IMDb > Network (1976)
Network
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Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 6% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Sidney Lumet
Writer:
Paddy Chayefsky (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Network on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
29 January 1977 (Japan) more
Genre:
Drama more
Tagline:
Not since the dawn of time has America experienced a man like Howard Beale! more
Plot:
A TV network cynically exploits a deranged ex-TV anchor's ravings and revelations about the media for their own profit. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won 4 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 19 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(41 articles)
Robert Towne: The Hollywood Interview
 (From The Hollywood Interview. 4 November 2009, 12:49 PM, PST)
AFI's 100 Years ...100 Movie Quotes
 (From Extra. 4 November 2009, 4:45 AM, PST)
User Comments:
Network more (231 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Faye Dunaway ... Diana Christensen

William Holden ... Max Schumacher

Peter Finch ... Howard Beale

Robert Duvall ... Frank Hackett
Wesley Addy ... Nelson Chaney

Ned Beatty ... Arthur Jensen
Arthur Burghardt ... Great Ahmed Kahn
Bill Burrows ... TV Director
John Carpenter ... George Bosch
Jordan Charney ... Harry Hunter
Kathy Cronkite ... Mary Ann Gifford
Ed Crowley ... Joe Donnelly
Jerome Dempsey ... Walter C. Amundsen
Conchata Ferrell ... Barbara Schlesinger
Gene Gross ... Milton K. Steinman
Stanley Grover ... Jack Snowden
Cindy Grover ... Caroline Schumacher
Darryl Hickman ... Bill Herron
Mitchell Jason ... Arthur Zangwill
Paul Jenkins ... TV Stage Manager
Ken Kercheval ... Merrill Grant
Kenneth Kimmins ... Associate Producer
Lynn Klugman ... TV Production Assistant
Carolyn Krigbaum ... Max's Secretary
Zane Lasky ... Audio Man
Michael Lipton ... Tommy Pellegrino
Michael Lombard ... Willie Stein
Pirie MacDonald ... Herb Thackeray
Russ Petranto ... TV Associate Director
Bernard Pollock ... Lou
Roy Poole ... Sam Haywood
William Prince ... Edward George Ruddy
Sasha von Scherler ... Helen Miggs

Lane Smith ... Robert McDonough
Ted Sorel ... Giannini (as Theodore Sorel)
Beatrice Straight ... Louise Schumacher
Fred Stuthman ... Mosaic Figure
Cameron Thomas ... TV Technical Director
Marlene Warfield ... Laureen Hobbs
Lydia Wilen ... Hunter's Secretary
Lee Richardson ... Narrator (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Chancellor ... Himself (news anchorman) (archive footage) (uncredited)

Walter Cronkite ... Himself (news anchorman) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Andrew Duncan ... Agent (uncredited)
Todd Everett ... Reporter (uncredited)
Betty Ford ... Herself (beside her husband) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Gerald Ford ... Himself (speech on assassination attempts) (archive footage) (uncredited)
John Gabriel ... TV anchor reporting Beale's suicide threat (uncredited)

Lance Henriksen ... Network lawyer at Khan's place (uncredited)

Tim Robbins ... Assassin (uncredited)
Howard K. Smith ... Himself (news anchorman) (archive footage) (uncredited)
David Susskind ... Himself (conducts interview) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Michael Tucker ... Man At Desk (uncredited)
Ahmed Yamani ... Himself (at OPEC conference) (archive footage) (uncredited)
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Directed by
Sidney Lumet 
 
Writing credits
Paddy Chayefsky (written by)

Produced by
Fred C. Caruso .... associate producer (as Fred Caruso)
Howard Gottfried .... producer
 
Original Music by
Elliot Lawrence 
 
Cinematography by
Owen Roizman 
 
Film Editing by
Alan Heim 
 
Casting by
Juliet Taylor 
 
Production Design by
Philip Rosenberg 
 
Set Decoration by
Edward Stewart 
 
Costume Design by
Theoni V. Aldredge 
 
Makeup Department
John Alese .... makeup artist
Susan Germaine .... hair stylist: Ms. Dunaway
Lee Harman .... makeup artist: Ms. Dunaway
Philip Leto .... hair stylist (as Phil Leto)
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alan Hopkins .... first assistant director (as Jay Allan Hopkins)
Ralph S. Singleton .... second assistant director (as Ralph Singleton)
 
Art Department
Connie Brink .... property master (as Conrad Brink)
 
Sound Department
Jack Fitzstephens .... sound editor
Marc Laub .... sound editor (as Marc M. Laub)
Sanford Rackow .... sound editor
James Sabat .... sound mixer
Dick Vorisek .... sound re-recordist
Louis Cerborino .... assistant sound editor (uncredited)
Mel Zelniker .... adr recordist (uncredited)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Michael Ginsburg .... still photographer
Kenneth Goss .... key grip
Norman Leigh .... gaffer
Gary Muller .... second assistant camera
Tom Priestley Jr. .... assistant camera
Fred Schuler .... camera operator
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
George Newman .... costumer
Marilyn Putnam .... costumer
 
Editorial Department
Michael Jacobi .... assistant editor
Don Dittmar .... color timer (uncredited)
Norman Hollyn .... apprentice editor (uncredited)
Jeffrey Wolf .... apprentice editor (uncredited)
 
Music Department
Elliot Lawrence .... conductor
 
Other crew
Selma Brown .... production auditor
Kay Chapin .... script supervisor
Stephen Frankfurt .... title designer
Connie Schoenberg .... office coordinator
John H. Starke .... location coordinator (as John Starke)
Mark Hurwitz .... production assistant (uncredited)
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
121 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:12 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16
Filming Locations:
CFTO-TV Studios, Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada more
Company:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Director Sidney Lumet said that he shot the film using a specific lighting scheme. He said in the film's opening scenes, he shot with as little light as possible, almost shooting the film like a documentary. As the film progressed, he added more light and more camera moves and by the end of the film, it was as brightly lit and "slick" as he could make it. more
Goofs:
Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Early in the film, after Howard Beale says that he's going to kill himself on-air, he's on the phone with Schumacher (Holden) angling to get his job back, and he mentions that he "has 11 years with this network." Later, following his on-air rant that "he ran out of BS," he's confronted by the press in the lobby of UBS where he says, "Every day, five days a week for 15 years, I've been sitting behind that desk..." more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Narrator: This story is about Howard Beale, the acclaimed news anchorman on UBS T.V. In this time, however, he was a mandarin of television with a HUT rating of 16 and a 28 audience share. In 1969, however, his fortunes began to decline. He fell to a 22 share. The following year, his wife died, and he was left a childless widower with an 8 rating and a 12 share. He became morose and isolated, started to drink heavily, and on September 22, 1975, he was fired, effective in two weeks. The news was broken to him by Max Schumacher, who was the president of the news division at UBS. The two old friends got properly pissed.
Howard Beale: [on the street] I was at CBS with Ed Murrow in 1951.
Max Schumacher: Must've been 1950 then.
[Beale nods]
Max Schumacher: I was at NBC, uh, associate producer. Morning News. I was just a kid. 26 years old.
[Not interested, Beale wanders off, until Schumacher stops him]
Max Schumacher: Anyway... anyway... they're building a lower level of the George Washington Bridge.
[Interested, Beale listens]
Max Schumacher: We were doing a remote from there.
Howard Beale, Max Schumacher: [start to laugh and snicker in unison]
Max Schumacher: And nobody told me!
[Beale keeps laughing, very interested]
Max Schumacher: Next morning I get a call, "Where the hell are YOU? You're supposed to be in the George Washington Bridge!"
[Beale and Schumacher exchange laughs]
Max Schumacher: I jump outta bed, throw my raincoat over my pajamas, I run downstairs, I run into the street,
[Schumacher runs into the street]
Max Schumacher: SO I TAIL A CAB, AND I SAY TO THE CABBY, "TAKE ME TO THE MIDDLE OF THE GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE!"
[Beale laughs]
Max Schumacher: And the cabby turns around and he says...
[giggles]
Max Schumacher: he says "Don't do it, buddy! You're a young man! Ya got your whole life ahead of ya!"
Howard Beale, Max Schumacher: [shriek in hysterics, as Beale gives Schumacher a hug]
Max Schumacher: Did I ever tell ya that one before?
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism (2004) more

FAQ

Is "Network" based on a book?
A Note Regarding Spoilers
How does "Network" end?
more

User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
44 out of 70 people found the following comment useful.
Network, 2 May 1999
10/10
Author: Tim Cox from Marietta, OH

Engrossing satire from Paddy Chayefsky and Sidney Lumet about sensationalism and the almighty dollar in television. All the performances astound, especially Beatty as the tycoon who tells Peter Finch his ideal America and his ideal philosophy on where America is heading. The film is a fine mix of black comedy and drama, brought to life by Chayefsky's incredible script and Lumet's superb direction. Dunaway won a much deserved Oscar for her performance. It's a performance that makes your jaw drop to the floor from start to finish. She makes being a bitch look so darn good.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Network (1976)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
'Magnolia' stole a lot from this movie. shamelessly. ThatSoapsALittleHard
Just how bad is the language in this film? NeoVoyager
Taxi Driver vs Network vs Rocky vs All the President's Men TopNotchTime
David Icke War_Pig
Anyone else dissapointed by what happened to Diana? onyx-1
Network, a naive liberal film. ThomasHayden
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