Max leaves Diana - Network (1976)

You're television incarnate, Diana: Indifferent to suffering; insensitive to joy. All of life is reduced to the common rubble of banality. War, murder, death are all the same to you as bottles of beer. And the daily business of life is a corrupt comedy. You even shatter the sensations of time and space into split seconds and instant replays. You're madness, Diana. Virulent madness. And everything you touch dies with you. But not me. Not as long as I can feel pleasure, and pain... and love.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• network
• 1976
• Faye
• Dunaway
• Diana
• Christensen
• William
• Holden
• Max
• Schumacher
• Peter
• Finch
• Howard
• Beale
• Robert
• Duvall
• Frank
• Hackett

[xaayer]

Amazing writing... you dont see this in movies enough anymore.

[JacksonFromAfrica]

@marginallymental Hi there, the thing is that with Diana, almost everything in life is about television. The uniqueness/gift of life can be reduced to just television. The point is that with her everything is the same whether it be war famine crime pain or something else because to her she only cares about the views a story can generate and not about telling people about what is happening. He doesn't blame her.

[daisypumpkin1]

I adore William Holden in this movie. How he plays this scene is pure genius. No blaming, no hysterics; I really believe him in this role, it's almost like he isn't acting

[BeaveHolio]

2:16

[19charms]

I love Diana <3

[eggsarah]

Network was 20 years ahead of its time.

[GCube45]

One of the best exits in cinematic history.

[TemakiTom]

"Network" is like "Broadcast News"...but for adults.

Has somebody said that already? I don't care.

The only difference (well, no the ONLY difference) is perhaps Holden was speaking from the heart. Can you believe he was in his FIFTIES while this was going on? He died a mere five years later.

I adore him and I adore Faye and this movie is one of my favorites. Sure it's funny, sure it's dark....but it's also sad and human. I adore it.

[cutis1000]

@marginallymental Now, I'm in agreement with you. :-)

[marginallymental]

@cutis1000, I probably do too! I wrote this in a bad mood, and as a woman, I just couldn't take one more male blaming speech excusing their own midlife crises. But I agree with you and others: Diana is a monster, and a thoroughly modern one at that, created and sustained by TV. I was young when this came out, and people were REALLY worried about what constant TV would do to the young and the society that spawned it. Now we know: it inured people like me to people like Diana, their influence

[marginallymental]

@cutis1000, I probably do too! I wrote this in a bad mood, and as a woman, I just couldn't take one more male blaming speech excusing their own midlife crises. But I agree with you and others: Diana is a monster, and a thoroughly modern one at that, created and sustained by TV. I was young when this came out, and people were REALLY worried about what constant TV would do to the young and the society that spawned it. Now we know: it inured people like me to people like Diana, their influence.

[cutis1000]

@marginallymental I disagree with your analysis entirely.