Network Reviews

What a brilliantly underrated film. It'll change your life especially the incredible speeches by Peter Finch portraying the character Howard Beale.

Network was likely to have been conceived by writer Paddy Chayefsky as a cynically satirical film about corporate television companies. They so long had to carry the news departments as a loss leader.

In Network the corporation could imagine a world where news makes money. It does not have to be reporting events, facts or the truth. You just need a demagogue to tell you to be angry.

Network ended up being prophetic. Nowadays you get rich white people on the internet, cable news and shock radio giving you all the reasons to be angry about and they get even richer. Heck they send the maid out to get their illegal drugs because they cannot be bothered!

Howard Beale (Peter Finch) is not angry. He is mad because he is having a breakdown. A news anchor facing declining ratings and a personal life that led him to the booze bottle.

Beale is told by his long-term friend and news boss, Max Schumacher (William Holden) that it is over. The network are firing him. Beale response is to tell the live television audience that he plans to kill himself live on television.

In a later appearance he has a rant which causes ratings to shoot up. Programming boss Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway) sees potential to do a new type of television show with Beale. She even signs up a domestic terrorist organisation to front their own show such as filming their own illegal activities.

Corporate Executive Frank Hackett (Robert Duvall) is all for it if the news division makes money. Hackett is the ultimate bean counter.

Network was an adult movie when it was released with frank language. People are used and discarded. Beale is only of use if he brings in the ratings.

Eventually his rants will affect the corporate bottom line or his ratings will decline.

Christensen has an affair with the veteran Schumacher because he is a powerful old man with knowledge of the world and the news division. To Schumacher she is a beautiful young woman, a last chance to fall in love again and have fun.

Over 40 years later, Network still delivers because its message is relevant. It is also so well acted. British actor Peter Finch did not live to collect his best actor Oscar. He won it posthumously. Ned Beatty almost matched him in his short cameo appearance.

Mi vieja reseña me daba cringe, aquí tienen una nueva

He tenido el agrado de ver muchas películas y series que toquen un montón de temas de muchos tipos y muy pocas han tenido las agallas de tocarlos con el detalle y de la forma en como lo hizo network, cabe mencionar que para solo durar 2 horas logro hacer tanto o mas que varias series que duran decenas de episodios y demás. Entre los inconvenientes tenemos, diría yo, que es bastante pesada en ritmo y tono por lo pesimista que resulta (no que sea un error, eso es un tanto subjetivo) y tal vez que el manejo de los diálogos se siente un poco sermonero cuando recordamos cierta cantidad de las críticas expuestas son hechas por medio de exposición, aunque no me resulta particularmente ofensivo o siquiera negativo cuando recordamos el oficio de los personaje. Con todo lo dicho déjenme decirles que son insignificancias frente a todo lo que ofrece.

El principal escenario donde se desarrolla la obra es en una cadena televisiva en los Estados Unidos, y las noticias presentadas son de cualquier índole. Se centra en las desventuras de un par de presentadores de noticias que pasan sus últimos días de gloría, el principal es Howard Beale, quien es recientemente despedido de la cadena, y que al darse cuenta que no ha aprovechado su vida durante sus años de servicio, decide suicidarse, y esas ganas de suicidarse se convierten en una locura con repercusiones bíblicas. El deuteragonista es Max Schumacher, quien deberá ver ante sus ojos como toda su vida va yendo en picada junto con la interacción de Howard, su mejor amigo.

El punto es hacer cuanta crítica social se le pueda hacer a la sociedad occidental de los años 70’s, y que de alguna manera, aplican para nuestros días. La que tiene mayor presencia sería todo lo relacionado al mundo del espectáculo. Tomando en cuenta que es una industria que se gana la vida gracias al rating, es obvio saber que cuando más escandalosa es una noticia, la probabilidad de ganar views aumenta. Razón suficiente como para que una noticia morbosa sea lo principal que se nota en las posibles publicaciones de la empresa en la película, donde se seleccionan con tanto respeto que una danza sobre una tumba. Los personajes dicen cosas terribles de la época, guerras, crisis económicas, robos, asesinatos y Dios sepa que otras porquerías se te puedan ocurrir, y son insensibles a cada una de ellas, hasta actúan con cierta alegría al encontrarse con hechos que les puedan dar una primera plana en un periódico y la polémica de la semana. Qué se podría esperar, es un tipo de industria en la que abundan esta clase de inconvenientes, y si tomamos en cuenta lo que hicieron con Howard ufffff ya te haces una idea de lo que pasa cuando no llamas la atención del público. Eso es lo que importa, lo demás es paja según estas personas, si las visitas son enteramente negativas en opinión ¿Qué importa? Dirían, siguen siendo televidentes viéndolos.

La indiferencia no se queda ahí, el público después del montón de contenido cuestionable al que se les expuso, tampoco dan un carajo. La sociedad es presentada como nihilista y sensacionalista y que para dominarla, solo se le debe empoderar o darle algún idealismo a la masa d personas para que te sigan. Es aquí cuando la locura de Howard entra en acción, viendo que ya no tiene una razón para vivir, decide simplemente explotar y con una furia legendaria, expresa cuan mierda se ha vuelto la vida moderna y que la gente no debe aceptarlo. El populismo del protagonista alcanza niveles que ni un político en la vida real lleva. Los mensajes dejados por Howard son relevantes aún hoy por hoy, que la gente ya no se informa fuera del entretenimiento, que se dejan manipular con facilidad, que están siendo controlados por corporaciones que manejan el gobierno. Se sentirá, como les dije, un poco dicho en la cara, pero no es que sus argumentos no sean fundamentados a lo largo de la película. Quiero decir, el público se volvió radical gracias a Howard, no por estudio propio, de la misma forma en la que un grupo paramílitar comunista está compuesto por puros adolescentes de primer mundo que de seguro no han sufrido en sus vidas y que sus únicas referencias para unirse a este movimiento las sacasen de PELÍCULAS PROPAGANDÍSTICAS. Graciosamente patrocinada por empresas y expertos en Marketing, igual que Howard lo está, solo que Howard sí tuvo las bolas de soltar todos los trapos sucios de su país. Cosa que lo metió en problemas y se diera cuenta de que lo que derivaría de la dirección que lleva la sociedad es inamovible, producto de que todo el planeta no sea mas que un conglomerado de empresas que dominan el planeta, que son el sistema y que detenerlas es igual que detenerte a ti mismo, por formar parte del sistema, algo que la humanidad no intentó evitar y solo ignorar. Si creen que el público en esta ocasión le hará caso a Howard, están equivocados, los anteriores casos sirvieron porque a la gente se le daba poder, el sentimiento de luchar contra un mal, en esta ocasión, su estilo de vida es el mal. Con una civilización tan hedonista y acostumbrada a la extrema corporatocracia, esta clase de mensajes ahuyentan al 99% de la gente.

El resto de los personajes, ademas de Howard y sus implicaciones, poseen sus arcos que reflejan parte de esta perspectiva que es expresada a lo largo del metraje y como lo afrontan. Diana es una representación precisa de lo que Howard decía en sus discursos, una mujer manipuladora que solo vive para su trabajo, insensible a todo lo que está a su alrededor y que fuera de la empresa no tiene nada cual utensilio domestico, Max es lo opuesto, representando los vestigios de humildad y humanidad que le queda a esa mierdosa empresa, cuyo arco de desarrollo consiste en eso, darse cuenta que no vale la pena sacrificar tu dignidad por ser famoso y relevante. Y el resto del cast está ahí, tienen sus visiones del mundo como el señor Jensen o sus maneras de vivir como Chaney.

Fuera de lo narrativo, las actuaciones son impecables, quiero decir, el sujeto que interpretó a Howard es el Heath Ledger original y terminaron igual. Cada miembro del cast hace que las reacciones de los personajes se sientan creíbles, como Max con sus reacciones un tanto calmadas reflejo de su edad, las sonrisas excitadas de Diana o el despecho de la esposa de Max. De lo sonoro no sé que pueda resaltar, no hay banda sonora fuera de la música empleada dentro del escenario y lo visual es muy realista y poco extravagante, salvo algunas escenas donde se usan las cámaras de la cadena para hacer un punto respecto a los temas, aunque no niego que tiene un impacto visual impresionante a la hora de dramatizar.

Ahora pónganse a pensar por un instante todo lo que dije sobre lo de sociedad con detenimiento a ver si no se les despierta un tic nervioso cuando pasa por sus cabezas “sociedad infantilizada que se deja dominar por medio de la manipulación mediática para que sus habitantes se crean importantes, mientras todos los espectros políticos, sociales y económicos a los que apelan son pagados por empresas internacionales que a su vez dominan a naciones enteras en las que sus gobernantes son solo títeres de estos empresarios que casualmente benefician a grupos en especifico por sobre la población nativa de esos países”. Tambien recuerden que esta película tiene 43 años y que las imágenes que les muestro son de esta década (eso será para el video BTW).

Muchos tienen su Top de mejores films de todos los tiempos, y veo que la mayoría ponen cosas como El Padrino, El Ciudadano Kane o King Kong, yo sin ánimos de ofender les dejo en claro que esas películas se quedan cortas frente a Network. He visto obras que reflejan nuestra realidad y que se las apañaron para predecir el impacto cultura de eventos históricos o que su representación se mantenga relevante en nuestros tiempos, Network es el que lleva la bandera de esas obras, por todo lo dicho, tiene mi total aprobación e impresiones. 

Since this movie had a really impressive reputation, I was really eager to watch the damned thing. Eventually, even though it didn't turn out to be one of the best movies I have seen, it was still really strong. What I loved the most was how it started as a really realistic look on how a TV network works and it was easily one of the best, or maybe the very best depiction of this world I have seen so far, but it became so much more. Indeed, they went so much further than that and, slowly, it became something rather insane. The chilling and at the same time fascinating thing was that all the crazy stuff while it was becoming more and more preposterous by the minute still felt possible somehow and it is considered by many as a prophetic movie. Eventually, the only thing that didn't really work for was the love story involving Diana and Max. I mean, I don't blame Faye Runaway and William Holden, they were both pretty much pitch-perfect, but it was rather unbelievable that these two characters would extend their romantic relationship beyond their first one-night stand. Basically, they got involved only so the writer could give Max a nice juicy speech towards the end. Still, the material was just so dense and fascinating, it gave an amazing reflection on how most people of my generation have grown up in front of their TV sets and how we have been shaped by this medium. Anyway, it is a classic and it is definitely worth a look.

Two decades later, this iconic American New Wave renegade text is even more startling than it once was-was Hollywood ever this cerebral, this caustic, this ethically apocalyptic? That 90 percent of Network's satire has become fulfilled prophecy by now doesn't take the shine off of its broadsword. Reality-show whoredom, death TV, New Globalistic anti-humanism, audience as robotic consumer-it's all here and all still hamburger in the teeth of this movie, written with hissing rage and in huge, thoughtful paragraphs by Paddy Chayefsky and directed with a vivid sense of '70s genuineness by Sidney Lumet.

Despite, Network being a famous classic, I was unsure whether I would like it at first because I just don't really like those kind of films but the actors and director that were involved with the film made me watch. When I did watch this film, I wasn't disappointed but I was blown away by it! What a powerful film Network turned out to be that I was gripped by all the way through. It was obviously a drama but I also found some bits within the film pretty tense because of the chemistry between the characters. It is one of these films that I would find very confusing and complex but after watching Network it wasn't half as complex as I was expecting it to be.


Faye Dunaway's performance as Diana Christensen was absolutely brilliant! I haven't ever seen her in a film like this before. Faye has always been an actress of giving out very powerful Oscar-nominated performances including Bonnie And Clyde and Chinatown. Diana starts to become a producer of entertainment programming. Diana's desire is to produce a hit show for the network results in her cutting a deal with a group of left-wing terrorists robbing banks, to use as the cold-opening for a new series based on terrorists for the network that she wishes developed for the upcoming fall season. Diana as feelings for Max Schumacher who is the president of the News Division and the network's old guard news editor. William Holden's performance was absolutely terrific as Max Schumacher. I actually felt sorry for Max because he loves his job, his best friend Howard Beale is on the verge of getting fired and his personal life starts to change around. His performance was really powerful. Personally, I thought he was better than Peter Finch who won the Oscar for Best Leading Actor in 1976. I think that Finch's role was more supporting than leading because not only was Finch not in it THAT much but also he didn't really get involved with other characters within the film. Peter Finch's performance was absolutely incredible as Howard Beale. Finch's performance is one of the two posthumous Oscar winning performances. The other one being Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight. Finch was awesome because he was a real weirdo and a bit insane. He has a condition and I feel for him because he wants to go on air but he can't because of his condition and most likely getting the sack due to low ratings of the show. Robert Duvall made a big name for himself in The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II but he makes his name even bigger in this film as Frank Hackett. He is the boss of the network. He is worried about Beale wrecking the show due to the low ratings and the reputation of the show. All four actors in this film were absolutely phenomenal and there's no denying that!


Sidney Lumet is a director of creating dark films but with mixed genres and different themes but his work on Network was so fascinating because you could see what is behind the scenes on the news and also it can inspire young people to work in a network or anything similar to it. Every single film that Lumet has done have all been ones that I think have taken an awful lot of working into to build up. It obviously was hard but when you watch it, you would appreciate that due to it's top-notch acting, directing, writing and producing.


Overall, Network is an absolutely terrific work of art that I think will be remembered for many years to come. I have absolutely no idea how neither Network nor Taxi Driver didn't win the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1976 over the actual winner which was Rocky. Network has one of the most powerful and most shocking endings of all time as well. Faye Dunaway is still a legendary actress and after seeing three of her most famous films (Network, Bonnie And Clyde and Chinatown), I have decided that her performance as Diane Christensen is the best that she has done (of what I've seen from her so far). This is my favourite Sidney Lumet film so far from the ones I have seen. I even loved Network more than 12 Angry Men. Network is one of the greatest films of the 1970s as well as of all time!!