Editing Network (1976 film)

{{short description|1976 film by Paddy Chayefsky, directed by Sidney Lumet}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2012}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Network 
| image          = Network (1976 poster).png
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Sidney Lumet]]
| producer       = [[Howard Gottfried]]<br />[[Fred C. Caruso]]
| writer         = [[Paddy Chayefsky]]
| narrator       = [[Lee Richardson (actor)|Lee Richardson]]
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* [[Faye Dunaway]]
* [[William Holden]]
* [[Peter Finch]]
* [[Robert Duvall]]
}}
| music          = [[Elliot Lawrence]]
| cinematography = [[Owen Roizman]]
| editing        = [[Alan Heim]]
| studio         = [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]
| distributor    = [[United Artists]]
| released       = {{Film date|1976|11|27}}
| runtime        = 121 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 121:23--><ref>{{cite web|title=''Network'' (15)|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/CVF012767 |work=[[United Artists]]|publisher=[[British Board of Film Classification]]|date=November 1, 1976|access-date=August 8, 2023|archive-date=April 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170418055344/http://bbfc.co.uk/releases/network-film|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| country        = United States
| language       = English 
| budget         = $3.8 million
| gross          = $23.7 million<ref name=bo>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3798238721/|website=[[Box Office Mojo]]|title=Network, Box Office Information|access-date=January 23, 2012|archive-date=February 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224150443/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3798238721/|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

'''''Network''''' is a 1976 American  [[Satire (film and television)|satirical]] [[black comedy|black]] [[comedy drama]] film directed by [[Sidney Lumet]] and written by [[Paddy Chayefsky]]. It is about a fictional [[television network]] and its struggle with poor [[Audience measurement|ratings]]. The film stars [[Faye Dunaway]], [[William Holden]], [[Peter Finch]] (in his final film role), [[Robert Duvall]], [[Wesley Addy]], [[Ned Beatty]], and [[Beatrice Straight]].

Produced by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] and released by [[United Artists]] on November 27, 1976, ''Network'' was a commercial success, earning $23.7 million on a $3.8 million production budget. Widely considered to be one of the [[List of films considered the best| greatest films ever made]], ''Network'' received widespread critical acclaim, with particular praise for its screenplay and performances. At the [[49th Academy Awards]], it received ten nominations, including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]], and won four: [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] for Finch (posthumously), [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]] for Dunaway, [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] for Straight, and [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]] for Chayefsky.

In 2000, ''Network'' was selected for [[National Film Preservation Board|preservation]] in the [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|website=Library of Congress|access-date=2020-05-06|archive-date=October 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019091952/http://www.loc.gov/film/titles.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Librarian of Congress Names 25 More Films to National Film Registry|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-00-200/librarian-of-congress-names-25-more-films-to-national-film-registry/2000-12-27/|website=Library of Congress|access-date=2020-05-06|archive-date=April 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403175921/https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-00-200/librarian-of-congress-names-25-more-films-to-national-film-registry/2000-12-27/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2002, it was inducted into the [[13th Producers Guild of America Awards#PGA Hall of Fame|Producers Guild of America Hall of Fame]] as a film that has "set an enduring standard for American entertainment".<ref>Archive of [https://web.archive.org/web/20080207165620/http://www.producersguild.org/pg/awards_a/halloffame.asp Producers Guild Hall of Fame – Past Inductees], Producers Guild of America official site. Accessed October 31, 2010. [https://producersguild.org/pg/awards_a/halloffame.asp Original site].</ref> In 2005 the [[Writers Guild of America]] voted Chayefsky's screenplay one of the 10 greatest in history.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wga.org/writers-room/101-best-lists/101-greatest-screenplays/list |title=101 Greatest Screenplays |publisher=[[Writers Guild of America, West]] |access-date=November 29, 2015 |archive-date=November 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20161122211118/http://www.wga.org/writers-room/101-best-lists/101-greatest-screenplays/list |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2007, the film was 64th among the [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)|100 greatest American films]] as chosen by the [[American Film Institute]].

== Plot ==
In September 1975, [[Howard Beale (Network)|Howard Beale]], the longtime anchor for the ''UBS Evening News'', the flagship evening news program of the Union Broadcasting System (UBS), learns from friend and news division president Max Schumacher that he has just two more weeks on the air because of declining ratings. The following night, Beale announces to his audience that he will kill himself on next Tuesday's newscast. UBS tries to immediately fire Beale, but Schumacher intervenes so that he can have a dignified farewell. Beale promises to apologize for his outburst, but once on the air, he launches into a rant about life being "bullshit". Beale's outburst causes ratings to spike, and much to Schumacher's dismay, UBS executives decide to exploit the situation. When Beale's ratings soon top out, programming chief Diana Christensen reaches out to Schumacher with an offer to help "develop" Beale's show. He declines the professional proposal but accepts her more personal pitch; the two begin an affair.

When Schumacher decides to end Beale's "angry man" format, Christensen persuades her boss, Frank Hackett, to slot the evening news show under the entertainment division so she can develop it. Hackett bullies UBS executives to consent and fire Schumacher. In one impassioned diatribe, Beale galvanizes the nation, persuading viewers to shout, "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" from their windows. He is soon hosting a new program called ''The Howard Beale Show'', top-billed as "the mad prophet of the airwaves". The show becomes the most highly rated program on television, and Beale finds new celebrity preaching his angry [[populist]] message in front of a live studio audience that, on cue, chants his signature catchphrase: "We're as mad as hell, and we're not going to take this anymore!" Schumacher and Christensen's romance withers as the show flourishes, but in the flush of high ratings, the two ultimately find their way back together; Schumacher separates from his wife of over 25 years for Christensen.

Seeking another hit, Christensen cuts a deal with a terrorist group called the Ecumenical Liberation Army (ELA) for a new [[docudrama]] series, ''The [[Mao Zedong|Mao Tse-Tung]] Hour'', for which the ELA will provide exclusive footage of their activities. Meanwhile, Beale discovers that Communications Corporation of America (CCA), the parent company of UBS, will be bought out by a larger [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]] conglomerate. He urges his audience to pressure the White House to quash the deal. This panics UBS because the network's debt load has made the merger essential for its survival. CCA chairman Arthur Jensen arranges a meeting with Beale, describing the interrelatedness of the participants in the international economy and the illusory nature of nationality distinctions. Jensen scolds Beale and persuades him to abandon his message and preach a new gospel that serves Jensen's interests.

Christensen's fanatical devotion to her job and emotional emptiness ultimately drive Schumacher away, warning her that she will self-destruct if she continues on her current path. Audiences find Beale's new sermons on the dehumanization of society depressing and ratings start to slip, yet Jensen refuses to fire him. To boost the network's ratings, Christensen, Hackett and the other executives decide to hire the ELA to assassinate Beale on the air. The assassination succeeds, putting an end to ''The Howard Beale Show'' and kicking off the second season of ''The Mao Tse-Tung Hour''. A voice-over proclaims, "This was the story of Howard Beale: the first known instance of a man who was killed because he had lousy ratings."

== Cast ==
<!--- [[WP:NOTDATABASE]] - cast and order per opening tombstone credits/poster billing block and closing stand-alone "Co-Starring" credits, roles per closing credits scroll --->
{{cast listing|
* [[Faye Dunaway]] as Diana Christensen
* [[William Holden]] as Max Schumacher
* [[Peter Finch]] as [[Howard Beale (Network)|Howard Beale]]
* [[Robert Duvall]] as Frank Hackett
* [[Wesley Addy]] as Nelson Chaney
* [[Ned Beatty]] as Arthur Jensen
* [[Jordan Charney]] as Harry Hunter
* [[Conchata Ferrell]] as Barbara Schlesinger
* [[Darryl Hickman]] as Bill Herron
* Roy Poole as Sam Haywood
* [[William Prince (actor)|William Prince]] as Edward George Ruddy
* [[Beatrice Straight]] as Louise Schumacher
* [[Marlene Warfield]] as Laureen Hobbs
* [[Arthur Burghardt]] as Great Ahmed Kahn
* [[Kathy Cronkite]] as Mary Ann Gifford
* [[Ed Crowley]] as Joe Donnelly
* Bill Burrows as TV Director
* [[Cindy Grover]] as Caroline Schumacher
* [[Lane Smith]] as Robert McDonough
* [[Michael Lombard]] as Willie Stein
* [[Lance Henriksen]] as Network Lawyer (uncredited)
* Andrew Duncan as Agent (uncredited)
}}

In addition, [[Lee Richardson (actor)|Lee Richardson]] provides various moments of narration advancing additional plot details.

== Production ==
=== Development and writing ===
[[File:Sidney Lumet 1970.jpg|thumb|upright|''Network'' director [[Sidney Lumet]], in 1970]]

''Network'' came only two years after the first on-screen suicide in television history, of television news reporter [[Christine Chubbuck]] in [[Sarasota, Florida]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allbusiness.com/humanities-social-science/visual-performing-arts/16227997-1.html|publisher=dead link |title=Television will eat itself in Sidney Lumet's searing satire|date=October 1, 2008}} {{dead link|date=September 2018}}</ref> The anchorwoman was suffering from depression and loneliness, was often emotionally distant from her co-workers, and shot herself on camera as stunned viewers watched on July 15, 1974. Chayefsky used the idea of a live death as his film's terminating focal point, to say later in an interview, "Television will do anything for a rating... anything!" &nbsp;However, [[Dave Itzkoff]]'s book (''Mad as Hell: The Making of Network and the Fateful Vision of the Angriest Man in Movies'') allows that whether Chayefsky was inspired by the Chubbuck case remains unclear, that Chayefsky's screenplay notes on the week of the live death have nothing about the incident in them, and grants it is an eerie parallel. It was to be months later that actual direct reference was made, Chayefsky writing for Beale to bray that he "will blow my brains out right on the air ... like that girl in Florida", which was later removed.<ref>Itzkoff, Dave. ''Mad as Hell: The Making of Network and the Fateful Vision of the Angriest Man in Movies''. Henry Holt and Company, 2014, p. 47.[https://books.google.com/books?id=8aJ_AQAAQBAJ&dq=dave+itzkoff+makes+no+reference+to+her+or+the+incident&pg=PA47]</ref> Sidney Lumet made the categorical statement that the character of Howard Beale was never based on any real-life person.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sidney Lumet on directing the film "Network" - EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG| website=[[YouTube]] |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_gi9iyyQxE|access-date=July 14, 2017|archive-date=April 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190426152431/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_gi9iyyQxE|url-status=live}}</ref>

Before beginning his screenplay, Chayefsky visited network TV offices. He was surprised to learn that television executives did not watch much television. "The programs they put on 'had to' be bad, had to be something they wouldn't watch," he remarked. "Imagine having to work like that all your life."<ref>{{cite web|title=Network At 40|url= https://www.theattic.space/home-page-blogs/networkat40 |website=The Attic|accessdate=27 July 2018}}</ref> According to Dave Itzkoff, what Chayefsky saw while writing the screenplay during the midst of [[Watergate]] and the [[Vietnam War]] was the entirety of America's anger being broadcast in everything from sitcoms to news reports. He concluded that Americans "don't want jolly, happy family type shows like Eye Witness News" ... "the American people are angry and want angry shows."<ref name="ChayefskysNotes">{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/movies/paddy-chayefskys-notes-for-network-film.html | title=Paddy Chayefsky's Notes for 'Network' - Film | last=Itzkoff | first=Dave | date=2011-05-19 | work=The New York Times | access-date=2017-03-13 | issn=0362-4331 | archive-date=February 21, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221074838/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/movies/paddy-chayefskys-notes-for-network-film.html | url-status=live }}</ref> When he began writing his script he had intended on a comedy, but instead directed his frustration at the content being broadcast on television—which he described as "an indestructible and terrifying giant that is stronger than the government"—into the screenplay. It became a "dark satire about an unstable news anchor and a broadcasting company and a viewing public all too happy to follow him over the brink of sanity."<ref name="ChayefskysNotes" /> The character of network executive Diana Christiansen was based on [[NBC]] daytime television programming executive [[Lin Bolen]],<ref>{{cite book | title=Looking for Gatsby: My Life | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a-9A_cXpH2kC&q=%22Faye+Dunaway%22+%22Lin+Bolen%22+Network&pg=PA304 | first1=Faye | last1=Dunaway | author-link1=Faye Dunaway | first2=Betsy | last2=Sharkey | date=1995 | publisher=Simon & Schuster Inc. | page=304 | isbn=0-671-67526-5 | access-date=October 5, 2020 | archive-date=April 26, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426170732/https://books.google.com/books?id=a-9A_cXpH2kC&q=%22Faye+Dunaway%22+%22Lin+Bolen%22+Network&pg=PA304 | url-status=live }}</ref> which Bolen disputed.<ref>{{Cite news|agency=[[UPI]] |via=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|Milwaukee Sentinel]] |title=Producer Lin Bolen Denies She's 'Network' Character |date=July 31, 1978}}</ref>

Chayefsky and producer Howard Gottfried had just come off a lawsuit against [[United Artists]], challenging the studio's right to lease their previous film, ''[[The Hospital]]'', to [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] in a package with a less successful film. Despite this recent legal action, Chayefsky and Gottfried signed a deal with UA to finance ''Network'', until UA found the subject matter too controversial and backed out. Undeterred, Chayefsky and Gottfried shopped the script around to other studios, and eventually found an interested party in [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]. Soon afterward, United Artists reversed itself and looked to co-finance the film with MGM, since the latter had an ongoing distribution arrangement with UA in North America. Since MGM agreed to let UA back on board, the former (through United Artists as per the arrangement) controlled North American/Caribbean rights, with UA opting for overseas distribution.{{efn|In 1981, several years after the film's release, United Artists merged with MGM to form [[MGM/UA Entertainment Co.]] (which became the worldwide rights holder to the film from 1982 to 1986). On March 25, 1986, [[Ted Turner]]'s [[Turner Broadcasting System]] acquired MGM/UA Entertainment Co., and renamed [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer#MGM Entertainment|MGM Entertainment Co.]], however, due to concerns in the financial community over the debt-load of his companies, in August of that same year, Turner was forced to sell the MGM name, all of United Artists back to [[Kerkorian]] for approximately $300 million after only months of ownership. Turner, however kept all of MGM's film, television and cartoon library released prior to May 23, 1986 and formed [[Turner Entertainment Co.]] to handle rights to this library on August 2, 1986. In 1996, Turner Broadcasting System merged with [[WarnerMedia|Time Warner]] (now [[Warner Bros. Discovery]]) putting the majority of the pre-May 1986 MGM library in the hands of [[Warner Bros.]] However, since [[Amazon MGM Studios]] (via United Artists) retained the rights to the film internationally, ''Network'' is in a unique position of being owned by both companies. Today, Warner Bros. (via Turner Entertainment Co.) controls the film in the North America, while Amazon MGM Studios (via United Artists) controls the film internationally.}}

=== Casting ===
In his notes, Chayefsky jotted down his ideas about casting. For Howard Beale, who would eventually be played by [[Peter Finch]], he envisioned [[Henry Fonda]], [[Cary Grant]], [[James Stewart]] and [[Paul Newman]]. He went so far as to write Newman, telling him that "You and a very small handful of other actors are the only ones I can think of with the range for this part." Lumet wanted Fonda, with whom he had worked several times, but Fonda declined the role, finding it too "hysterical" for his taste. Stewart also found the script unsuitable, objecting to the strong language. Early consideration was given to real-life newscasters [[Walter Cronkite]] and [[John Chancellor]], but neither was open to the idea (both appear during the opening scene through stock footage). Although not mentioned in Chayefsky's notes, [[George C. Scott]], [[Glenn Ford]] and [[William Holden]] reportedly also turned down the opportunity to play Beale, with Holden instead playing Max Schumacher: For that role, Chayefsky had initially listed [[Walter Matthau]] and [[Gene Hackman]]. Ford was under consideration for this part as well, and he was said to be one of two final contenders. Holden finally got the edge because of his recent box-office success with ''[[The Towering Inferno]]''.<ref>[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/342/network#articles-reviews Network]  TCM. Retrieved 8 November 2018.</ref>

Producers were wary that Finch, an Australian, would not be able to sound authentically American; they demanded an audition before his casting could be considered. A well-known actor, Finch reportedly responded, "Bugger pride. Put the script in the mail." Immediately excited by the role, he agreed to pay his own fare to New York for a screen test. He prepared for the audition by listening to broadcasts by American newscasters and reading the international editions of ''The New York Times'' and the ''Herald Tribune'' into a tape recorder, then listening to playbacks with a critical ear. Gottfried recalled that Finch "was nervous as hell at that first meeting over lunch and just like a kid auditioning. Once we'd heard him, Sidney Lumet, Paddy, and I were ecstatic because we knew it was a hell of a part to cast." Finch further convinced Lumet by playing him the tapes of his newspaper readings.<ref>{{cite book |first= Trader |last=Faulkner |year= 1979 |title= Peter Finch: A Biography |publisher=Angus & Robertson |isbn=9780207958311 }}</ref>

[[Faye Dunaway]] wanted [[Robert Mitchum]] to play Max Schumacher, but Lumet refused, believing that Mitchum was not sufficiently urbane.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://home.sprintmail.com/~sknolle/mitchum/not.html |title=Robert Mitchum: Not Starring ... |access-date=July 1, 2018 |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107045353/http://home.sprintmail.com/~sknolle/mitchum/not.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | first=Faye| last=Dunaway | title=Looking for Gatsby | publisher=Pocket Books | year=1995| isbn=0-671-67526-5 }}</ref> For the role of Diana Christensen, Chayefsky thought of [[Candice Bergen]], [[Ellen Burstyn]], and [[Natalie Wood]], while the studio suggested [[Jane Fonda]], with alternate candidates [[Kay Lenz]], [[Diane Keaton]], [[Marsha Mason]] and [[Jill Clayburgh]]. Lumet wanted to cast [[Vanessa Redgrave]] in the film, but Chayefsky did not want her. Lumet argued that he thought she was the greatest English-speaking actress in the world, while Chayefsky, a proud Jew and [[Zionism|supporter of Israel]], objected on the basis of her support of the [[PLO]]. Lumet, also a Jew, said "Paddy, that's blacklisting!", to which Chayefsky replied, "Not when a Jew does it to a [[Gentile]]."<ref name="lumet">{{cite book |first=Sidney |last=Lumet |title=Making Movies |url=https://archive.org/details/makingmovies00lumerich |url-access=registration |publisher=Vintage |year=1995 |isbn=9780679756606 |author-link=Sidney Lumet}}</ref>

Dunaway was cast as Diana in September 1975. Lumet told her that he would edit any attempts on her part to make her character sympathetic and insisted on presenting her without any vulnerability. Lumet cast [[Robert Duvall]] as Frank Hackett. Duvall saw Hackett as a "vicious president [[Gerald Ford|Ford]]".<ref>{{cite book |first= John |last= Eastman |title=Retakes: Behind the Scenes of Classic Movies |publisher= Ballantine Books |year= 1989 |isbn=9780345353993 }}</ref> On Duvall, Lumet said: "What's fascinating about Duvall is how funny he is." [[Ned Beatty]] was cast as Arthur Jensen on the recommendation of director [[Robert Altman]] after the original actor failed to live up to Lumet's standards. Beatty had one night to prepare a four-page speech, and was finished after one day's shooting. [[Beatrice Straight]] played Louise Schumacher, Max's wife, on whom he cheats with Diana.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t585TgSt30 |title=Part 2: Network (1976): Why The Acting Is So Good-Acting-CinemaTyler on YouTube |website=[[YouTube]] |date=March 8, 2018 |access-date=July 1, 2018 |archive-date=April 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409055246/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t585TgSt30&gl=US&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref> Straight had won a [[Tony Award]] in 1953 for playing an anguished wife who is similarly cheated on in [[Arthur Miller]]'s ''[[The Crucible]]''.

=== Filming ===
After two weeks of rehearsals, filming started in [[Toronto]] in January 1976<ref name="AFI Toronto">{{cite web |title=Network (1976) |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/54924 |website=AFI Catalogue of Feature Films |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=January 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929111220/https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/54924 |archive-date=September 29, 2023 |location=Los Angeles |url-status=live}}</ref> with many scenes filmed at the [[CFTO-DT|CFTO]] studios at [[9 Channel Nine Court]] in [[Scarborough, Ontario|Scarborough]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Network (1976) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074958/ |website=IMDb.com |publisher=Amazon |access-date = 2024-12-20}}</ref>

Lumet recalled that Chayefsky was usually on set during filming, and sometimes offered advice about how certain scenes should be played. Lumet allowed that his old friend had the better comic instincts of the two. Finch, who had suffered from heart problems for many years, became physically and psychologically exhausted by the demands of playing Beale.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjx5L5Po4yI |title=Network (1976): Why The Acting Is So Good-Acting-CinemaTyler on YouTube |website=[[YouTube]] |date=November 17, 2017 |access-date=July 1, 2018 |archive-date=September 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920105934/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjx5L5Po4yI |url-status=live }}</ref>

There was some concern that the combination of Holden and Dunaway might create conflict on the set, since the two had sparred during an earlier co-starring stint in ''The Towering Inferno''. According to biographer Bob Thomas, Holden had been incensed by Dunaway's behavior during the filming of the disaster epic, especially her habit of leaving him fuming on the set while she attended to her hair, makeup and telephone calls. One day, after a two-hour wait, Holden reportedly grabbed Dunaway by the shoulders, pushed her against a soundstage wall and snapped, "You do that to me once more, and I'll push you through that wall!"{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

Lumet and cinematographer [[Owen Roizman]] worked out a complicated lighting scheme that in Lumet's words would "corrupt the camera". Lumet recalled: "We started with an almost naturalistic look. For the first scene between Peter Finch and Bill Holden, on Sixth Avenue at night, we added only enough light to get an exposure. As the movie progressed, camera setups became more rigid, more formal. The lighting became more and more artificial. The next-to-final scene—where Faye Dunaway, Robert Duvall, and the three network gray suits decide to kill Peter Finch—is lit like a commercial. The camera setups are static and framed like still pictures. The camera had also become a victim of television."<ref name="lumet" />

== Release and reception ==
''Network'' premiered in New York City on November 27, 1976, and went into [[wide release]] shortly afterward. The film opened to widespread critical acclaim, and became one of the big hits of 1976–77, earning $23.7 million at the box office.<ref name=bo/>

===Critical reception===
{{multiple image
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| footer            = The entire cast ([[Peter Finch]], [[William Holden]], [[Faye Dunaway]], [[Ned Beatty]] and [[Beatrice Straight]]) garnered widespread acclaim, earning them all [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] nominations the first two for [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]], and the last three for [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]], [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]] and [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] respectively, with Finch, Dunaway and Straight winning.
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| image3            = Faye Dunaway - 1971 - PBS.JPG
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}}

[[Vincent Canby]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' called ''Network'' "outrageous&nbsp;... brilliantly, cruelly funny, a topical American comedy that confirms Paddy Chayefsky's position as a major new American satirist" and a film whose "wickedly distorted views of the way television looks, sounds, and, indeed, is, are the satirist's cardiogram of the hidden heart, not just of television but also of the society that supports it and is, in turn, supported."<ref>[https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF173CB82CA6494CC1B7799A8C6896 Review of ''Network''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207015327/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF173CB82CA6494CC1B7799A8C6896 |date=February 7, 2012 }} from the November 15, 1976 edition of ''[[The New York Times]]''</ref> [[Gene Siskel]] of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' gave ''Network'' four stars out of four, calling it "a very funny movie that takes an easy target and giddily beats it to death."<ref>[[Siskel, Gene]] (December 19, 1976). "'Network' power scrambles TV's set image". ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Section 6, p. 2-3.</ref> In a review written after ''Network'' received its Academy Awards, [[Roger Ebert]] called it a "supremely well-acted, intelligent film that tries for too much, that attacks not only television but also most of the other ills of the 1970s," though "what it does accomplish is done so well, is seen so sharply, is presented so unforgivingly, that ''Network'' will outlive a lot of tidier movies."<ref>[https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/network-1976 Review of ''Network''] by [[Roger Ebert]] from the 1970s</ref>

Not all reviews were positive: [[Pauline Kael]] in ''[[The New Yorker]]'' criticized the film's abundance of long, preachy speeches; Chayefsky's self-righteous contempt for not only television itself but also television viewers; and the fact that almost everyone in the movie, particularly Robert Duvall, has a shouting rant: "The cast of this messianic farce takes turns yelling at us soulless masses."<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Kael |first1=Pauline |title=Hot Air |magazine=The New Yorker |date=December 6, 1976 |pages=177}}</ref> Gary Arnold of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' declared that "the movie is too sternly, monotonously preachy for either persuasion or casual amusement."<ref>Arnold, Gary (December 16, 1976). "'Network': Satirical Overkill". ''[[The Washington Post]]''. B1.</ref> [[Michael Billington (critic)|Michael Billington]] wrote, "Too much of this film has the hectoring stridency of tabloid headlines",<ref>{{cite book|last=Halliwell|first=Leslie|title=Halliwell's Film Guide, 6th edition|year=1987|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|location=New York, NY|isbn=0-684-19051-6|pages=729}}</ref> while [[Chris Petit]] in ''[[Time Out (company)|Time Out]]'' described it as "slick, 'adult', self-congratulatory, and almost entirely hollow", adding that "most of the interest comes in watching such a lavishly mounted vehicle leaving the rails so spectacularly."<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Milne|editor-first=Tom |title=Time Out Film Guide, The|year=1993|publisher=Penguin|location=Hammondsworth, Middlesex|isbn=0-14-017513-X|pages=[https://archive.org/details/timeoutfilmguide00miln/page/486 486]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/timeoutfilmguide00miln/page/486|edition=3rd}}</ref>

[[Jack Shaheen]], an American writer and lecturer who specialized in addressing racial and ethnic stereotypes, was critical of the film in his book, ''[[Reel Bad Arabs]]''. He put it on his worst list, noting that Arabs were portrayed as "medieval fanatics," and criticized Chayefsky's "[[Stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims in the United States#Stereotypes in film and their effects|prejudicial]] Arab colloquies." He also asked whether Chayefsky would label Israelis as "medieval fanatics" and wondered why the producer, Howard Gottfried, and director, Sidney Lumet, sanctioned Chayefsky's "anti-Arab diatribe," as he described it, in the film. He additionally described the film's focus on Arabs not only to be "[[Anti-Arab racism|racist]]," but also nonfactual, and noted that Chayefsky condemned [[Vanessa Redgrave]] after [[50th Academy Awards#Vanessa Redgrave's speech|she described]] demonstrators, protesting her pro-Palestinian views, as "a small bunch of Zionist hoodlums" at the [[50th Academy Awards|1978 Academy Awards]] ceremony.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shaheen |first=Jack |author-link=Jack Shaheen |date=2001 |title=Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nWXp59GVNgIC |location=New York |publisher=Olive Branch Press |pages=347–349 |isbn=1566563887}}</ref>

On [[Rotten Tomatoes]] the film has an approval rating of 91% based on 76 reviews, with an average rating of 8.50/10. The site's critics consensus states, "Driven by populist fury and elevated by strong direction, powerful acting, and an intelligent script, ''Network''{{'}}s searing satire of ratings-driven news remains sadly relevant more than four decades later."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/network |title=Network (1976) |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]] |access-date=January 19, 2024 |archive-date=April 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426170757/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/network |url-status=live }}</ref> On [[Metacritic]] it has a weighted average score of 83 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>{{cite web |title=Network |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/network |website=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=2021-10-01}}</ref>

=== Legacy ===
In 2000, Roger Ebert added the film to his [[Great Movies]] list and said it was "like prophecy. When Chayefsky created Howard Beale, could he have imagined [[Jerry Springer]], [[Howard Stern]], and the [[World Wrestling Federation]]?"; he credits Lumet and Chayefsky for knowing "just when to pull out all the stops."<ref>[https://www.rogerebert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20001029/REVIEWS08/10290301/1023 Review of ''Network''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204121536/http://www.rogerebert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20001029%2FREVIEWS08%2F10290301%2F1023 |date=February 4, 2013 }} by Roger Ebert from October 2000</ref> Screenwriter [[Aaron Sorkin]] wrote in 2011 that "no predictor of the future—not even [[Orwell]]—has ever been as right as Chayefsky was when he wrote ''Network''."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/movies/paddy-chayefskys-notes-for-network-film.html |title=Notes of a Screenwriter, Mad as Hell |last=Itzkoff |first=Dave |newspaper=The New York Times |date=May 19, 2011 |access-date=January 13, 2017 |archive-date=January 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116180428/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/movies/paddy-chayefskys-notes-for-network-film.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The film ranks at number 100 in ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Films of All Time.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.empireonline.com/500/80.asp |title=The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time |work=Empire |publisher=Bauer Media Group|access-date=August 17, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814081404/http://www.empireonline.com/500/1.asp|archive-date=August 14, 2011|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

== Accolades ==
At the [[49th Academy Awards]], ''Network'' won 3 of the 4 acting awards. As of 2024, it is the second of only 3 films which have accomplished this feat, preceded by ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (1951 film)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]'' in [[24th Academy Awards|1951]] and followed by ''[[Everything Everywhere All at Once]]'' in [[95th Academy Awards|2022]].

[[Peter Finch]] died before the [[49th Academy Awards|1977 ceremony]] and was the only performer to win a [[List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees|posthumous acting Academy Award]] until [[Heath Ledger]] won [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]] in [[81st Academy Awards|2008]]. The statuette itself was collected by Finch's widow, Eletha Finch, after [[Paddy Chayefsky]] invited her onstage.

[[Beatrice Straight]] appeared in only 5 minutes, 2 seconds of screen time, making it [[List of Academy Award records|the shortest performance to win an Oscar]] {{as of|2024|lc=y}} (breaking [[Gloria Grahame]]'s 9 minute, 32 seconds record for ''[[The Bad and the Beautiful]]'' in [[25th Academy Awards|1952]]).<ref name="servingcinema.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.servingcinema.com/2015/11/while-you-were-eating-ho-hos-on-the-couch-matthew-stewart-timed-every-oscar-winning-performance/|title=Beatrice Straight performance length|access-date=2016-10-09|work=Serving Cinema|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806061831/http://servingcinema.com/2015/11/while-you-were-eating-ho-hos-on-the-couch-matthew-stewart-timed-every-oscar-winning-performance/|archive-date=August 6, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> Additionally, [[Ned Beatty]]'s performance of Arthur Jensen occupied only 6 minutes of screen time, also making it [[List of Academy Award records|the shortest performance by an actor to be nominated for an Oscar]] {{as of|2024|lc=y}}.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stewart |first=Matthew |date=2021-01-30 |title=Best Supporting Actress Oscar nominees: Who contended for a performance of only 139 seconds? |url=https://www.goldderby.com/feature/best-supporting-actress-oscar-nominees-shortest-performance-record-1204000915/ |access-date=2023-07-29 |website=GoldDerby |language=en-US}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
! {{Ref heading}}
|-
| rowspan="10"| [[49th Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]
| [[Howard Gottfried]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="10"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1977 |title=The 49th Academy Awards (1977) Nominees and Winners |access-date=October 3, 2011 |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |archive-date=February 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202002051/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1977 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| [[Sidney Lumet]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| [[Peter Finch]]{{efn|[[List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees|Posthumous award]].}}
| {{won}}
|-
| [[William Holden]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| [[Faye Dunaway]]
| {{won}}
|- 
| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
| [[Ned Beatty]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| [[Beatrice Straight]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]]
| [[Paddy Chayefsky]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]]
| [[Owen Roizman]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Film Editing|Best Film Editing]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Alan Heim]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[American Cinema Editors|American Cinema Editors Awards]]
| [[American Cinema Editors Award for Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic|Best Edited Feature Film]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| rowspan="9"| [[31st British Academy Film Awards|British Academy Film Awards]]
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| rowspan="2"| Sidney Lumet
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="9"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bafta.org/awards/search?search=1978&type= |title=BAFTA Awards: Film in 1978 |publisher=[[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]] |access-date=November 27, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Direction|Best Direction]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best Actor in a Leading Role]]
| Peter Finch{{efn|name=Posthumous|[[Posthumous award]].}}
| {{won}}
|-
| William Holden
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role|Best Actress in a Leading Role]]
| Faye Dunaway
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role|Best Actor in a Supporting Role]]
| [[Robert Duvall]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| Paddy Chayefsky
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]]
| Alan Heim
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Sound|Best Sound]]
| Jack Fitzstephens, Marc Laub, Sanford Rackow, <br> James Sabat, and [[Dick Vorisek]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[David di Donatello Awards]]
| [[David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actress|Best Foreign Actress]]
| Faye Dunaway
| {{won}}{{efn|Tied with [[Annie Girardot]] for ''Run After Me Until I Catch You''.}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.daviddidonatello.it/motore-di-ricerca/schedasola.php?idfilm=387&annovinci=1977 |title=Network |publisher=[[David di Donatello]] |access-date=November 27, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[29th Directors Guild of America Awards|Directors Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film|Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures]]
| Sidney Lumet
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dga.org/Awards/History/1970s/1976.aspx?value=1976 |title=29th Annual DGA Awards |publisher=[[Directors Guild of America Awards]] |access-date=November 27, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="5"| [[34th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama|Best Motion Picture – Drama]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="5"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/network/ |title=Network |publisher=[[Golden Globe Awards]] |access-date=November 27, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama|Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama]]
| Peter Finch{{efn|name=Posthumous}}
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama|Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama]]
| Faye Dunaway
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Director|Best Director – Motion Picture]]
| Sidney Lumet
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay – Motion Picture]]
| Paddy Chayefsky
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Japan Academy Film Prize]]
| colspan="2"| [[Japan Academy Film Prize for Outstanding Foreign Language Film|Outstanding Foreign Language Film]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.japan-academy-prize.jp/prizes/?t=1 |title=1978 |publisher=[[Japan Academy Film Prize]] |access-date=November 27, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[Kansas City Film Critics Circle|Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards]]
| Best Actress
| Faye Dunaway
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://kcfcc.org/kcfcc-award-winners-1970-79/ |title=KCFCC Award Winners – 1970-79 |publisher=[[Kansas City Film Critics Circle]] |date=December 14, 2013 |access-date=November 27, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[1976 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards|Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| {{won}}{{efn|Tied with ''[[Rocky]]''.}}
| align="center" rowspan="3"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lafca.net/Years/1976.php |title=The 2nd Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards |publisher=[[Los Angeles Film Critics Association]] |access-date=November 27, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| Sidney Lumet
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| Paddy Chayefsky
| {{won}}
|-
| [[National Board of Review Awards 1976|National Board of Review Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[National Board of Review: Top Ten Films|Top Ten Films]]
| {{draw|2nd Place}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1976/ |title=1976 Award Winners |publisher=[[National Board of Review]] |access-date=November 27, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[National Film Preservation Board]]
| colspan="2"| [[National Film Registry]]
| {{won|Inducted}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/ |title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=November 27, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[1976 National Society of Film Critics Awards|National Society of Film Critics Awards]]
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| William Holden
| {{draw|2nd Place}}
| align="center" rowspan="4"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://nationalsocietyoffilmcritics.com/about-2/ |title=Past Awards |date=December 19, 2009 |publisher=[[National Society of Film Critics]] |access-date=November 27, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| Faye Dunaway
| {{draw|2nd Place}}
|-
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
| Robert Duvall
| {{draw|3rd Place}}
|-
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| Paddy Chayefsky
| {{draw|2nd Place}}
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[1976 New York Film Critics Circle Awards|New York Film Critics Circle Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| {{Runner-up}}
| align="center" rowspan="3"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nyfcc.com/awards/?awardyear=1976 |title=1976 New York Film Critics Circle Awards |publisher=[[New York Film Critics Circle]] |access-date=November 27, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| Faye Dunaway
| {{Runner-up}}
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| Paddy Chayefsky
| {{won}}
|-
| Online Film & Television Association Awards
| colspan="2"| Film Hall of Fame: Productions
| {{won|Inducted}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.oftaawards.com/film-hall-of-fame/film-hall-of-fame-productions/ |title=Film Hall of Fame: Productions |publisher=Online Film & Television Association |access-date=November 27, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[13th Producers Guild of America Awards|Producers Guild of America Awards]]
| colspan="2"| PGA Hall of Fame – Motion Pictures
| {{won}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| [[4th Saturn Awards|Saturn Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film|Best Science Fiction Film]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center""| 
|-
| [[29th Writers Guild of America Awards|Writers Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Drama – Written Directly for the Screen]]
| Paddy Chayefsky
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |title=Awards Winners |publisher=[[Writers Guild of America Awards]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205095022/http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |archive-date=December 5, 2012 |access-date=June 6, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|}

=== American Film Institute ===
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies]] – #66
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs]] – Nominated
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains]]:
** Diana Christensen – Nominated Villain
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes]]:
** "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" – #19
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)]] – #64

== Stage adaptation ==
[[Network (play)|A play adaptation]] by [[Lee Hall (playwright)|Lee Hall]] premiered in the Lyttleton Theatre at the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]] in [[London]] in November 2017. The play was directed by [[Ivo van Hove|Ivo Van Hove]] featuring [[Bryan Cranston]] making his UK stage debut as [[Howard Beale (Network)|Howard Beale]], and [[Michelle Dockery]] as Diana.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/blog/new-2017-and-2018|title=New for 2017 and 2018 {{!}} National Theatre|website=www.nationaltheatre.org.uk|access-date=2017-03-20|archive-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202222050/https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/blog/new-2017-and-2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/nov/13/network-review-bryan-cranston-lyttelton-national-theatre-lee-hall|title=Network review – Bryan Cranston is mad as hell in blazing staging of Oscar winner|last=Billington|first=Michael|newspaper=The Guardian|date=2017-11-13|access-date=November 14, 2017|archive-date=April 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426170815/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/nov/13/network-review-bryan-cranston-lyttelton-national-theatre-lee-hall|url-status=live}}</ref> It opened on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] on December 6, 2018, with Cranston reprising his role as Beale, and with [[Tatiana Maslany]] as Diana and [[Tony Goldwyn]] as Max Schumacher.<ref>{{cite web | title = Breaking: Tony Goldwyn Joins Bryan Cranston and Tatiana Maslany in NETWORK on Broadway | website = broadwayworld.com | publisher = Wisdom Digital Media | date = September 27, 2018 | url = https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Breaking-Tony-Goldwyn-Joins-Bryan-Cranston-and-Tatiana-Maslany-in-NETWORK-on-Broadway-20180927 | access-date = October 15, 2018 | archive-date = October 15, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181015192410/https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Breaking-Tony-Goldwyn-Joins-Bryan-Cranston-and-Tatiana-Maslany-in-NETWORK-on-Broadway-20180927 | url-status = live }}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://lafca.net/Years/1976.php |title=Awards for 1976 - LAFCA |access-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-date=February 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200208181722/http://www.lafca.net/Years/1976.php |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.daviddidonatello.it/storia/cronologia.php |title=Accademia del Cinema Italiano - Premi David di Donatello |access-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-date=April 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426030109/https://www.daviddidonatello.it/storia/cronologia.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* [[David Itzkoff|Itzkoff, David]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/movies/paddy-chayefskys-notes-for-network-film.html?pagewanted=all "Notes of a Screenwriter, Mad as Hell"], ''The New York Times'', 19 May 2011
* {{cite news|last1=Parker|first1=James|title=Madder Than Hell: How ''Network'' Anticipated Contemporary Media|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/03/madder-than-hell/357572/|access-date=16 July 2016|work=The Atlantic|issue=March 2014}}

== External links ==
{{wikiquote|Network (film)}}
* [https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/network.pdf ''Network''] essay by Joanna E. Rapf on the [[National Film Registry]] website 
* {{AFI film|54924|Network}}
* {{mojo title|network|Network}}
* {{IMDb title|0074958|Network}}
* [https://www.allmovie.com/movie/network-am8007 ''Network'' at AllMovie]
* {{TCMDb title|342|Network}}
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=deq3xI8OmCkC ''Network''] essay by Daniel Eagan in ''America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies'' in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 {{ISBN|0826429777}}, pages 733-735
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItkO_ujcnl0 Network: Thoughts on Being Mad As Hell | Brows Held High on official YouTube channel]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/nov/23/network-40-years-reality-tv-donald-trump Network at 40: the flawed satire that predicted Trump and cable 'news porn' at The Guardian]

{{Sidney Lumet}}
{{Paddy Chayefsky}}
{{Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Film}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Network}}
[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
[[Category:1970s satirical films]]
[[Category:1976 black comedy films]]
[[Category:1976 comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:1976 films]]
[[Category:Films about adultery in the United States]]
[[Category:American black comedy films]]
[[Category:American comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:American satirical films]]
[[Category:BAFTA winners (films)]]
[[Category:Films à clef]]
[[Category:Films about journalists]]
[[Category:Films about television]]
[[Category:Films about television people]]
[[Category:Films directed by Sidney Lumet]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Actor Academy Award–winning performance]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Actress Academy Award–winning performance]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Drama Actor Golden Globe winning performance]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Drama Actress Golden Globe–winning performance]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award–winning performance]]
[[Category:Films set in New York City]]
[[Category:Films shot in Toronto]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Paddy Chayefsky]]
[[Category:Films whose director won the Best Director Golden Globe]]
[[Category:Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films]]
[[Category:United Artists films]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]
[[Category:1970s American films]]
[[Category:Films produced by Howard Gottfried]]
[[Category:English-language black comedy films]]
[[Category:Films set in television stations]]