"Don't fuck with my distribution costs!"

Much, much funnier than expected. Not only a biting satire (or 'reportage' as Lumet himself preferred, since all but one of the situations depicted had already occurred by the time of filming, according to him), but also an absurdist comedy, made more surreal by the fantastically cascading situations that the characters merely flow with, instead of trying to stop - in that way it is very Strangelove-esque (although a little less reserved in overt…

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…

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…

I can not believe it took me so long to get around to watching this. Network is a brilliant satire, as relevant today as when it was in 1976.

If you haven't seem it yet, like me you'll probably know it from the famous speech that won Peter Finch his posthumous Oscar, but the film is SO much more than that. It (obviously) tackles the politics of how ratings drive network television decisions, but also delves into the idea of…

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…

An electrifying cinematic masterpiece that was made way ahead of its time, "Network" is not only one of the greatest films of all-time, but also one of the top 3 best satires, too. Though Howard Beale may be coined as the "prophet" in the film, screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky is the true reality prophet for constructing an electrifying story of the greedy, exploitative nature of new networks concerning their ratings that was made over 30 years ahead of its time when…

What an incredible script. Quite possibly one of the best I've ever seen.

Just when one scene knocks it out of the park, the following scene tops it. There are so many great monologues and rants, so much great back & forth dialogue, and so much riveting emotion pouring out of each of these actors that writer Paddy Chayefsky truly earned this original screenplay Oscar. It's insanely well written and I don't know what more I can say. I'm certainly not…

Trailer

Satire is at its absolute best when it manages to say more, and to much greater effect, than any serious piece of cinema ever could. When Sidney Lumet’s smash hit Network was first released, I’m not sure anyone could have predicted just how prescient and scarily accurate it would turn out to be years down the line. Achingly funny and expertly performed, Network is one of those films that is just as fresh now as it was 36 years…

I haven’t watched Network in years. What hit me like a ton of bricks on this viewing is how prescient Paddy Chayefsky’s screenplay was. Rupert Murdoch must have taken notice, as it appears that he used Network as a blueprint for FOX when he launched it 10 years later. I guess we have Mr. Chayefsky to thank for the deluge of shock news and reality programming that fills the airwaves today.

Particularly eerie is Fay Dunaway’s speech to the network…

This movie is so goddamn good I have no problem pointing out the things that are questionable:

- The voiceover. It actually seems necessary to move along a film like this, that spans so much time and covers so much ground, but it's pretty goofy.

- The public's reaction to the infamous speech. Again, totally necessary to move the story along properly, but kind of goofy.

- Ned Beatty's speech. It's really great, and on subsequent watches I bet I…