A cinematic forecasting of the future of news media and corporate entertainment mergers finally gets a mandatory ultra-high definition release to celebrate director Sidney Lumet’s Academy Award-winning satire in Network (Criterion, rated R, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, 121 minutes, $49.95).
Peter Finch won the Oscar for his portrayal of Howard Beale, a washed-up and soon-to-be-fired news anchor on a struggling Union Broadcasting System television network. Before his departure, he has a slowly brewing psychological breakdown on air and eventually screams that famous line: “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore.”
That utterance creates a UBS renaissance after programming chief Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway, who also won the Oscar) invades the news division and uses Mr. Beale as the star of an entertainment program with the “mad prophet” ranting each episode and transforming him into an evangelist rather than a legitimate newsman.
The ratings bonanza takes a hit when Mr. Beale finds out a Saudi Arabian company is going to buy UBS’ parent company (the Communication Corp. of America), and while turning his audience against his bosses, he learns a deadly lesson in corporate greed and who really controls the world.
With an Academy Award-winning script by the legendary Paddy Chayefsky and iconic costars — such as William Holden as the news division president, Max Schumacher; Beatrice Straight as his wife Louise; Robert Duvall as vicious UBS vice president, Frank Hackett; and Ned Beatty as CCA chairman, Arthur Jensen — the movie is the purest of actor-dialogue-driven masterpieces.
By the way, Straight had essentially one scene in the film, an argument with Holden, and it was enough to win her the Oscar for best supporting actress.
Suffice it to report, the brilliantly sardonic “Network” was not just a great film but accurately predicted how “respectable” news broadcasting was to be reduced to brainwashing garbage, chewed alive by partisan pundits and anchors in search of clicks, advertising dollars and ratings above any objectivity and morality.
4K in action: The Criterion-created restoration comes from a new scan of the 35mm original camera negative, with a print supplied by Warner Bros. used for color reference.
The 4K result respectfully bows to its original film footage roots, embracing fine grain and a 1970s color palette richness, but it occasionally presents a mixed bag of clarity and color.
Early on, well-lit scenes look solid but can suffer from grainy areas of washout (set television monitors’ brightness levels carefully), and darker indoor scenes play out through slightly muted hues.
The second half of the movie fares far better with eye-popping moments, such as Mr. Beale in his studio raging in a black suit with a white shirt under pointed white spot lights. He’s surrounded by a blackened stage while standing on a blue carpet with a circular, colorful stained-glass rose window behind him.
Equally impactful is the scene of Mr. Jensen’s come-to-Jesus meeting with Mr. Beale in a large, darkened boardroom barely lit by rows of table lamps. It concludes with the chairman in silhouette with a slight glow around his figure, offering a very clean and ominous complement to the dialogue.
I’m not sure what to have visually expected from a 50-year-old movie, as older DVD and Blu-ray versions suffered from serious quality issues, but bouts of soft focus and slightly murky malaise do occasionally pop up.
It must have meant Criterion had a monumental task in bringing this classic to the latest digital realms.
Best extras: Let’s start with an insightful and crucial optional track from Lumet, recorded back in 2006 for the DVD Special Edition release.
The director covers working with Chayefsky while explaining that “Network” is a picture about corruption reinforced in the eventual corrupted camerawork that starts naturalistically and highly directional. By last scene, it looks like a Ford commercial.
Lumet believes the writer totally captured the accurate language of a live television world and injected every dramatic TV cliche while further analyzing specific dialogue and calling the work reportage and not satire.
He further discusses the strategy of shooting on location; delivers appreciations for the cast, their strengths and character motivations; and offers a breakdown of the “mad as hell” scene.
Getting a director of this magnitude to sit down by himself and offer thoughts on one of his masterpieces is not only rare but an absolute treat for fans of his work, so enjoy it.
Next, viewers get the 90-minute, feature-length documentary “Paddy Chayefsky: Collector of Words,” shot last year by Matthew Miele, that covers all except the personal life of the screenwriter.
Segments break down key scenes in “Marty,” “Network,” “Middle of the Night,” “The Goddess,” “The Americanization of Emily,” and “The Hospital”; and features interviews with film legends such as Oliver Stone, Dustin Hoffman, Billy Crystal, Mel Brooks, James L. Brooks, David Steinberg, Aaron Sorkin and Bob Fosse (through vintage audio clips).
Finally, a 90-minute, six-part documentary from 2006 covers the making of “Network.”
Viewers get candid moments with Lumet and producer and friend Howard Gottfried, with additional insight from Ms. Dunaway, Kathy Cronkite, Mr. Beatty, cinematographer Owen Roizman and editor Alan Heim.
It touches on building the cast with iconic actors (everyone was the first choice and did not turn down the role), shooting the iconic “mad as hell” dialogue moment, the overall production with two weeks of cast rehearsals (Holden never rehearsed for a movie in his career except for “Network”) and Chayefsky’s involvement with the entire filmmaking process.
The best segment focuses on 17 minutes of the visual style of the film with cinematographer Mr. Roizman, production designer Philip Rosenberg, and the director explaining, again, corrupting the camera with low lighting and minimal camera movements, and transforming it into a polished commercial.
The packaging included a 12-page fold-out, full-color illustrated pamphlet spotlighting a critical essay on the film by New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie.
All told, cinephiles get a master class on one of the hardest-hitting and most intelligent movies of all time.
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