Though Network, a brilliant black comedy by Paddy Chayefsky, is ostensibly about a veteran network news anchor who cracks when he’s fired from his ratings-challenged newscast, Chayefsky’s script is a genius and prophetic commentary on America’s insatiable appetite for bullshit and the corporate profit whore culture that packages and sells it.
Peter Finch, who plays news anchor Howard Beale, earned a posthumous Academay Award for Best Actor for his searing portrayal of a broken man who’s left “a childless widower with an 8 rating and a 12 share.” When he snaps during a live news broadcast, he blurted out the unforgettable line that made movie history:
“I’m mad as hell, and I’m not gonna take it anymore!”
As riveting as Finch is as Beale, my favorite performance in the movie belongs to William Holden. In the same moment, his face can at once be undeniably masculine, incredibly powerful and yet deeply wounded, naked and vulnerable. He’s absolutely riveting to watch, almost heartbreaking, as if he isn’t acting at all and delivering the swan song performance of his career. (He died four years later at age 63.)
In addition to Finch’s Best Actor award, Network earned three more Oscars for Faye Dunaway (Best Actress), Beatrice Straight (Best Supporting Actress) and Paddy Chayefsky (Best Original Screenplay), and earned six more nominations, including nods to William Holden (Best Actor) and Ned Beatty (Best Supporting Actor).
Though Network was made in the mid-1970s, the story, characters, performances and themes are remarkably current. This is a movie every man should see.
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