Network (1976)
94%RT Audience Score: 93%
Awards & Nominations: Won 3 Oscars
172 wins & 186 nominations total
Driven by populist fury and elevated by strong direction, powerful acting, and an intelligent script, Network’s searing satire of ratings-driven news remains sadly relevant more than four decades later.
If you’re looking for a movie that will make you question the ethics of the media and leave you feeling a little bit uneasy, Network is the perfect pick. With a cast of brilliant actors, including Faye Dunaway in a show-stopping role, this film is a savage attack on the television industry that still feels relevant today. Sure, the plot might be a little bit crazy, but that’s part of what makes it so entertaining. And if you’re a fan of self-conscious theatrics and steady direction, you won’t be disappointed. So grab some popcorn and settle in for a wild ride with Network.
Production Company(ies)
Columbia Pictures, Relativity Media, Scott Rudin Productions,
Distributor
United Artists, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for sexual content, drug and alcohol use and language
Year of Release
2010
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital DTSS DDS Dolby Surround 7.1 Dolby Atmos
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 1m
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Language(s):English, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 27, 1976 Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 6, 2005
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Faye Dunaway, Peter Finch, William Holden, Robert Duvall, Beatrice Straight, Wesley Addy, directed by Sidney Lumet, written by Paddy Chayefsky, comedy, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Arthur Knight, Wendy Ide, Richard Schickel, Chris Nashawaty, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chris Petit, Sean Axmaker, Brian Eggert, David Nusair, David Sterritt, Sarah Brinks, Josh Larsen, producer Howard Gottfried, MPAA rating R, satire, news, television, ratings-driven, powerful acting, intelligent script, veteran news anchorman, ratings boost, ambitious producer, outrageous programming, unsettling extremes
Worldwide gross: $224,920,375
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $305,753,726
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 494
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 33,342,827
US/Canada gross: $96,962,694
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $131,809,779
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 576
US/Canada opening weekend: $22,445,653
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $30,512,318
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 446
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $40,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $54,375,461
Production budget ranking: 738
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $29,281,186
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $222,097,079
ROI to date (est.): 265%
ROI ranking: 509
Peter Finch – Howard Beale
William Holden – Max Schumacher
Robert Duvall – Frank Hackett
Beatrice Straight – Louise Schumacher
Wesley Addy – Nelson Chaney
Director(s)
Sidney Lumet
Writer(s)
Paddy Chayefsky
Producer(s)
Howard Gottfried
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 3 Oscars
172 wins & 186 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Writing Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (74) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (68) | Rotten (6)
No performance is less than brilliant, with Dunaway particularly effective in the film’s showiest role. Holden, Finch and Duvall, as always, contribute bed-rock-solid performances.
September 26, 2016
Arthur Knight
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
This tale of a failing network that feeds on the mental breakdown of one of its anchors, cannibalising itself for ratings, feels as savagely relevant now as it did when it was released nearly 40 years ago.
March 27, 2015 | Rating: 4/5
Wendy Ide
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The plot that Paddy Chayefsky has concocted to prove this point is so crazily preposterous that even in post-Watergate America — where we know that bats can get loose in the corridors of power — it is just impossible to accept.
July 18, 2011
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
The film’s never been more timely.
February 17, 2011 | Rating: A
Chris Nashawaty
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Chayefsky was apparently serious about much of this shrill, self-important 1976 satire about television, interlaced with bile about radicals and pushy career women, and so were some critics at the time.
June 26, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Slick, ‘adult’, self-congratulatory, and almost entirely hollow.
January 26, 2006
Chris Petit
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Its awfully entertaining, thanks to the self-conscious theatrics of Paddy Chayefsky, the terrific performances, and Lumets steady eye keeping the real world in perspective as the circus comes to town and stays.
April 22, 2022
Sean Axmaker
Stream on Demand
In the war between cinema and television, Network remains an atomic bomb.
February 14, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
…an erratically-paced yet periodically spellbinding drama…
December 17, 2021 | Rating: 2.5/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
[Network] is one of the most ferocious, outspoken, and generally cynical attacks ever launched by one medium upon another, and on the society that shapes and harbors them both. Fortunately… the assault Is often as entertaining as it is savage.
November 30, 2021
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor
The performances in the film are all around fantastic. Of course, Peter Finch as the mad-prophet Howard Beale is engaging. And Faye Dunaway as the soulless programming director Diana Christensen is a power-house.
April 1, 2021
Sarah Brinks
Battleship Pretension
“Faye Dunaway devours this movie.”
March 18, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm…
Plot
On a fall night in 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg sits down at his computer and heatedly begins working on a new idea. In a fury of blogging and programming, what begins in his dorm room soon becomes a global social network and a revolution in communication. A mere six years and 500 million friends later, Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history… but for this entrepreneur, success leads to both personal and legal complications.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Faye Dunaway’s performance as the soulless programming director Diana Christensen is a powerhouse.
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