"Good Morning, Mr. Beale. They tell me you're a madman."
Faye Dunaway (Diane Christansen), William Holden (Max Schumacher), Peter Finch (Howard Beale), Robert Duvall (Frank Hackett), Wesley Addy (Nelson Chancey), Ned Beatty (Arthur Johnson), Darryl Hickman (Bill Herron), Beatrice
Straight (Louise Schumacher)
A motion picture is very much like a human being in that both can amaze you. They can excite you, or stupefy you. The can make you laugh, cry, sometimes doze off, and most importantly, think.
An example of one that does a good amount of these things is 1976's Network. Paddy Chayefsky's biting script is a severe condemnation of the world of television that gave Chayefsky his fame. Therefore, while the author came up with an utterly brilliant screenplay, he was condemning what had made him famous, biting the hand that had fed him and the man proved to be hypocritical in nature. "It's all madness," the writer said," adding, "Thanks to TV, we have developed a ten-minute concentration span."
As film buffs discuss this movie, the character of Howard Beale is best recalled, along with his line, "I'm mad as hell and not going to take it anymore!" Yet while Beale is Network's most memorable individual, he's not its central one. The character though, is the catalyst, as it's his descent into madness which sets everything off.
Diane Christensen is closest to being the heart of the picture, an ironic thing to call her as the woman has no heart. The woman sold her soul a long time ago for high network ratings. As her worth in the television world rises, the less she cares about anyone or anything. Diane's immensely successfully in the broadcast world, but an utter failure as a human being.
Max Schumacher is said to be the picture's conscience, and he is--partly. The man speaks out against the way the network takes advantage of Howard's madness and attempts to halt things. As a result, he loses his job and watches the destruction of not only his friend, but all sanity at the place he used to work for decades, knowing he can nothing about either one.
Yet if Max is the conscience, he's a poor one, as while he's righteous in his stand concerning Howard, he fails in his home life. His affair with Diane despite the fact he's wed to Louise shows what a weak man the movie's 'conscience' truly is.
The casting for Network proved to be interesting. For Diane, Chayefsky turned down Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave due to political reasons. Kay Lenz rejected the part, which Jill Claybugh, Marsha Mason, Diane Keaton and Candice Bergen were all considered for. National news anchors Walter Cronkite and John Chancellor said no to the part of Howard, as did Henry Fonda, Holden, George C. Scott, and Glenn Ford. James Stewart turned down the part due to the excessive profanity. The other finalist for the role of Max was Ford.
Some in television looked at Network as a satire. Cronkite (whose daughter appeared in the film as a terrorist) stated when he watched it with other newsmen, they laughed. On the other hand, Barbara Walters feared it would damage television's image, claiming there would never be "that kind of show-biz approach to the news, because we would never let it happen." She would forget those words when she created her gossipy talk show, 'The View.'
This 1976 motion picture unwittingly predicted the reality TV craze more than two decades before the genre's actual appearance. Director Sidney Lumet pointed out many events depicted in Network--including an on-air assassination--have come true.
Everyone's on top of their game here, with Chayefsky, Finch, Straight and Dunaway winning Oscars. A sterling piece of work, it was named to the National Film Registry in 2000.
While a ravishing condemnation of greed and the television industry, the film is also a startling look at how easily we are led like sheep by those who not only don't know us, but frankly, don't care about us. We should recall the words of Howard Beale, and "be mad as hell and not take it anymore."
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