Network (1976)

Synopsis: It's called show business and the business is making money, duh! In the world of Network, all that matters is ratings, audience share, and whether or not you have the hit show. Things are great when the ratings are up but when the ratings are down, that's when all hell breaks loose. That's the state UBS is in when the story begins. It's so bad that the retiring anchorman, Howard Beale, announces to the public that he's going to commit public suicide. What started out as a prank, quickly snowballs into the world's first reality TV show when Beale becomes imbued with God's words and becomes a angry prophet. This show takes UBS on a roller coster of success and drags everyone involved through the highs of heaven and the bottomless hell.

Should You Watch It? This movie is truely revolutionary for its time. Not only did it predict what TV would become, it predicted what TV would do to the people. This is told directly through a very tight storyline filled with conspiracy, backstabbing, romance, and broken friendships. On the other hand, there is a lot of talking and I mean a lot. There are some major ranting and raving that boarders on preaching. No, screw it, it is preaching! So if you hate church, you might hate this.

Things to Watch Out For: There are a lot of subplots and individual stories that goes on in this movie. Even though the movie is about Howard Beale, it really isn't about him at all. What's more interesting is Max Schumacher and his destructive relationship with Diana Chrstensen as a direct result of television's influence. Other minor storylines include Frank Hackett which is a personification of the corruption TV brings.

Things You Don't Expect: Just the overall briliance of this movie for 1976. Through out the movie, I was shocked at the things that this movie accomplished. If you're a fan of the medium at all, go check it out and enjoy the over the top acting; it's great.

Final Comments:
Story: 10
Direction: 7.0 (Sidney Lumet)
Acting: 8.8
Cinematography: 6.8
Music/Sound: 6.5

Final Score: 8.5