20 Movies That Prove That The 1970s Was The Best Decade For Film

11. Network

'Television will never be the same' Sidney Lumet's satire of network television was eerily close to predicting the future of the medium. While it didn't specifically namedrop Jerry Springer or The Kardashians, it certainly did its best to warn us for the evils to come. The story concerns Howard Beale, a long-serving anchor who is told that he will be fired within a fortnight because of his declining ratings. Beale threatens to kill himself on air on his next broadcast and produces a bunch of long diatribes condemning contemporary society. Eventually, drastic measures are taken to contain Beale, whose popularity is rapidly increasing. The performances in Network, like many '70s films, are absolutely first-class. Peter Finch as Howard Beale is especially good and he was posthumously awarded the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1977. Network is a film that is perpetually relevant.