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| Dvdivas
was founded by John Gabbard in 2000. It's purpose has been and
remains to be to provide you, the entertainment community with
the latest dvds and movie reviews. It will continue to be your
link to the most popular dvd movies. |
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"Network:
Special Edition"
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Reviewer:
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Wayne
A. Klein
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Studio: |
Warner |
| Genre: |
Drama |
Release:
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2/28/06
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| Special
Features: |
Commentary track by Director
Sidney Lumet, a 6 part documentary on the making of the film,
segments from "Dinah!" featuring writer Paddy Chayefsky and
actor Peter Finch, Trailer, "Private Screenings with Sidney
Lumet" |
| Review:
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Paddy Chayefsky's brilliant satire "Network" still
resonates today. Why? Because we live in the tabloid news
culture that Chayefsky so deftly and scathingly pokes fun
at. Originally Chayefsky got MGM to finance "Network" as
part of a lawsuit against the studio related to his scathing
satire of the world of health "The Hospital". All I can
say is that the settlement of a lawsuit never had a better
outcome. We are richer for this marvelous movie. For those
that haven't seen the film a brief summary is in order;
Howard Beale (Peter Finch who won a posthumous Oscar for
his work here)is on the way out. His ratings are weak and
the network decides to pull him from the nightly newscast.
Beale has a mental breakdown on TV telling viewers he's
going to kill himself on TV in two weeks. The ratings sky
rocket which inspires network producer Diana Christensen
(Faye Dunaway also an Oscar winner for her role as the cold,
heartless seductress)to propose that the network give Beale
his own show where he can rat and rave. Despite the objections
of the head of the news division Max Schumacher (William
Holden in a terrific and undervalued performance)UBS creates
a media circus around Beale which features him ranting and
raving ("I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore")along
with a psychic and other less than news worthy events.
Image & Sound:
This beautiful, rich looking anamorphic transfer of
this classic film makes the original DVD look like mincemeat
by comparison--the image is clear, sharp with a surprisingly
robust color scheme. 30 years on "Network" looks like it
never left the air. The stereo audio sounds quite nice with
dialogue and music coming across with remarkable clarity.
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| Special
Features: |
What's different about this
edition and most important are the extras included here. In
addition to Sidney Lumet's thoughtful, insightful and trivia
filled commentary track we get a separate disk full of extras.
"The Making of 'Network'" a 6-part Anniversary Documentary"
goes over every aspect of the production from genesis to the
Academy Awards. We also see a vintage excerpt from an interview
that Dinah Shore did with writer Paddy Chayefsky for her TV
show "Dinah!". Chayefsky sadly died nearly twenty years ago
of heart failure and isn't around to give us his two cents
on the madness of Diana's world and how it swirls around us
every day. "Private Screenings with Sidney Lumet" hosted by
Robert Osborne is a pretty good discussion on the making of
the film with the talented director. Lumet has directed so
many classics ("Dog Day Afternoon", "Tootsie", "3 Days of
the Condor") that it seems unfair to just devote one program
to one of his films but it's well worth it. The original theatricl
trailer is included as well but the DVD is worth it just for
Lumet's commentary track and footage of Chayefsky discussing
his script. |
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Final Words:
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Finch, Dunaway and actress Beatric
Straight all won Oscars for the film as did Chayefsky for
his brilliant screenplay. It's a rare example of Hollywood
awarding a film its due based on the quality of the material.
Surprisingly the film is still potent and relevent even today.
This two disc set is well worth picking up for fans of the
film. Warner has done a marvelous job bringing Chayefsky and
Lumet's brilliant satire to DVD with bells and whistles just
in time to commemerate its 30th Anniversary as an Oscar winner.
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