Network is a 1976 American satirical drama film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, written by Paddy Chayefsky and directed by Sidney Lumet. It is about a fictional television network, the Union Broadcasting System (UBS or "UBS-TV", situated in the film as the "fourth television network" after NBC, CBS, and ABC), and its struggle with poor ratings. The film stars Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch (in his final film role), Robert Duvall, Wesley Addy, Ned Beatty, and Beatrice Straight.
Network received widespread critical acclaim, with particular praise for the screenplay and performances. The film was a commercial success, with nine Oscar nominations at the 49th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, resulting in four wins: Best Actor for Finch, the first actor honored posthumously with an Oscar, Best Actress for Dunaway, Best Supporting Actress for Straight, who gave the shortest performance to ever win an Oscar, and a screenplay award for Chayefsky.
In 2000, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[3][4] In 2002, it was inducted into the Producers Guild of America Hall of Fame as a film that has "set an enduring standard for American entertainment".[5] Widely considered one of the greatest screenplays of all time,[6] in 2005 the Writers Guilds of America voted Chayefsky's script one of the 10 greatest screenplays in the history of cinema.[7] In 2007, the film was 64th among the 100 greatest American films as chosen by the American Film Institute, a ranking slightly higher than the one AFI had given it ten years earlier.
