Oscar Best Actress Winner 1977: Faye Dunaway in Network

BY: ORANGECHAIR

You’re television incarnate Diana. Indifferent to suffering; insensitive to joy.

After being nominated for her iconic roles in Bonnie and Clyde as well as Chinatown, Faye Dunaway took home her first and only Oscar win for her portrayal of Diana Christensen in Network. Earning herself the 1977 Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Dunaway embodies the ruthless television executive who will do anything for her job.

The film Network centers around a man named Howard Beale (Peter Finch), a deranged television anchor who is slowly losing his mind. After learning he is going to be taken off air, Beale announces that he is going to commit suicide on air. The announcement immediately catches peoples’ attention including the head of the network’s programming department, Diana Christensen. Jumping on the chance to exploit the madman Diana puts him on air,
using him until he is a destroyed shell of a man. Beyond simply exploiting Beale, Christensen also seduces Beale’s best friend Max Schumacher (William Holden) away from his wife and into an affair. Unlike Beale however, Schumacher identifies Diana for the soulless, work obsessed person that she is and leaves her before he ends up like Howard Beale.

Faye Dunaway gives a great performance, certainly earning her Oscar win. Dunaway gives the character  of Diana a charming facade when she is attempting to get people on her side but at the same time allows the audience to understand the depths of her obsession with ratings and the job. Faye Dunaway beat out Marie-Christine Barrault (Cousin Cousine), Talia Shire (Rocky), Sissy Spacek (Carrie) and Liv Ullmann (Face to Face) for the 1977 Best Actress in a Leading Role Oscar. Giving an amazing performance as a less than lovable character, Faye Dunaway certainly deserves her Oscar.

Oscar Best Screenplay Winner 1977: Paddy Chayefsky for Network

BY: ORANGECHAIR

During the 1977 Oscar’s, Paddy Chayefsky received his third and final Oscar for Best Writing on the film Network. Network is the story of mentally unstable news anchor Howard Beale (Peter Finch) who gets exploited for his rants by a network to gain ratings. The film is a work of art, looking at and dissecting ideas of mental illness and what a network will do for ratings. It is difficult to believe that this film did not win Best Picture (it lost to Rocky) because almost every aspect of this film was outstanding. Brilliant performances work with skilled directing and a strong script to craft an outstanding film.

When I take a look at a film’s script to review it I look for three specific things. The first is if the script creates a compelling and entertaining story. The second is if the script is driven by the characters or if the characters are driven by the script. The final thing I look for is if the script gives the characters room to grow. Chayefsky’s script is one of the reasons that Network was such an outstanding film. The story on its own is a fairly interesting one. The story focuses not only on what a Network will do to get good ratings but what a mentally unstable man can do to his friends, followers and the public when given the spotlight. What was really well done about the script was that it drove the characters while still giving them room to grow. As Howard Beale becomes more and more popular, the other characters in the film begin to deal with his fame in different ways. As these characters interact and attempt to deal with what the network is doing to Beale as in-depth analysis of news networks begins to appear. The way the characters are created and evolve allows for analysis of the morality of exploiting a mentally unstable man like Howard Beale.

Chayefsky’s script beat Cousin cousine, The Front, Rocky and Seven Beauties for the 1977 Best Writing Oscar. Chayefsky had previously written for television at this point in his career but had abandoned it. For years he had toyed with the idea of writing something that attacked television and this ideas eventually came together in Network. Chayefsky is an extremely talented and accomplished writer. His Oscar for Network marked the third writing Oscar Chayefsky won on his own which is something nobody else has done. Other writers have been awarded the Oscar three times but always working with somebody else. Chayefsky is credited with three solo writing Oscars. His talent shines through in all his films but in Network especially. Without Chayefsky’s mind and pen the brilliant film Network would not exist.

Oscar Best Actor Winner 1977: Peter Finch in Network

BY: ORANGECHAIR

I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!

It was obvious that Peter Finch deserved his Oscar for Best Actor when he went on his first rant as Howard Beale and uttered the above quote that served as a framework for the rest of the film. The film is Network, the story of the mentally unstable news anchor who is exploited for ratings. The best thing to compare Peter Finch’s performance to is a storm, rushing on and off-screen with fire and lightning. Unfortunately, 1977 marks the first posthumous Oscar Best Actor winner with Finch dying just months before he was to accept the award.

Peter Finch earned his first and only Oscar Win for his performance in his last feature-length film. Up against his costar William Holden for Best Actor, Finch deserved the win. Both men did a great job in the film but Finch stole the scene every time he graced the screen. The film opens at the point that news anchor Howard Beale not only begins to give up on his profession and his fans but he also begins to lose his mind. Beale is fired after he speaks his mind on air but the network quickly hires him back when they realize his rants may be able to help their ratings and make them money. The rest of the film follows Beale and the network as they exploit the mentally unstable man.

 Finch gives an all-star performance in this film to the point where it would be believable that the man himself was actually mentally unstable. His costar William Holden gave a great performance himself but Finch proved his superiority in the film by stealing scene after scene from him. Finch also beat out Robert De Niro (Taxi Drive), Giancarlo Giannini (Seven Beauties) and Sylvester Stallone (Rocky). Finch managed to create a remarkably vivid character who’s very existence fueled a fantastic film that opens up endless discussions. Though De Niro gave a worthy performance in Taxi Drive I agree with Peter Finch earning the 1977 Oscar for Best Actor.