RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Network
Network

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Network (1976)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
90 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:41

Fresh:37

Rotten:4

Average Rating:8.1/10

Runtime: 4 hrs 35 mins

Genre: Television

Synopsis: With stunning prescience, Sidney Lumet's searing satire of television and the contemporary moment chronicles media corruption and the way that the public buys into the myths the media creates. The... With stunning prescience, Sidney Lumet's searing satire of television and the contemporary moment chronicles media corruption and the way that the public buys into the myths the media creates. The moral and spiritual turpitude delivered by the debilitating forces of television are rendered in sharp relief against a backdrop of crumbling humanity in what is regarded as one of the great satires in Hollywood history. With a visceral script from Paddy Chayefsky, NETWORK follows the doomed path of aging newsman Howard Beale (Peter Finch), who, upon learning that he is to be fired after decades as a news anchor, announces to millions of viewers that he will publicly commit suicide during his last broadcast. When the ratings consequently shoot up, hungry executive-in-training Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway) seizes the moment to exploit Beale's Messianic nervous breakdown, turning his rage into the vehicle for the network's first Number One show and a nationwide craze. Who could have predicted that this 1976 film might someday influence an even more contagious trend in television broadcasting: the reality show? [More]

Starring: Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Robert Duvall

Starring: Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Robert Duvall, Wesley Addy, Ned Beatty, Beatrice Straight, Arthur Burghardt, Bill Burrows, Jordan Charney, Kathy Cronkite, Ed Crowley, Jerome Dempsey, Conchata Ferrell, Gene Gross, Stanley Grover, Cindy Grover, Darryl Hickman, Mitchell Jason, Paul Jenkins, Ken Kercheval, Kenneth Kimmins, Lynn Klugman, Carolyn Krigbaum, Zane Lasky, Michael Lombard, Pirie MacDonald, Russ Petranto, Bernie Pollack, Roy Poole, William Prince, Sasha Von Sherler, Lane Smith, Ted Sorel, Fred Stuthman, Cameron Thomas, Marlene Warfield, Lydia Wilson, Lee Richardson, Michael Lipton

Director: Sidney Lumet

Director: Sidney Lumet
Screenwriter: Paddy Chayefsky
Producer: Howard Gottfried
Composer: Elliot Lawrence

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Network

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Slick, 'adult', self-congratulatory, and almost entirely hollow.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment 1 Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A very black comedy.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Finch's spouting is impressive, but we prefer Holden's sardonic edge, even if his big speeches seem the most predictably written.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
06/26/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Chayefsky was apparently serious about much of this shrill, self-important 1976 satire about television, interlaced with bile about radicals and pushy career women, and so were some critics at the time.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 3 Comments
06/26/07
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader

A timeless satire on television as a wasteland.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
02/17/07
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

No review available.

comment 1 Comment
01/05/07
Lori Hoffman
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly

For some reason, Paddy Chayefsky's Oscar-winning satire was perceived as a drama when the movie came out in 1976. Much ahead of its time, the film was a cautionary tale of the news media as infotainment (emphasis on the secon part of the concept).

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
09/11/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

So truthful, so prescient, it's painful. Paddy Chayevsky delivers one of the best screenplays ever written.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
08/02/06
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide

No review available.

comment Comment
04/11/06
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Much of Chayefsky's script seems to have been written with megaphone in hand, which is close to how director Sidney Lumet airs it out. Yet in retrospect, maybe the ravings of Finch as a deranged anchorman aren't so far from surreal madness of Jerry Spring

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment 1 Comment
03/17/06
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

One would assume that a 1976 film about network television would feel dated today, but director Sidney Lumet and screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky had such a fine concept that Network seems downright contemporary.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
03/08/06
Forrest Hartman
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal

Rare is the social satire that rings as true as Network does, and the film is even more topical today than it was thirty years ago.

Full Review Source: DVD Clinic | comment Comment
02/28/06
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
DVD Clinic

If Network had the ring of truth to it in 1976, you can be sure it's even truer today.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
02/15/06
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

A well-crafted piece of celluloid that holds up quite nicely in the feeding-frenzy mentality that defines modern media.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Stuart Swineford
Stuart Swineford
Film Threat

It's creepy how prescient this one-time satire turned out to be.

comment Comment
08/26/05
Rob Vaux
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium

No review available.

comment Comment
05/10/05
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

One of the greatest in a great year for movies. My favorite William Holden performance.

comment Comment
01/08/05
Michael A. Smith
Michael A. Smith
Nolan's Pop Culture Review

No review available.

comment Comment
07/29/04
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

No review available.

comment Comment
04/16/04
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

One of the great black comedies of the '70s

comment Comment
11/07/03
Jon Niccum
Jon Niccum
Lawrence Journal-World
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for Network

June 22, 2007: AFI Announces Top 100 Movies of All Time ... Again
Ten years ago the AFI gave us a list of the Top 100 American Films Ever Made -- and when that was done they churned out 15 other lists every few years. And then last night they... More...

March 09, 2006: Trailer Bulletin: Find Me Guilty
Wondering what Vin Diesel's been up to lately? Well, he's been off making a fact-based courtroom flick with ... legendary director Sidney Lumet, that's who. Entitled "Find... More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
15% 15% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
68% 68% Funny People
25% 25% Four Christmases
45% 45% Shorts

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Prince of Persia

Prince of Persia

Your first look at the swashbuckler.

Vampires

Vampires

We rank cinema's bloodsuckers.

Avatar

Avatar

The full trailer for Cameron's epic.

2012

2012

12 facts about Emmerich's disaster flick.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Natalie Portman Says Kat Denning Is in Thor Source: MTV
0
  • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
9
  • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
106
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
64
  • Forbes Names Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors Source: Forbes
20
  • Chris Weitz Says He's (Almost) Done with Directing Source: Film School Rejects
26
  • Spider-Man 4 Casting Rumors Multiply Like Rabbits Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
51
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
162
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
129
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle?
97
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
75
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
53
  • Five Favorite Films with Werner Herzog
50
  • Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies
38
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
32
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
3
  • Ho, ho, ho! It's RT's Great Big Gift Guide!
0
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
3
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
18
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Network at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Network at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.