Coolbaugh Comments:
“DAVIS PUTS THE .1 IN 5.1 SURROUND SOUND.”
The stage was set. The bitter cold was not yet there. It was teasing us with a brisk, but comfortable 52; all the while the low 40s were loosening up in the bull pen. Unbeknownst to us, the Cold was lurking - waiting for the perfect moment to strike and wreak havoc on the group. To send the viewers into a panic-stricken tailspin. It was complete anarchy while everybody went running for jackets, Ugg boots, or worse: tea.
But that had not yet come to pass.
We were still innocent and blind. We had the pre-show butterflies. We were dying to see the selection, and hear our new 5.1 Surround Sound system in all its glory. Take me away, and take me to the center of the action. I want bullet casings clanking behind my head. I was blood squirting across my head from left to right. I want...Surround Sound.
Lights.
Camera.
Action.
Hold on a second...what the fuck? One speaker? One god damn speaker is all we got?? "What the hell is this?" I says to myself. "The Mary Tyler Moore show?" My ignorance was far from bliss.
‘Network.’
Starring (a braless, I think) Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch and the always untouchable Robert Duvall.
A timeless spin on "modern" technology (in this case, the television), and its impact on the lazy masses. The film, shot and set in early TV's golden years (1970s), showcases an age-old issue (which to every new and naive generation that comes along seems to signal the start of the impending apocalypse): the media's ability to sway ignorant and impressionable masses with an unprecedented delivery of the message du jour.
Society's vulnerability and pathetic need for institutional direction (Hobbs was clearly Chayefsky's nod to the theories of Karl Marx in this cold war-era comedy) is blatantly exposed against the shallow - but all-too-overlooked -landscape that drives all media: ratings. Get enough eyeballs on it, and it becomes reality, no matter how absurd.
The dialogue has a tendency to feel forced and unnatural at times, but it's forgivable in the context of a flat-out brilliant comedy. The strength and significance of Dunaway's performance - that of a strong, influential and powerful woman in a "man's world" - will likely get lost in time, if it hasn't already. But, true to the timeless theory as indicated above, what seemed over-the-top in 1976 has actually come to pass. It wasn't long after this film, we've actually witnessed odder birds than Howard Beale captivating and leading millions of people through the power of media.
Was Faye Dunaway wearing a bra?
Thanks to Tooda for a stellar selection. And thanks to all who came. Despite the darkness that was encompassing the minds of some, in the end it proved a blessing. We managed to strengthen the soul of Movienight. A little reminder, that's all.
Going forward, nothing but good times and open arms for all.
But...
If, however, we notice the continued abuse of the basic principle of Movienight - that being the desire to watch a film on the big screen in its entirety (and to do so in the company of, and respect for, others) - we will take immediate action and revoke all basic liberties. Such as the freedom to get a warmer jacket. Or take a piss. Or the unfathomable: to fix a spot of tea. Keep it real.
I think Faye Dunnaway was braless.
Next week should be interesting. Jaja could go a couple of directions:
1. She could play it safe and come with a classic.
2. She could belly flop off the 10 meter platform with a careless showing of some teen-movie flick that nobody has seen (with good reason) for 15 years, like ‘Weird Science’ or ‘The Breakfast Club.’
This, I believe, is everybody's fear.
But I've known Justine since she was 5 or 6. And I know in my heart she's not going to fail.
3. She goes yard. She richters and fills the patio with an onslaught of "Holy fucking shits!" and high-fives.
Justine comes with a selection that has been the low-hanging fruit. It has eluded everyone to date. We all have our pics that we're going to get to, and somebody gets there first. I'm not talking about that. Greatness is the indisputable definition of POP: to go beyond and find that one pic. That one pic that makes one ponder: "Jesus. We've had how many Movienights so far? And we're only just now seeing this?" THAT is greatness. To search for, and find enlightenment. To experience the POP.
This, Justine, is your challenge. Prepare yourself for hostility. Anticipate the animosity. Brighten the darkness. Go deep. Swing hard. And bring it.
Oh, and remember, no chick flicks.
Faye Dunaway was wearing some sort of undergarment, but it was NOT a bra.
Onward.
Nubs Comments:
What can I say about ‘Nework?’ With the choice itself, Davis left no question that he was back to his old ways. His macho ‘Fight Club’ persona eroded and made me fear ‘Tootsie’ might just make it after all. It was the most predictable pick since ‘Jaws,’ whenever that happens. Davis was monitoring the night like he was in his chair back on Sunset, or Wiener’s Orange Grove house during ‘Sopranos,’ or at U of Chicago hosting ‘Star Trek,’ or at NYU screening, well, ‘Network.’
Before the movie had started I arrived to see Pat Towne exiting with his tail between his legs scared of the Big Dog. The highlight of the night will be forever remembered for Davis’ attempt to break his own rule of pausing a movie for one viewer, Coolbaugh, only to watch it turn into Tea Break. I found it just as entertaining as the movie, and, after having my nemesis, Carla Butts, crash my selection the week before without complaint from me, submit that the beast of audience attention is untamable.
That said, the movie is a classic and should be included in every great repertoire. Brilliant for it’s time and still eerily timely. With this viewing, I discovered my new favorite sequence in which the nonverbal action told on-screen is a beautiful Hollywood romantic holiday between the movie’s heroes though the dialog is the most drab ravings of a mad business woman. I also realized that despite Davis’s criticism that the movie is all monologues, the theatrical soliloquies and extended scenes stand in contrast to the changing shape of entertainment brought on by the competition of other programs just a click away. The film pushes the audience to contemplate itself while fighting the impulse to get up, take a break, make some tea.
I appreciate Davis’s eternal attempt to become our “latter day prophet decrying the hypocrisy of our times.” However the writing is on the wall of Coolbaugh’s house, that ‘Network’ and Benjamin Byron Davis are gonna have to find a new way to keep his rating up or suffer the bullet shots of his audience.
Wiener Comments:
I used to think ‘Network’ was a good, if not great movie. But with a critical viewing, I don't think it stands up as a great film by any stretch. It's an over the top farce. The performances are caricatures. The monologues are overwrought and pretentious (and ‘The West Wing’ owes a great debt to Paddy Chayefsky). And the vision of a world dominated by corporations, or networks driven to sensationalism in the pursuit of ratings fails to arouse since it's all come true. What seemed ludicrous then is our reality now. One could ask where our rage about the current state of affairs is. But since rage was coopted by dollars as Howard Beale became a demagogue, it's dead too. ‘Network’ raises questions about what makes a great film. It's competent and engaging, but doesn't transcend. Perhaps a little "tagged by the 70s."
Last night also represented a new low in Move Night etiquette. What the fuck was that tea break? I vote to ban Andy. And if Justine gets up again for anything other than pissing, we bust her back down to probationary non-selector status.
Who the fuck drinks tea on Movie Night?
SELECTOR Comments:
‘Network’ remains one of my favorites of all time. The film finds a way to anchor it’s story, while still spinning in such crazy and whimsical directions. I wish in the end Pat Towne had stuck around, as Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing) is so obviously influenced by this film. Though it is only a series of monologues, ‘Network’ taps into a reservoir of anger and hopelessness that I find thoroughly moving and laceratingly funny.
As the film is so close to my heart, I was very excited to share it with the crew last night. I was disappointed that the thirtieth anniversary re-release DVD didn’t have a remastered sound track and therefore the film didn’t take advantage of the new system.
I have to admit as well that the crowd was more unfocused last night than ever before. If you gotta pee you gotta, but we have never paused a film before, and once it starts rolling I think it shouldn’t stop (save any projector issues.) It turns the Movienight Experience into just watching any old video.
I may have been hyper sensitive (I know it is hard to believe) because the film is so close to my heart, but the endless chatter and movement really hurt the experience for me over all. I hesitate to lay down the law and say no talking or any other kind of limits on behavior, as until last night everyone has seemed willing to keep the focus tight and the talking was pointed and not disruptive. Last night was very, very different, and I know it hurt the presentation beyond repair. I’ll say it again, you can only see a film for the first time once. Future selections will be better served by a membership willing (and eager, as they usually are) to focus on the task at hand-
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