Network

This picture, penned by Paddy Chayevsky, was a groundbreaker in many ways. An absolutely vicious satire of the television world, it is the Neanderthal ancestor of “Broadcast News.” But where the later film commits its satire with cool, rapier strokes, “Network” leaps in with a battle axe, hacking and slashing, and sometimes using its teeth and claws too. I mean, “Broadcast News” was close enough to the mark to elicit angry rebuttals from real newspeople, but nobody would mistake “Network” for anything other than venomous parody. American television does not use suicide to boost ratings (though it comes awfully close). At least, the last time an anchor blew his head off on camera (in Philadelphia) nobody (that I know of) tried to run the footage.

In any event, Network, directed by Sidney Lumet, is overlong, overheated, and overdone. As such, it seems a bit dated when you watch it, and indeed it is somewhat draining, maybe even enervating. I suppose the datedness isn’t helped by the fact that the behavior of the networks has come under increasing scrutiny as they press the limits of ethical behavior, making the movie seem less and less outrageous. Still, the movie has its moments, including, of course, the famous “I’m mad as hell…” scene, which to this day packs a thrillingly cathartic punch. But genuine laughs are few and far between. More often you watch in weary and repelled fascination. One of the funnier, though more outlandish, bits, is when the Black Panther-style revolutionaries turn a bit capitalist while negotiating the rights for televising their terrorist activities. But that is just the sort of excess the movie relishes. The performances, including William Holden, Faye Dunaway (as a single-minded programming exec), and Peter Finch as the mad anchor Howard Beale, are all excellent. Finch copped a posthumous Oscar for his role, which he might have won anyway; it is an impressive job. The film is worth seeing almost as a fascinating artifact, like an old Colt .44 revolver. It still delivers quite a bang, but it's probably not what you would choose to fight a modern war.