Dispatches – Tue. Oct. 7, 2014 – Recommended Viewing Tonight on TCM Hi Folks, I recommended this picture last month and fortunately it’s on again. It’s well worth watching. On TCM Tonight – 9:45 PM – Network (1976) – 121 min. Dir: Sidney Lumet - Received Oscar nomination for Best Direction DP: Owen Roizman – Received Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography Plot Teaser – A television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchors ravings and revelations about the news media for its own profit. -- -- -- “Network” is yet another Must-See picture for Film Students, especially folks interested in the way television executives of the 1970s manipulated program development, selection and scheduling in order to gain the upper hand in broadcast competition and increase audience share and ratings through various surreptitious means, some even bordering on immorality. In his characteristic feisty quest for truth in drama, Director Lumet delved into some of the “black heartedness” that rested deep in the souls of many media magnets in that by-gone era – though I often wonder if a lot of the same shenanigans aren’t still practiced today by the networks for the same reasons that played so devilishly in yesteryear. Thankfully media pundits have realized that the burgeoning evolutions of cable have managed to level the playing field and deliver more creative and substantive programming. Production Notes - The only music heard in the film comes from commercials and television show themes. Aspiring Directors and Cinematographers take serious note: It was reported that Director Lumet shot the film using a specific lighting scheme. The opening scenes of the film were shot with as little light as possible, almost in a documentary style. As the film progressed more light and more camera moves were added. By the end of the picture scenes were brightly lit to look slick and high keyed. Part of the inspiration for the script came from the 1974 tragic on-air suicide of Christine Chubbuck, 29, an up-and-coming news reporter and anchorwoman at a local television station in Sarasota, Florida. She was hardworking, talented, bright and beautiful and had her own morning special interest television program but was never-the-less ruthlessly depressed. Interested parties might read up on this sad and horrific event. Aspiring Actors take special note - Arthur Burghardt the actor who played Great Ahmet Khan in the film, was a vegetarian. For the scene where he was to munch on a piece of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burghardt stuffed his cheeks with paper towels and smeared the grease on his face before the camera rolled, instead of actually eating meat. According to Director Sidney Lumet the Mad as Hell speech was filmed in one and a half takes. Midway through the second take, Peter Finch abruptly stopped acting due to exhaustion. Mr. Lumet was not aware of Finchs failing heart at the time, but in any case did not ask the actor for a third take. In the finished film is the second take for the first half of the speech, and the second half from the first take. Finch convinced Mr. Lumet to cast him as Beale over the director’s concerns about Finch’s Australian accent. Finch sent Lumet a recording of him reading the New York Times with a perfect American accent. Network turned out to be Peter Finch’s was last picture before his death. Memorable Movie Quotes – “Network” Howard Beale (Peter Finch): I want you to go to the window, open it, stick your head out and yell: Im as mad as hell, and Im not going to take this anymore. -- -- Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway): Well Max, here we are: Middle-aged man reaffirming his middle-aged manhood, and a terrified young woman with a father complex. What sort of script do you think we can make out of this? -- -- Diana Christensen: I was married for four years, and pretended to be happy; and I had six years of analysis, and pretended to be sane. My husband ran off with his boyfriend, and I had an affair with my analyst, who told me I was the worst lay hed ever had. I cant tell you how many men have told me what a lousy lay I am. I apparently have a masculine temperament. I arouse quickly, consummate prematurely, and cant wait to get my clothes back on and get out of that bedroom. I seem to be inept at everything except my work. Im goddamn good at my work and so I confine myself to that. All I want out of life is a 30 share and a 20 rating. -- -- Howard Beale: Well tell you anything you want to hear, we lie like hell. --- --- --- Thoughts – “In seeking truth you have to get both sides of a story.” – Walter Cronkite (1916-2009) – Renowned broadcast journalist and CBS Anchorman – Known as “the most trusted man in America.” “Poverty entails fear and stress and sometimes depression. It meets a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts that is something on which to pride yourself but poverty itself is romanticized by fools.” – J. K. Rowling - British novelist best know for her “Harry Potter” series. “Depression begins with disappointment. When disappointment festers in our soul it leads to discouragement.” – Joyce Meyer – Charismatic Christian author and speaker. “Concern should drive us into action and not into a depression. No man is free who cannot control himself.” – Pythagoras (c. 570 – c. 495 BC) An Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. “Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 – 1882) Renowned American poet and educator. --- --- --- Enjoy and learn from the magic. Never hesitate to extend your 360-degree-Spherical Sense of Vision and Thought Process to thoroughly explore new horizons with a wide-open mind, total curiosity and the courage to accept and adapt to new ideas. And be safe out there. Frost
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 20:44:33 +0000
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