Lists
- ranked 5 in Roger Ebert's Best Films of 1976
- ranked 8 in WGA 101 Greatest Screenplays
- ranked 66 in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies
- ranked 70 in Cinema Fusion Movie Bloggers' Top 100 Movies
- ranked 73 in BBC 100 Greatest American Films
- ranked 100 in Empire 500 Greatest Movies (2008)
- ranked 227 in The IMDb Top 250
- ranked 270 in They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? 1000 Greatest Films (December 2006)
- ranked 293 in They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? 1000 Greatest Films (March 2006)
- ranked 298 in They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? 1000 Greatest Films (August 2005)
- one of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
- one of AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs Nominees
- one of AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies Nominees
- one of The New York Times Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made
- one of AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies, 10th Anniversary Edition
Tube
Brilliant, bleak, black comedy, satirizing the power and sensationalism of the media. Anchorman Howard Beale (Peter Finch) is losing audience share, so the network fires him -- and live on air he threatens to commit suicide. Ratings skyrocket, so they do the obvious thing. They hire him back.
We're not quite at the stage where this could be a documentary, but almost -- any day now Fox is getting a Beale. (Though he'll be more likely to shoot a social liberal than himself...)
Unfortunately, the script has a tendency to preach, and becomes more unfocused as the film progresses. What is it about?
Analogies to Fox et al also fall apart as the network's agenda diverges from that of its corporate master. This isn't a bad thing -- it keeps the satire firmly targeted -- but it does suggest that some comments on the movie's supposed prescience are misguided. The film's conclusion sees spectacle supersede politics -- even Jensen is ignored. In the real world, the reality is much worse: spectacle in aid of agenda-setting, and still getting the ratings...