NETWORK

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Right from the off, the opening credits had me sitting up, because coming immediately after the film's title we see the words 'BY PADDY CHAYEFSKY'.  So what?  Well, Chayefsky was 'merely' the guy who wrote the words to this 1976 classic (directed by Sidney Lumet) and screenwriters don't normally get this kind of accolade. 

As someone who thinks screenwriters are often undervalued I found this gratifying.

Mind you, if any screenwriter deserved the red carpet treatment, it is surely Chayefsky, the only person to win three Oscars for his screenplays, and especially for this one, a masterpiece.

Where to start with its brilliance?

How about a five-minute scene so well written that it gave Beatrice Straight the opportunity of a lifetime to win a Best Supporting Actress Oscar?

Or the spectacular monologues, mainly by the deranged news anchor, Howard Beale (played by Peter Finch) but also one delivered by Ned Beatty's plutocrat, setting out his vision of global corporatism.

There are so many great scenes.  For example the scene where Robert Duvall’s character fires William Holden’s character, Max (the head of the news division), might in other hands be a forgettable one which just keeps the story moving, but as written Duvall gets the chance to show what he can do, and the scene gives a funny last line to Faye Dunaway’s TV producer Diana.

But perhaps the most skilful aspect of the screenplay is the way it walks the line between engaging human drama on the one hand, and out-and-out satire on the other.

The human drama involves not only Beale's behaviour and his mental health but also the professional and romantic relationship between Max and Diana, Dunaway giving a great performance as someone so obsessed with ratings that she loses her humanity.

The satire is best exemplified by the terrorist group ELA, who Dunaway builds a TV series around (The Mao-Tse Tung Hour), and who are employed to assassinate Beale at the film's climax, once Beale has become too much of a headache for the TV company.

A uniquely great film.

RATING: ✓✓✓ Absolutely Fabulous 

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