Revisit this critically acclaimed classic, whose insightful satire of a struggling news network going to dark extremity to bolster its ratings garnered ten nominations and four wins at the 49th Academy Awards. Renowned for its star-studded cast—including Faye Dunaway, William Holden, and Robert Duvall—Network was also the final on-screen performance in the life of titan Peter Finch. Preserved in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2000, Network’s prescient vision of how manufacturing anger drives media traffic has become more and more relevant every year since its release.
Charting the collapse of interpersonal relationships as one anchor becomes depraved and increasingly inventive in his on-air violence, Network echoes loudly in our contemporary climate. Network was written by legendary Russian-Jewish screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky, whose life and work you can explore by pairing this with Paddy Chayefsky: Collector of Words. –Ash Hoyle