Loved it...Very Powerful!
Annie Van Auken | 02/03/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I was blown away by this movie, and its really top cast. The script was GREAT and the some of the lines are hoot. Look for a nice little early perfomance by Brad Pitt as the TV Cameraman. Finney is masterful."
Tarnished 'Image'
Annie Van Auken | Planet Earth | 02/27/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"THE IMAGE is a latter-day take on NETWORK (VHS) (DVD), and like that earlier work this made-for-HBOer has its share of clichéd characters. There's the successful and somewhat reckless news magazine anchor (Finney), his friend/segment producer who's grown jaundiced over time (Mahoney), their shrewish taskmaster boss (Kurtz) and even an ambitious young photographer (Pitt).
The main plotline has been described elsewhere on this page: Texas S&L president commits suicide after a damaging exposé airs on the weekly newsmagazine hosted by Jason Cromwell. Subsequent exculpatory information is uncovered by Cromwell's producer, Irv Mickelson who pays a high price for his investigation. The professional and personal relationship between workaholic Cromwell and beeraholically eccentric Mickelson (he holds serious conversations with a giant teddy bear!) is the best element of this creaky film.
Brad Pitt as a twangy Texan who specializes in filming cattle and barnyard critters makes for a pleasant departure from a plodding story. A trailer trash skinhead seems haphazardly thrown in as an afterthought-- the kid delivers his three repulsive lines and is gone.
"The Image" is available on DVD.
Also recommended:
BROADCAST NEWS (1984) features a strong ensemble cast portraying D.C. newsroom personnel in a dog-eat-dog business. (VHS) (DVD)
Parenthetical number preceding title is a 1 to 10 viewer poll rating found at a film resource website.
The Image (TV-1990) - Albert Finney/John Mahoney/Swoozie Kurtz/Kathy Baker/Marsha Mason/Spaulding Gray/Brad Pitt"