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Release Date: 23rd March 2015
Format: Blu-ray
Starring: Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch
Directed by: Sidney Lumet

Synopsis: I WILL BE RETIRING FROM THIS PROGRAMME IN TWO WEEKS’ TIME BECAUSE OF POOR RATINGS.

In 1976 two of the key players in the Golden Age of Television, writer Paddy Chayefsky and director Sidney Lumet, delivered a coruscating attack – at once savage and hilarious – on the medium that made their names.

SINCE THIS SHOW IS THE ONLY I HAD GOING FOR ME IN MY LIFE, I’VE DECIDED TO KILL MYSELF.

To speak Chayefsky’s Oscar-winning dialogue, Lumet enlisted a powerhouse cast list, including Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch (as ‘the mad prophet of the airwaves’ Howard Beale), Robert Duvall, Ned Beatty and Beatrice Straight. Four of them would be nominated for Academy Awards, three would win.

I’M GOING TO BLOW MY BRAINS OUT RIGHT ON THIS PROGRAMME A WEEK FROM TODAY.

As well as its four Oscars, Network was also garlanded with a quartet of Golden Globes, a BAFTA and numerous other awards. In the years since its release, its reputation has only grown: the Library of Congress granted it a place on their prestigious National Film Registry; the American Film Institute named it as one of the greatest American films of all time; and the Writers Guild of America declared it screenplay one of the ten best of all time. It remains a true classic.

SO TUNE IN NEXT TUESDAY.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:

High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the film
Uncompressed mono PCM audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
The Directors: Sidney Lumet – a 1999 documentary on the director, containing interviews with Jack Lemmon, Rod Steiger, Christopher Walken and others
Tune in Next Tuesday – a visual essay by Dave Itzkoff, the author of Mad as Hell: The Making of Network and the Fateful Vision of the Angriest Man in Movies
Theatrical Trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jay Shaw
Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Mike Sutton and an American Cinematographer article by director of photography Owen Roizman, illustrated with original stills and artwork

Region: B
Rating: TBC
Cat No: FCD1074
Duration: 121 mins
Language: English
Subtitles: English SDH
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: 1.0 Mono
Colour

I was excited thinking Warner now licenses to Arrow, but looking up, this film is still owned by MGM in UK...

Which begs the question, what is their master like compared to Warner's?

It probably will be sharing the same source than Warner.

I'm surprised to see Arrow option this, and I hope it's not largely a waste of their time and resources. I wonder if we're looking at a situation like The Fury, where Arrow has somehow managed to get a new 2K (or higher) HD master for their release. The WB BD could probably be bettered, but the extras are very good (I never upgraded, but I owned the SE DVD set) and it's a shame that MGM/Fox/Arrow can't access them.

Unfortunately, these "Directors" programs are dated overviews, and pale in comparison to Arrow's usual standard of extras. I can only hope the master and visual essay are superb, because the WB release looms large, and many already have it.

Ashirg wrote:I was excited thinking Warner now licenses to Arrow, but looking up, this film is still owned by MGM in UK...

Probably why it's a UK-only release! Glad we're finally getting it here. Hope Arrow give us some nice artwork and essays and the possibility of an even better transfer. Lumet is always worth it.

Cine Outsider.

For those who've double dipped both bluray versions, which is the preferred?