83
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertSo the movie's flawed. So it leaves us with loose ends and questions. That finally doesn't bother me, because what it does accomplish is done so well, is seen so sharply, is presented so unforgivingly, that Network will outlive a lot of tidier movies.
- 100EmpireColin KennedyEmpireColin KennedyNetwork is typical of the cool intelligence of '70s American cinema.
- Whatever its flaws, Network is a picture that can stand on its own. And does.
- 90The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyNetwork can be faulted both for going too far and not far enough, but it's also something that very few commercial films are these days. It's alive. This, I suspect, is the Lumet drive. It's also the wit of performers like Mr. Finch, Mr. Holden, and Miss Dunaway.
- 88ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliIt's a dark, dark comedy that ruthlessly skewers the news industry on a stake, then roasts it alive.
- 80TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineThere's an amazing display of acting talent, even though director Lumet doesn't quite tie all the strands together.
- The film is immaculately cast...The principal figures in its ideological debate – the chilly, number-crunching executive Robert Duvall, godlike network supremo Ned Beatty and the ambitious, exploitative programmer Faye Dunaway – are vivid caricatures. But the movie runs out of steam as satiric invention turns into fervent, deeply sincere statement, and solid William Holden’s middle-aged producer becomes the representative of old-fashioned integrity.
- 60TimeRichard SchickelTimeRichard SchickelThere is a lunatic energy about it. Every once in a while, Chayefsky abandons the struggle to dramatize his ideas and has somebody, usually Holden, just turn to the camera and spout off. In those moments, his concern — and sometimes his mother wit — comes blazing through and the picture takes on a life not found in safe, sane, well-calculated movies.
- 30The New YorkerPauline KaelThe New YorkerPauline KaelHe hardly bothers with the characters; the movie is a ventriloquial harrangue. He thrashes around in messianic God-love booziness, driving each scene to an emotional peak.