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NETWORK
February 18, 2017  | By David Bianculli

TCM, 10:30 p.m. ET

 

Every time I show this 1976 movie to one of my classes at Rowan University, I’m astounded all over again at how prescient writer Paddy Chayefsky was, about everything. Everything from the corporate acquisitions of broadcast networks and the encroachment of bottom-line profits and ratings into their news divisions, to the rise of reality television and angry and unchecked TV public-affairs “personalities,” is in here, in a movie made more than 40 years ago. Peter Finch is brilliant as unhinged network news anchor Howard Beale, and his ultra-talented co-stars include William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Robert Duvall, and Ned Beatty. Oh, and the famous scene in which everyday Americans are shown venting their anger by being encouraged to throw open their windows and shout, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this any more!’’ – well, welcome to America 2017.

 
 
 
 
 
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