Network (1976)

Director: Sidney Lumet
Writer: Paddy Chayefsky
Cast: Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, Robert Duvall, Wesley Addy, Ned Beatty, Arthur Burghardt
Genre: Drama

Network had some heavy influence on Aaron Sorkin's origin for his TV-show within a TV-show "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip", a show I (as with everything else Sorkin touches) love. Now that itself might not be enough of a reason to have expectations going into the movie, but add the ensemble cast, director Sidney Lumet and a spot on the IMDB-top 250 list... Then you expect to be entertained.

We're taken along for a ride in the rotten TV network industry, as the ramblings of a mad man starts a domino effect on greedy executives, stock holders and mid-level bosses. Exploiting the boosted TV-ratings, they are willing to do anything to keep it up or preferably climb higher.

It's intense, it's interesting and it's a both well acted and a well written story overall. Lumet rarely go wrong, and he sure didn't here either. A close to perfect blend of satire and dramatic focus on the industry. A look behind the fairy tale scenery we're so used to be served, and like most such looks we might have been better of living in the darkness.