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This media satire, directed by Sidney Lumet from a brilliantly incisive script by Paddy Chayefsky, is an X-ray of the corrupted soul of a corporate-dominated America, startlingly prescient in its anticipation of today’s outrage-driven news cycle. At a struggling television network, ambitious executive Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway) finds herself with a hit on her hands when disgruntled newscaster Howard Beale (Peter Finch) goes off script, transforming himself into a mad-as-hell prophet railing against the ills of modern society. But can she control the populist revolution they have unleashed on the airwaves? Garnering four Oscars, including for Dunaway, Finch, and Chayefsky, this no-holds-barred New Hollywood classic remains as fearlessly funny as it is unnervingly relevant.

United States
1976
121 minutes
Color
1.85:1
English
Spine #1300

4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
Audio commentary featuring director Sidney Lumet
Paddy Chayefsky: Collector of Words (2025), a feature-length documentary about the screenwriter by Matthew Miele
The Making of “Network” (2006), a six-part documentary by Laurent Bouzereau
Trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by writer and New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie

New cover by Adam Maida

I might be the exception here, but Network was one of those movies that was a favorite as a teenager, but when I revisited the film many years later on a rare 35mm prints from the UK, I found Paddy Chayesfsky's script to be silly and the film as a whole to be the type of on-the-nose satire that dominates American cinema today. In almost felt like an Adam McKay work with how obvious, clear, and unimaginative it is with its perspective. Faye Dunaway climaxing at the peak of her rambling about her careerist ambitions just wasn't as funny as when I was sixteen. Chayefsky's script suddenly felt Sorkin-esque with its desire to making every line have a certain weight to it.

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote: Mon Nov 17, 2025 6:30 pm I might be the exception here, but Network was one of those movies that was a favorite as a teenager, but when I revisited the film many years later on a rare 35mm prints from the UK, I found Paddy Chayesfsky's script to be silly and the film as a whole to be the type of on-the-nose satire that dominates American cinema today. In almost felt like an Adam McKay work with how obvious the satire is. Faye Dunaway climaxing at the peak i of her rambling about her careerist ambitions just wasn't as funny as when I was sixteen. Chayefsky's script suddenly felt Sorkin-esque with its desire to making every line have a certain weight to it.

I’ve always found much of the Ecumenical Liberation Front scenes to be overkill as well, especially when they’re arguing for gross points

I still like the film - particularly Beatty's shining moment - but I had a similar experience of enthusiasm dwindling upon a more recent revisit, after loving it as a kid

I think it holds up mostly due to the performances, which are just as much over the top as they are believable. the Beatty scene is indeed one of my favorites in all of cinema and was the moment where I was like "alright, this is still good"

I do agree though the script goes a little far at times. happy Criterion are indeed the ones to release this

From the WB Blu-ray, adds the full-length documentary on Chayefsky, and drops the following:

• Vintage Paddy Chayefsky Interview Excerpt from Dinah!, Hosted by Dinah Shore
• Private Screenings with Sidney Lumet: Turner Classic Movies Host Robert Osborne Interviews the Director

I was never a huge fan of this film either. It was a pretty big disappointment given what I had known about it. I'm tempted to say it goes off a cliff right after the most famous scene.

I am similarly inclined. I loved it when I first saw it as a kid in the early days of HBO. But I revisited it about a decade later and had to scratch my head as to why I had loved it. I understand the appeal of the most quotable line in the movie, however I am more inclined to rewatch A Face In The Crowd or Medium Cool and so I have never picked it up on disc & not sure if I will as Cuckoo’s Nest or Dog Day Afternoon upgrades are more compelling.

I agree, this film isn’t really that great. Watched it recently since I blind bought the Arrow Blu-ray for super cheap during a sale. The concept is good but the script doesn’t really say anything profound. Glad it’s getting a 4K upgrade for the people who desperately want it, but I kinda wish it wasn’t wasting a Criterion slot (though maybe it just looks worse to me since this is an extremely bland month of announcements)

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote:I might be the exception here, but Network was one of those movies that was a favorite as a teenager, but when I revisited the film many years later on a rare 35mm prints from the UK, I found Paddy Chayesfsky's script to be silly and the film as a whole to be the type of on-the-nose satire that dominates American cinema today. In almost felt like an Adam McKay work with how obvious, clear, and unimaginative it is with its perspective. Faye Dunaway climaxing at the peak of her rambling about her careerist ambitions just wasn't as funny as when I was sixteen. Chayefsky's script suddenly felt Sorkin-esque with its desire to making every line have a certain weight to it.

It’s funny, because some years ago I remember someone saying that the movie felt too far out there and even kinda chicken-littleish at the time of release, because TV just wasn’t like that. And then TV subsequently became pretty much like that, and the movie ended up seeming prescient, to the point where modern audiences think it’s too obvious.

I’m not old enough to know how true that is, but it’s funny if it’s true. And either way, I guess that’s the pitfall of being in the prescience business … if you’re wrong, people don’t let you forget it, but if you’re right, people just shrug it off and say, “well duh.”

And if you’re terribly written Paddy Chayefsky may be involved.

Brian C wrote: Mon Nov 17, 2025 10:25 pm It’s funny, because some years ago I remember someone saying that the movie felt too far out there and even kinda chicken-littleish at the time of release, because TV just wasn’t like that. And then TV subsequently became pretty much like that, and the movie ended up seeming prescient, to the point where modern audiences think it’s too obvious.

I’m not old enough to know how true that is, but it’s funny if it’s true. And either way, I guess that’s the pitfall of being in the prescience business … if you’re wrong, people don’t let you forget it, but if you’re right, people just shrug it off and say, “well duh.”

I agree. I first watched Network around 2006, and TV was increasingly becoming like it. But I always thought that Network was blatantly satirical and over the top. Gonzo satire by 1976 standards, all-too-depressing realism by the mid-oughts when creatures like Bill O'Reilly ruled the airwaves. And nowadays, you can make the claim that if anything, it was understated!

And of course, Ned Beatty's monologue holds up today. He reprises it in Rango, but you can also hear echoes of it in Jeremy Irons's speech in Margin Call, etc. For that reason alone, this film is probably important in the history of the cinema of high capitalism.

A little bummed the TCM piece couldn’t make it over but I’ll just find the WB blu I think, get this down the line maybe. I watched it on the night it aired, with a double feature of it and The Pawnbroker. I’ve seen neither since really and while I did like Network I didn’t take out of it what I did Taxi Driver or All The President’s Men, not to compare but it must be said how strong the contenders for the Oscars were that year.

When this came out in 1976 it was considered a satirical farce. But, like Idiocracy, it proved to be prescient. Unlike Idiocracy, Network underestimated how crazy reality TV and what now passes for The News has become.

Interesting Lumet comment from his memoir Making Movies:
"We started with an almost naturalistic look. For the first scene between Peter Finch and Bill Holden, on Sixth Avenue at night, we added only enough light to get an exposure. As the movie progressed, camera setups became more rigid, more formal. The lighting became more and more artificial. The next-to-final scene—where Faye Dunaway, Robert Duvall, and the three network gray suits decide to kill Peter Finch—is lit like a commercial. The camera setups are static and framed like still pictures. The camera had also become a victim of television."
See note 18: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_( ... m)#Filming