Every week, we in Her.ie towers will provide you with a blast from the past, a film that you cannot live without but nor should you, the classic film that you simply need to watch.
This week we take a look at the classic that is the wonderful Network, a film which arguably has the greatest script of all time.
The film tells the story of a television network who begin to exploit a former anchor’s rantings and ravings about the state of the news that is being delivered through the media and the manipulation of current events for their own profit. As his mental health continues to decline, the network continues to broadcast his meltdowns with intervening due to the impressive turnaround for the station.
Everything about this film is perfect, particularly the script which is literally to die for; the ramblings of former anchor Howard Beale, although intensely sad and distressing are also completely logical and are completely eerie seeing as they echo our everyday concerns with the media almost 40 years later.
The cast are flawless, Robert Duvall, Faye Dunaway, Peter Finch take a brilliant script and make it their own, committing completely to every character on screen. The film picked up four Oscars, one of the very few to pick up for Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress in the one year. It also one the Oscar for Best Writing. In fairness, it really had to.
Network is often listed as one of the best films to grace the screen and the ultimate script, one which completely influences the works of many screeenwriters to this day. We just have to agree.
