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Great Character: Howard Beale (“Network”)
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2 min readApr 17, 2023
It’s one of the most memorable movie roles in the last 50 years: TV anchorman become crazed prophet, and Dark Mentor Howard Beale, an Oscar-winning role for actor Peter Finch in the 1976 movie Network:
A TV network cynically exploits a deranged ex-TV anchor’s ravings and revelations about the media for their own profit.
Written by the inimitable Paddy Chayefsky, the movie is a searing satire on television, the broadcast news industry, and pop culture, and Beale is the voice of a suddenly not so silent majority.
Who can forget this speech:
Here is the movie version of the scene:
Beale’s wrath draws the ire of corporate bigwig Arthur Jensen:
Here is the movie version of the scene:
