Network (1976) ****

Peter Finch won an Oscar from beyond the grave for his performance as the manic newscaster Howard Beale in Sydney Lumet's Network, an honor that was quite deserved. Network is about the UBS network, the fourth place gutterball station that decides to fire Finch's character which prompts him to announce that he plans to kill himself on the air in a week. This one act by Beale causes UBS to take a hard left turn into a no mans land of network news and entertainment by turning Beale into a prophet/variety star that posts some of the biggest ratings in television history. An excellent cast featuring William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Robert DuVall, and Ned Beatty go along for the ride.

Network is one of those pre-Star Wars 1970's films that tells us that the world is a manipulated piece of shit. This time focusing on how the world of television has dictated how we live our lives. Here's a crazy old man that tells you his truth, the prophet of the tube. Peter Finch's performance is amazing as he stops the illusions and expresses how he feels about the tube world he has been a part of for so many years.

Looking back at Network thirty plus years later and it seems very prophetic in the way that television has gone, mainly in the last decade. This film predicted the reality TV craze, especially programs like Cops and America's Most Wanted. Network is a great film with great actors and a story that's almost as crazy as the shows UBS puts on the air.