Broadcast News (1987)

A Classic--Excels In Every Way

I saw this when it first came out in 1987, and remembered liking it. Watched it again last week, and liked it even more. Its achievement is that it is able to tell a compelling personal story (a love triangle of sorts) at the same time that it takes a snapshot of a pivotal moment in time in an industry critical to American democracy. It's very different from Network, which mixes black humor and over-the-top satire with a couple of personal stories and a cheesy, poorly realized romance, but the two taken together can tell you a lot about where American news media went wrong. I think James L. Brooks' script and direction are topnotch, and the three principals, Hunter, (Albert) Brooks, and Hurt are all good. Hunter is brilliant, and Brooks is as real and convincing as he has ever been in anything!

So many movies tack on the romance as an artificial way of generating audience interest. But this movie makes the romance part of the overall commentary, and the love triangle's eventual resolution is completely intertwined with the film's take on journalistic ethics--such an effective way of delivering a social statement in a personal way that is convincing and integral to the larger story.

Pretty much everyone got nominated for this--Albert Brooks, Hunter, Hurt, and James Brooks. And they got nothing, unfortunately, losing out to The Last Emperor, Moonstruck, and Wall Street, for goodness' sake. Still, a fine movie, well-crafted, intensely acted, and poignant. And still pretty tight and crisp twenty years later. Not a lot of excess, even at just over two hours. Well worth a view. July 9, 2008

Never forget, WE'RE the story...

The only movie worthy of being paired with Paddy Chayefsky's Network. Yes, James L. Brooks is brilliant (isn't that a given?), but the man's a prophetic wizard, too, because in this single film, he correctly predicted the downard slide of our modern news business.

Of course, Chayefsky did this years earlier in Network (news as entertainment; hijacking of "objectivity" for political agenda; ratings ruling and overruling everything; news "stars" in front of cameras mattering more to "corporate" than good writing and reporting). Chayefsky's take, however, is much darker, less human, and does push the envelope of credulity. Broadcast News is all too accurate. Eerily accurate. If you haven't seen it, you sure should (and Network, too, if you haven't - a great double feature). April 6, 2008

One of the 80's Best

Every once in a while Hollywood hits one out of the park. See this movie.

In a decade mostly unremarkable in terms of cinematic history, "Broadcast News" stands out like a polished gem. There isn't a single aspect of the film---acting, writing, directing---that can be faulted.

Too, it is a rare Hollywood offering which is actually ABOUT something---in this case, the gradual transforming of a television news department into just another cache of profits and entertainment. All of the characters play their roles skillfully yet humanly and no one is a cardboard cutout.

Director James Brooks passed on any availably facile plot lines and let the story take its own difficult, rocky road, to great artistic advantage. So many directors would have contrived a glossy romantic wrapup to the film and Brooks, to his credit, resisted that temptation.

Jack Nicholson makes a cameo in a rare, subtle performance which I think is one of his best.

To me, this movie is a veritable litmus test of people and their values. If you go to see this picture with someone and they say, "Well, I don't think what William Hurt's character did was so bad," you know you're dealing with one kind of person; if another person says, "Are you kidding? What he did was terrible, a monstrous betrayal!" you know you're dealing with another kind of person. These two types should definitely not attempt to marry or raise kids together! October 17, 2007

intelligently written and wonderfully acted

This is a triumph of insight. The actors have meaty parts - all written in heartbreakingly real facets - and they bring the characters to life in a multitude of ways.

This is not a "light" comedy - although it is funny.
This is a real look at the business of news, and some of the people who might populate it in real life. It is a treasure...thoughtful, provoking, and satisfying.

enjoy this on a night when you want to sit back, think, and enjoy. May 26, 2007

I guess its suppose to be good, I just didn't see it as spectacular

This movie has been around for almost 20 years now, and I have never seen it all the way through. I ended up with a VHS copy, so I finally watched it, and now I know why i always turned the channel. I just don't think its that great. I think the movie is based around a whiney women that honestly does repel men, and two men that have no brain chaising her, one because he doesn't have a brain (Tom, played by william hurt) and Aaron (robert Prosky), who is the "desparate" nice guy who has worked himself into the friend role. This movie was way to long, and the conclusion was as expected. Just no suspense or reason to have the movie take so much time. 132 minutes I can't get back, and 50 cents I can't return to the movie store. I guess their are some people that think this movie is "quirky" and "right on", but I think this movie is a perfect example of how people make their lives to difficult by being Phoney, and not being themselves and owning up to what they believe in and what their true feelings are. Superficialness at its best. Not worth buying in my book, but hey, most people have it rated as a classic so I am the outcast outsider. At least enjoy it for a good price and buy it here on amazon used. November 26, 2006

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