Network
Directed by: Sidney Lumet

Premise: Amid a corporate power struggle within a national television network, anchorman Howard Beale (Peter Finch) becomes a messiah figure to the American public as he rants about the culture.

What Works: This is a great film that is equally funny and disturbing film. Like Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, the film navigates a technical and dark subject matter but injects it with an energy and intelligence that makes it very enjoyable. The acting is superb and the characters are well cast. Notable are Faye Dunaway as an ambitious network executive, Peter Finch as news anchor Howard Beale, and William Holden as an aged news director and the film’s moral conscience.

What Doesn’t: It is unclear if the film is supposed to be a satire. In 1976, the film was probably perceived as being over the top, but in 2005 it is not much of an exaggeration of the state of television.

DVD extras: History of Nielsen Rating System, Quiz Game

Bottom Line: Twenty-nine years after its initial release, Network is a film that is even more poignant than ever, in part because it so accurately predicted the direction of television news and the rise of reality programs. This is a film that should be revisited for its great acting, smart story, and important message.