Sieć

A great film about how media is a powerful tool, but also about the fact that it's not really about the media itself, but about who controls the media and what their intentions are. It's not about what's being broadcast to viewers, but about the ratings of television networks. Sadly, that hasn't changed even after forty years. Fortunately, it hasn't gone that far yet. More or less... (23.10.2015)

You have probably heard the word timeless in connection to this film and it’s not a coincidence. Network balances on a line between black humour satire and serious human drama so fine that if it stumbled and lost its pace for an instant, all that motivational structure would fall apart and would no longer be believable. But as usual, Sidney Lumet was up to the task and managed to transform a script packed with a lightly caricatured criticism of the media and the emotional ties between the characters into a memorable and balanced experience. At times it feels overstuffed, but all the components and storylines complement each other smartly, the personal dialogues can be related to the problems in the dominant world of the media and each of the characters has their precisely allocated destiny – the fanatical Peter Finch is someone whose private life we never get to know anything about, but who becomes a “sensation” for the other characters, who pull the strings and are only interested in viewership and profit; William Holden is the rational exception, someone who wants to have a normal life, but who’s also attracted to the unpredictable and untameable desire for the sensation represented by the attractive Faye Dunaway, a media animal that avoids normal life and only “switches channels”. Yeah, and Robert Duvall is the arrogant ruler who only cares about dirt, for which he’s willing to do anything. All this together results in a valuable, smart and timeless movie that doesn’t have many imitators. The best parts, though, are the ending, which grinds the edge between serious drama and satire, and the actors and the profiling of their characters, conforming to the overall order of that world and its message – where else can you see two performances lasting only five minutes that ground the viewer and get well deserved Oscar nominations? Or the closing greeting by Nad Beatty (perhaps the best portrayed business bigwig in cinema history) and Beatrice Straight, the most convincing broken wife. 90% (04.05.2020)

I will not give this film five stars because, despite its reputation as a quickly-made film with a lower rating on FilmBooster, I find Wag the Dog to be much more targeted, funnier, and more entertaining, and it has a much more powerful impact. However, for its time, Network is a highly above-average film, also demystifying the eighth superpower, i.e., the media, which enjoyed great respect in the 70s, and journalists and the press were considered pillars of democracy. Today we know that business interests and political influence can effectively undermine the efforts of journalists and that quality journalism is successfully overshadowed by tabloids and various obscure entertainment shows. Furthermore, in light of the recent scandal in Britain surrounding Murdoch's media empire, the truth can sometimes be worse than crazy fiction at first glance. However, I also believe that Network is a product of its time and today it has a somewhat slower pace, some story lines, such as the relationship between Max Schumacher and Diane Christensen, seem unnecessary to me and it lacks a powerful punch; it's just sometimes too talkative. The only completely impressive performance for me was the careerist brilliantly played by Faye Dunaway, who absolutely deserved her Oscar for her performance. Overall impression: 80%. (05.08.2011)

A disturbing satire that touches the nerve even more today than at the time of its creation. But it is unnatural and forced too much, sadly, and that the whole second half only flogs a dead horse. Moreover, even in terms of acting, it seems inconsistent. Half of the cast’s performance is "serious" as you would expect from a drama (because it is a drama), but the other seems to mistakenly think that it is a comedy. (10.01.2016)