Network (1976)

	Directed by: Sidney Lumet	COUNTRY USA GENRE Drama NORWEGIAN TITLE Network RUNNING TIME 121 minutes
	Produced by: Howard Gottfried
	Written by: Paddy Chayefsky

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Diana Christensen	Faye Dunaway
Max Schumacher	William Holden
Howard Beale	Peter Finch
Frank Hackett	Robert Duvall
Nelson Chaney	Wesley Addy
Arthur Jensen	Ned Beatty
Great Ahmed Kahn	Arthur Burghardt
Mary Ann Gifford	Kathy Cronkite	½
Louise Schumacher	Beatrice Straight	½

Review

Noisy and overdone satire on the unhealthiness of television culture and how it has (or will) change our entire emotional system – apparently. What might have seemed like a pinpointed catharsis in 1976, comes off as an unnuanced damnation today. There are interesting aspects and observations, but the film is filled with dubious politics and suggestions – such as letting the ambitious career women take the blame for the unchristian callousness of the modern society, while the old unfaithful men stand firm as the logical salubrity by their side. The unanimously hailed acting is uneven to say the least. The characters all take turns yelling at us, sometimes for no particular reason. If it were only funny. The best performance belongs to Beatrice Straight, who touches something genuine during her five minutes. She easily outshines the rather shallow work by Dunaway, Holden, and Beatty, whereas Duvall and Finch at least convey a touching, restrained vulnerability and a burst of energy, respectively.