on media frenzy, ratings, and the frustrating search for the truth amid chaos.
Or, does the truth even matter? It’s a sobering question the film explores.
The film received nine Oscar nominations and won three of the four acting awards. Decades later, it holds up tremendously well and is a stark reminder of the power of television and public perception, for better or worse.
Brilliant acting, rich writing, and impressive editing make Network a timeless treasure for many generations, not to mention Lumet’s creative and sometimes shocking direction.
Over narration, we meet veteran news anchorman Howard Beale (Peter Finch). He learns from his friend and news division president, Max Schumacher (William Holden), that he has just two more weeks on the air with the UBS network because of declining ratings.
After threatening to shoot himself on live television, instead, he launches into an angry televised rant, which turns out to be a huge ratings boost for the network, and he is kept on for entertainment purposes.
But what happens when the public grows tired of his antics and craves even more outrageous programming?
Ambitious producer Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway), obsessed with her career and ratings, takes actions to dangerous new levels.
The poignancy that immediately caught my attention was how little the bottom line has changed in almost fifty years of television since Network was released. One could argue that things have gotten worse where ratings will make or break a television broadcast.
Depressing still is the knowledge in 2025 politics where liars, cheats, and felons callously hold the highest offices and wield the most power, newscasts are currently created based on the truths their target audiences believe, regardless of the truth.
Lumet, well-known for creating the groundbreaking Dog Day Afternoon (1975) just a year earlier, uses split screens to show four perspectives and adds frightening gun-toting rebels who are angry and looking to make political statements.
But Diana needs them for a significant ratings share.
Lumet’s sequences teeter between long soliloquies in which characters reveal their deepest motivations and emotions and rapid-fire editing involving shootings and bank robberies.
I loved seeing the 1970s-style corporate offices with retro telephones, notepads, pens, pencils, stylish carpets, and colorful elevators. The glamorous and polished interiors perfectly reflect the gorgeous Manhattan skyline seen in numerous sequences.
The lavish restaurants and strong cocktails provide a luminous texture to the time.
The screenplay, written by Paddy Chayefsky, was based on the idea of a live death as his film’s terminating focal point, to say later in an interview, “Television will do anything for a rating… anything!”
The statement hit home in frigid reality.
Dunaway and Finch are clear favorites and provide the deepest character structures. Dunaway’s Diana is frigid and opportunistic, providing no vulnerability or sympathy from the audience. In a way, she is not a human being, lacking emotional depth.
I half expected her to tear her face off and reveal herself as a fembot.
Finch steals the show as the tired and depressed veteran who feels dismissed and forgotten. Even when he reveals his intent to commit suicide on live TV, the news crew tunes out his monotone voice as they do nightly.
Finally, Beatrice Straight brilliantly delivers an acting 101 tutorial as the aging housewife being cheated on by her philandering husband.
One miss is Robert DuVall in a one-note performance we’ve already seen him deliver.
Network (1976) is a top-notch film from my favorite decade in cinema. The 1970s produced many meaningful and introspective gems, and Network is one of them.
Oscar Nominations: 4 wins-Best Picture, Best Director- Sidney Lumet, Best Actor- Peter Finch (won), William Holden, Best Actress- Faye Dunaway (won), Best Supporting Actor- Ned Beatty, Best Supporting Actress- Beatrice Straight (won), Best Original Screenplay (won), Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing