Network Blu-ray - Peter Finch

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

directed by Sidney Lumet
USA 1976

An Oscar-winning Peter Finch gives the performance of a lifetime in this merciless TV satire. Driven mad by corruption, trivia and his network's obsession with ratings, a veteran anchorman threatens to blow his brains out live on air

The sensation-seeking world of television news makes it an easy target for satire but rarely has it been sent up with such relentless, vicious glee. An angry and ironical kick in the eye, Network's grim humor and informed attack are as sharp now as they were in 1976.

Howard Beale (Finch) is the embittered broadcaster whose life and ratings are in freefall. When his contract is terminated he announces he'll kill himself on air two weeks hence. Ratings soar and ruthless exec Diane Christiansen (Dunaway) is keen to exploit Beale's sudden popularity, but not even suicidal news readers can bolster viewing figures for ever.

All give expert performances and there's a fine array of supporting characters, including Robert Duvall as an executive who canvases opinion on murder. It's Finch though who provides the film with its frenzied energy, denouncing TV journalism as cynical, exploitative bullshit and leading studio audiences through a chant of "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore."

Excerpt from Channel 4 located HERE

Theatrical Release: November 27th, 1976

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Warner - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray

(Warner - Region 0 - NTSC LEFT vs. Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC MIDDLE vs. Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT)

DVD Box Cover
	The new Special Edition is also available in the Controversial Classics, Vol. 2 - The Power of Media Boxset with - All the President's Men / Network / Dog Day Afternoon) (all Two-Disc Special Editions).
Distribution	Warner Region 0 - NTSC	Warner (Special Edition) Region 1 - NTSC	Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	2:01:16	2:01:08	2:01:20.314
Video	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 4.34 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.94 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	Disc Size: 25,333,483,706 bytes Feature Size: 19,120,478,208 bytes Average Bitrate: 17.96 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video 1080P
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate : Warner 1st release
Bitrate: Warner (Special Edition)
Bitrate: Warner Blu-ray
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 1.0), DUB: French (Dolby Digital 1.0)	English (Dolby Digital 1.0), DUB: French (Dolby Digital 1.0)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1108 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1108 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit) Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio French 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Subtitles	English, French, Spanish, None	English, French, Spanish, None	English, French, Spanish, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Warner Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical Trailer • Quote Quiz NOTE: The widescreen is on one side and a pan-and-scan edition is on the opposite side. DVD Release Date: May 16th, 2000 Snapper case Chapters 32	Release Information: Studio: Warner Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Commentary by Director Sidney Lumet • The Making of Network: A 6-Part Anniversary Documentary (1:25:21) • Vintage Interview excerpt from Dinah!, Hosted by Dinah Shore (14:01) • Turner Classic Movies' Private Screenings featuring Sidney Lumet (54:28) • Theatrical Trailer DVD Release Date: February 28th, 2006 Double Slim Keep Case Chapters 32	Release Information: Studio: Warner Disc Size: 25,333,483,706 bytes Feature Size: 19,120,478,208 bytes Average Bitrate: 17.96 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video 1080P Edition Details: • Commentary by Director Sidney Lumet • The Making of Network: A 6-Part Anniversary Documentary (1:25:21) • Vintage Interview excerpt from Dinah!, Hosted by Dinah Shore (14:01) • Turner Classic Movies' Private Screenings featuring Sidney Lumet (54:34) • Theatrical Trailer Blu-ray Release Date: February 15th, 2011 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 32

Comments

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray February 2011: Not that much to say - the new 1080P Blu-ray image quality is again improved - less noise artifacts, more good grain, and substantially more depth. It looks very good - thick, textured and film-like. I think it might be improved more - beside the SE DVDs - than, the simultaneously released, All The President's Men 1080P appearance. This definitely crisps-up, with stronger detail and supports the color scheme of the SE DVD transfer.

Audio remains faithfully mono - but now lossless and is fairly unremarkable but without major error. There are optional subtitles on the region free Blu-ray.

Extras duplicate the SE DVD package but are now accessible on one disc - nothing is in HD. The more times I watch Network - the better it seems to get. This is a great title to have on Blu-ray - a true classic. Recommended!

***

ON THE SPECIAL EDITION DVD: The colors schemes of the two transfer exhibits some radical differences at times. Possibly the most drastic example is the Robert Duvall close-up (large capture # 3) with his pinstripe suit going from brown to blue. The new special edition does seem to have overly red skin tones but it is certainly more vibrant if bordering on being saturated. Another drastic difference between the two editions is how the old release image appears horizontally stretched with fatter heads (see last capture most notably). There is some very negligible movement within the frame with the new release showing some minor cropping at the bottom or top, but this is not consistent and its very small - quite possibly fluctuating the 4% swing from the original aspect ratio of 1.85 to the anamorphically tight 1.78. For me one of the big bonuses of the new 2-disc edition is the Lumet commentary which is excellent - he talks a lot about Paddy Chayefsky - who he truly respected. The original release is almost 6 years old now and this new edition, although not quite perfect, is far ahead in every area. We strongly recommend this new release and feel strongly that the entire Controversial Classics, Vol. 2 - The Power of Media Boxset will be a very worthy purchase.

- Gary Tooze

The new edition seems to be much improved. The major flaw with the first one is it had lots of grain (which was not film grain), as well as dust and things on the negative.

The white balance is much better in the new one. The original looks like it was shot on sepia filmstock, whereas they corrected the white balance for the SE, making skin tones much more natural looking. It seems like some shots were far worse in the original, as not all the shots have a huge improvement.

SE is less cropped on the top, but a hair more on the bottom. For the noise, the best example is the blue screen in the 3rd(?) shot. The original has so much digital noise and compression artifacts in there. (Thanks Eric!)

DVD Menus

(Warner - Region 0 - NTSC LEFT vs. Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)

Warner Special Edition - Disc 2

Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

Screen Captures

1) Warner - Region 0 - NTSC TOP

2) Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

Subtitle Sample: Not exact frame