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Movies that feel like Network (1976)

If you loved Network, the closest films we have are The Holy Mountain (1973), The Square (2017) and The Great Beauty (2013). All three share Network's contemplative and darkly funny feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 10 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu and others, checked against today's data.

When veteran anchorman Howard Beale is forced to retire his 25-year post because of his age, he announces to viewers that he will kill himself during his farewell broadcast. Network executives rethink their decision when his fanatical tirade results in a spike in ratings.

πŸ… 90% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 8.1 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Sidney Lumetcontemplativedarkly funny

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If Network hit the spot, these will too

The Holy Mountain poster
The Holy Mountain
1973 Β· dir. Alejandro Jodorowsky
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.7drama

Common ground: satire

The Alchemist assembles together a group of people from all walks of life to represent the planets in the solar system. The occult adept's intention is to put his recruits through strange mystical rites and divest them of their worldly baggage before embarking on a trip to Lotus Island. There they ascend the Holy Mountain to displace the immortal gods who secretly rule the universe.

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The Square poster
The Square
2017 Β· dir. Ruben Γ–stlund
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.1drama

Both are built on the same subject: satire

The difference: Made in the 2010s, in a different era of the craft

A prestigious Stockholm museum's chief art curator finds himself in times of both professional and personal crisis as he attempts to set up a controversial new exhibit.

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The Great Beauty poster
The Great Beauty
2013 Β· dir. Paolo Sorrentino
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.7drama

Contemplative where it counts, darkly funny underneath

Jep Gambardella has seduced his way through the lavish nightlife of Rome for decades, but after his 65th birthday and a shock from the past, Jep looks past the nightclubs and parties to find a timeless landscape of absurd, exquisite beauty.

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The Ruling Class poster
The Ruling Class
1972 Β· dir. Peter Medak
πŸ… 83%β˜… 7.2comedy Β· drama

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

The difference: Leans harder into comedy than Network does

When the Earl of Gurney dies in a cross-dressing accident, his schizophrenic son, Jack, inherits the Gurney estate. Jack is not the average nobleman; he sings and dances across the estate and thinks he is Jesus reincarnated. Believing that Jack is mentally unfit to own the estate, the Gurney family plots to steal Jack's inheritance. As their outrageous schemes fail, the family strives to cure Jack of his bizarre behavior, with disastrous results.

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Ace in the Hole poster
Ace in the Hole
1951 Β· dir. Billy Wilder
πŸ… 88%β˜… 8.1drama

The same preoccupation in both: reporter

An arrogant reporter exploits a story about a man trapped in a cave to revitalize his career.

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Force Majeure poster
Force Majeure
2014 Β· dir. Ruben Γ–stlund
πŸ… 94%β˜… 7.2drama

Both lean on dark humor more than on drama

While holidaying in the French Alps, a Swedish family deals with acts of cowardliness as an avalanche breaks out.

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American Beauty poster
American Beauty
1999 Β· dir. Sam Mendes
πŸ… 87%β˜… 8.3drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: adultery

Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.

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Withnail & I poster
Withnail & I
1987 Β· dir. Bruce Robinson
πŸ… 84%β˜… 7.5comedy Β· drama

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

Two out-of-work actors -- the anxious, luckless Marwood and his acerbic, alcoholic friend, Withnail -- spend their days drifting between their squalid flat, the unemployment office and the pub. When they take a holiday "by mistake" at the country house of Withnail's flamboyantly gay uncle, Monty, they encounter the unpleasant side of the English countryside: tedium, terrifying locals and torrential rain.

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Election poster
Election
1999 Β· dir. Alexander Payne
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7.2comedy Β· drama

Both run darkly funny where it counts

A high school teacher meets his match in an over-achieving student politician.

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Lost in America poster
Lost in America
1985 Β· dir. Albert Brooks
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7comedy

New York City shapes both of them

The difference: Missing the stillness of Network

David and Linda Howard are successful yuppies from LA. When he gets a job disappointment, David convinces Linda that they should quit their jobs, liquidate their assets, and emulate the movie Easy Rider, spending the rest of their lives traveling around America...in a Winnebago.

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The Producers poster
The Producers
1968 Β· dir. Mel Brooks
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7.5comedy

Contemporaries, and it shows

A conniving Broadway producer and his meek accountant plan to profit from charming wealthy old biddies to invest in an overbudget production, and then put on a sure-fire disaster, so nobody will ask for their money back β€” and what's more disastrous than a tasteless musical celebrating Adolf Hitler.

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Serpico poster
Serpico
1973 Β· dir. Sidney Lumet
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.7crime Β· drama Β· history

Sidney Lumet directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

New York cop Frank Serpico blows the whistle on the rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.

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In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Network’s defining feeling.