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At the same time, Max is fascinated by her, and deliberately begins an affair. Murrow, and now sees his beloved news division destroyed by Diana. Much more persuasive is Holden's performance as a newsman who was trained by Edward R. This material is less convincing, except as an illustration of the lengths to which she will go. In a secluded safe house, she negotiates with its armed leader, has a run-in with a Patty Hearst type, and uses an Angela Davis type as her go-between. That's her idea for a prime-time show based on the exploits of a group obviously inspired by the Symbionese Liberation Army. Later, in bed, discussing ratings during sex, she climaxes while gasping about the "Mao Tse Tung Hour." Dunaway gives a seductive performance as the obsessed programming executive her eyes sparkle and she moistens her lips when she thinks of higher ratings, and in one sequence she kisses Max while telling him how cheaply she can buy some James Bond reruns. Beale's ratings skyrocket (he is fourth after "The Six Million Dollar Man," "All in the Family" and "Phyllis"), and a new set is constructed on which he rants and raves after his announcer literally introduces him as a "mad prophet."Ĭounter to this extravagant satire is the affair between Max and Diana. Unlikely, but great drama, and electrifying in theaters at the time.
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After Beale orders his viewers to "repeat after me," they cut to exterior shots of people leaning out of their windows and screaming that they're mad as hell, too. Lumet and Chayefsky know just when to pull out all the stops. He's yanked from the air but begs for a chance to say farewell, and that's when he says, the next day, "Well, I'll tell you what happened: I just ran out of bull-." His frankness is great for the ratings, Diana convinces her bosses to overturn Max's decision to fire him, Howard goes back on the air, and he is apparently deep into madness when he utters his famous line. The next day, in a farewell broadcast, Beale announces that he will indeed kill himself because of falling ratings. Then they get drunk together and joke about him committing suicide on the air. Beale is portrayed as an alcoholic doing such a bad job that he's fired by his boss (Holden). Most people remember that Howard Beale got fed up, couldn't take it anymore and had a meltdown on the air. And the set that Beale graduates to, featuring soothsayers and gossip columnists on revolving pedestals, nicely captures the feeling of some of the news/entertainment shows, where it's easier to get air time if you're a "psychic" than if you have useful information to convey.
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Other parts, including the network strategy meetings, remain timeless.
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Parts of the movie have dated-most noticeably Howard Beale's first news set, a knotty-pine booth that makes it look like he's broadcasting from a sauna.
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When Chayefsky created Howard Beale, could he have imagined Jerry Springer, Howard Stern and the World Wrestling Federation? Seen a quarter-century later, it is like prophecy. It was nominated for 10 Oscars, won four (Finch, Dunaway, supporting actress Beatrice Straight, Chayefsky), and stirred up much debate about the decaying values of television.
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And then Chayefsky and the director, Sidney Lumet, edge the backstage network material over into satire, too-but subtly, so that in the final late-night meeting where the executives decide what to do about Howard Beale, we have entered the madhouse without noticing. The action at the network executive level aims for behind-the-scenes realism we may doubt that a Howard Beale could get on the air, but we have no doubt the idea would be discussed as the movie suggests. The scenes involving Diana and Max are quiet, tense, convincing drama. The scenes involving Beale and the revolutionary "liberation army" are cheerfully over the top. What is fascinating about Paddy Chayefsky's Oscar-winning screenplay is how smoothly it shifts its gears. The movie has been described as "outrageous satire" ( Leonard Maltin) and "messianic farce" (Pauline Kael), and it is both, and more.