Fourth ranked TV network UBS corporation is experiencing financial difficulties and a shakeup. Aging veteran news executive Max Schumacher (Holden) fires Howard Beale (Finch), an alcoholic news anchor whose ratings have plummeted. With two weeks' notice, Beale goes on the air and announces he will commit suicide when his show ends. The network is flooded with calls, and the next day Beale says he won't kill himself, but he fires off a crazy rant and instructs viewers to go to the window and yell "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!" Suddenly his ratings soar, and a young ambitious exec named Diana Christensen (Dunaway) forces Max to rehire Beale, as well as program other off-the-wall entertainment. Fascinated by carnivorous Diana, Max has a cold affair with her while Beale goes more and more off the charts, with network approval until he starts to reveal startling facts about his bosses, such as their plans to sell the company to the Saudis. When Paddy Chayevsky's script was shot by veteran director Sidney Lumet in 1976, it seemed like a savage satire, but now it just seems prophetic. "Network" received 10 Oscar nominations and won 4: Best Actor for Finch (posthumously), Best Actress for Dunaway, Best Supporting Actress for Beatrice Straight as Max's angry, betrayed wife, and Best Screenplay. A bit dated in some ways, but it still packs a wallop.
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The review of this Movie prepared by David Loftus
A news anchor is fired from his job, and threatens to commit suicide on the air. His angry rants cause a surge in ratings, and he soon becomes the "mad prophet of the airwaves".
The review of this Movie prepared by David Macdonald