Everyone saw your fly down when you stood up…

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Welcome to Tinfoil Hat Thursday.ย  “I am Howard Beale” should be a T-shirt just as much as “Who is John Galt.”ย  Beale is a man who finally cracked from all the bullshit, and was then exploited by his cynical bosses to make a few bucks, like he was some circus freak show exhibit. A funny thing happened to this movie on the way to pop culture fame in the 21st century.ย  This movie damn near vanished off the face of the earth.ย  Blame the shift from video tapes to DVDs and then pay per streaming,ย  if you think that is what happened.ย  Or instead realize what a profound truth this film was telling. And that many people might not want you to think about their profession in that light… People that control the media, to be precise. As a result this isn’t on free streaming right now nor can you find this over the air. That’s really all it takes nowadays for a film to be forgotten. Even if it has 25,000 audience reviews.

So here we are, on the Internet Archive, watching a copy of a film a lot of people would like us to forget. Older Glibs have seen this.ย  Not recently, though, unless they had a copy stashed somewhere. Younger Glibs may have only heard about this film, but never viewed it.ย  No matter what category you fall into, watch this film tonight. How good is this film?ย  Well, it’s definitely one of the best films I have ever shown. In 2005, the screenplay by Paddy Chayefsky was voted one of the 10 best in history by both writer’s guilds. Damn, is this film profound in the 21st century. It ceases to be a black comedy and becomes a parable. That makes it all the more strange that this film isn’t more well known today. Kids should be wearing Howard Beale shirts everywhere.

In interviews, Paddy Chayefsky talked about his concerns with television news reporting,ย  He saw the news media as “an indestructible and terrifying giant that is stronger than the government.”ย  How right you are, my little droogie. Paddy wrote a number of screenplays, including The Hospital and Altered States (which was butchered by the director). Looking back at his creative output, the zenith is definitely tonight’s film.

Since we are on the Internet Archive this film may not be repeatable.ย  Things come and go on there all the time.ย  So enjoy this while you can. Also, you’ll most likely be watching on your PC instead of a nice flat screen.ย  This is the price you pay sometimes. It will be worth it.

So Watch!ย  Or Don’t!ย  Everything is voluntary… Or is it?ย  Next week, Soylent Green.ย  I will only do that if tonight goes well. Maybe the Twonky. After that will be the last week in January.ย  And I have something very special planned…

IMPORTANT NOTE: Internet Archive is a little wonky.ย  It is unlikely the movie will play the first time ‘Play’ is clicked.ย  Be patient, you may have to try up to three times to get it to start playing the film. Chrome, Safari or FireFox are recommended.ย  Microsoft hates you and wants you to only watch things Bill Gates likes. This movie will play, it was tested by the crack GlibFlick team over Christmas break. This is the only way I can get some of these films, so I apologize for any inconvenience.

Feel a little tense after watching the film? Here’s some music while you chill in the luxurious GilbFlick post-show lobby