10 More Movie Speeches That Dominated The Film

By Chris McKittrick /

7. I'm Mad As Hell... - Network

One could make a list of best movie speeches just from the Howard Beale's rants in Network, the prophetic 1976 drama that attacks the television news industry. But it's the first speech in the movie that sets the bar. During a broadcast, UBS Evening New anchorman Howard Beale (Peter Finch) seemingly snaps and delivers a speech about how times are getting worse, pointing out " The dollar buys a nickel's worth, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter." But instead of being scared about the way things are, Beale commands his audience to get mad about it. To be specific, he tells them to get up, open their windows, and yell out "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!" which becomes the mantra for the movie. Naturally, executives at the station use Beale's "crazy old man" appearance as a ratings-grabber, but that doesn't mean he isn't speaking the truth.