Network (1976)

“After living with you for the last six months, I’m turning into one of your scripts. Well, this is not a script, Diana. There’s some real, actual life going on here.” – Max Schumacher

Number of Times Seen – 2  (Sometime in the early 90’s and 5 Nov 2013)

Brief Synopsis – A TV network will do anything for higher ratings.

My Take on it – Writer Paddy Chayevsky and Director Sidney Lumet were able to make a masterpiece that really shows how ratings can force decisions on a corporate level and if something shocking can happen live on TV, viewers will tune in.

This movie has an all-star cast and with 5 Oscar acting nominations and 3 acting wins (only A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) was also able to achieve such a thing) that caliber shines through.

Peter Finch, William Holden, Robert Duvall, Ned Beatty, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight are all excellent here.

This movie is top notch and should have won Best Picture that year instead of Rocky (1976).

Finch, Dunaway and Straight all took home gold and Finch’s win was the first {of only 2 so far, the other being for Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight (2008)} to win it posthumously.

This movie was perhaps the first to show that the idea of Reality TV can work and that the shock factor of live TV is something that can always help raise the ratings.

Bottom Line – Excellent movie that truly portrays the lengths executives could possibly go to to get higher ratings.  It’s movies like this that made Reality TV a possibility. Amazing cast which won 3 Oscars. Highly Recommended

Rating – Oscar Worthy