I trust your taste here on Letterboxd so much that I'll pop in a film just because one of you recommended it to me. I have no idea how this ended up on my watchlist... it could've been a really great review or maybe someone just told me to watch it. Whatever the reason, you changed my life! THANK YOU!!! Network is an instant favorite, one that had me so riled up I needed a drink to calm me down after. (Okay, that happens a lot, but still…)

I experienced temporary amnesia brought on by cinematic brilliance right after this one, so I don't have a lot to say other than it thrilled and impressed me and I can't wait to watch it again! I bought it on blu-ray right away, so there will be many rewatches to come.

Teaser for my next review: I go in depth about how I think Paddy Chayefsky and Sidney Lumet were time travelers.

Network gives me goosebumps with how perfect every aspect of it is. It is so huge in its dramatic scope you often have to laugh. The performances are perfect. Scarily perfect. Everyone. Peter Finch’s mad as hell speech is one of the definitive moments in 70s expression and it still blows me away in 2012. Of everyone though, it’s Bill Holden who secretly steals the show. He’s the wise, wrinkly, aging heart of the movie and he stunningly fits into the role like a glove. His best acting by a long shot. The whole experience is eerie, heartbreakingly honest, and astonishingly well written. I wish sometimes I could have the pleasure of sitting down for a big screen double feature in a 1976 theatre- Network and Taxi Driver. Cynical, blissful 70s film-making.

As utterly compelling and prescient as it was when it was released, Network is THE definitive film about the medium and machinations of television. Simultaneously a procedural, a satire, and a soap opera, the movie itself displays all of the characteristics that make television both essential and insipid. Although most of the attention is generated by Paddy Chayefsky's script, the direction by Sidney Lumet deserves just as much if not more recognition. The standout shots of Ned Beatty's dressing down of Howard Beale, Peter Finch's collapse on live tv, the contract negotiations at the ELA's country house: all wonderfully presented by Lumet. He even makes Faye Dunaway's teeth look good.

What a joy to watch, and very very funny.

This was great. I do however think I will enjoy it a lot more upon a re-watch.

The Good: Fantastic performances from Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Robert Duvall, and Ned Beatty. Well-written satire of the television industry and their hunger for money and ratings. "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!!!"

The Bad: Kind of loses its way in the second half. The banal romantic subplot feels like an afterthought, solely present in order to drive a point home regarding Dunaway's character. Unnatural dialogue. Acting gets a little over the top with all the yelling and screaming.

The Bottom Line: It's not Lumet's greatest film (12 Angry Men) nor is it his second best (Dog Day Afternoon) -- he was at his strongest when working with a single setting -- but it is quite astonishing how he and Oscar-winning writer Paddy Chayefsky made something so eerily relevant today almost forty years ago. Chayefsky must have had a crystal ball or a time machine or something.

Aaron Sorkin ha visto esta película demasiadas veces... El clásico definitivo sobre los medios de comunicación y todo lo que está mal en el "sistema".

So goddamn great. Another older movie that is still incredibly pertinent and effective.

Beloved.

amazing

There's the acting, Lumet's use of lighting, the brilliant story that has actually turned from an outrageous black comedy to a thrilling drama, but it's Chayefsky's script that pushes this from an incredible movie to one of the best films ever made.

One of the greatest movies ever made. A biting satire that's still relevant today.