This media satire, directed by Sidney Lumet from a brilliantly incisive script by Paddy Chayefsky, is an X-ray of the corrupted soul of a corporate-dominated America, startlingly prescient in its anticipation of today’s outrage-driven news cycle. At a struggling television network, ambitious executive Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway) finds herself with a hit on her hands when disgruntled newscaster Howard Beale (Peter Finch) goes off script, transforming himself into a mad-as-hell prophet railing against the ills of modern society. But can she control the populist revolution they have unleashed on the airwaves? Garnering four Oscars, including for Dunaway, Finch, and Chayefsky, this no-holds-barred New Hollywood classic remains as fearlessly funny as it is unnervingly relevant.

A Q&A between Robert Townsend and Bay Area Journalist G. Allen Johnson will follow the film.

This film is screening as part of CinemaSFBay’s Artist in Residency series with writer-actor-director Robert Townsend in person at the Balboa and 4-Star August 5 through 9th.

Tickets for this film can be acquired in-person at the Box Office with loyalty cards or our Annual CinemaSF passes.

Make it a double feature with A Face in the Crowd at 4:30 PM!