Fail-Safe | | Cast : | Walter Matthau, Fritz Weaver, Henry Fonda | | Director : | Sidney Lumet | | Studio : | Columbia/Tristar Studios | | Format : | Black & White, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | October 07, 1964 | | DVD Released Date : | October 31, 2000 | | Language : | French (Dubbed), Portuguese (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language), Thai (Subtitled), Korean (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | NR (Not Rated) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 12, 2005 | | Summary | Armageddon | Content
 | I have to think that this film took some courage to make, because it doesn't posit the Soviet Union as evil, which was not politically popular in the early sixties. This film makes a simple statement, in a very dramatic way, about the horrifically high stakes of modern weapons technology, and the inevitability of mechanical or human error. Fail-Safe starts off a bit slow, but there is nail-biting tension during the second half. It's hard to imagine that this film came out in the same year as Dr. Strangelove. The two films are so similar in many ways, and yet could not be more different in style. I prefer Dr. Strangelove because horrible realities are easier to take with a bit of satire and humor. But this serious, stark film is a great classic about nuclear war, and the shocking ending is unforgettable. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 07, 2005 | | Summary | 1 Star isn't really fair, but Amazon forces me to select something | Content
| I've said this once before, Amazon does their customers a disservice by forcing us to select a number of stars, we need a no star option as well. My vhs tape arrived broken. I was very disappointed and ended up having to rent the movie, but my money was fully refunded. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 17, 2005 | | Summary | Safe And Sound | Content
| Director Sidney Lumet, was honored at the 2005 Academy Award ceremony, for a career filled with landmark films. I will never forget the first time I saw 1957's 12 Angry Men in film school, or seeing his great collaborations with actor Al Pacino---1973's Serpico and 1975's Dog Day Afternoon, not to mention, Murder On The Orient Express, Network, and of course Fail Safe. That film may have been made during the cold war but like many of Lumet's movies, it still resonates today.
Based on the novel by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler and adapted by Walter Berstien, Fail-Safe takes place at the Strategic Air Command headquarters, where a misguided transmission sends a squadron of bombers hurtling towards Russia, fully prepared to drop their atomic weaponry on Moscow. Air Force commander Genrtal Bogan (Frank Overton) desperately tries to establish radio contact with the bombers, but once the pilots have passed the "fail safe" point, they've been instructed to disregard any reversal of orders. Racing against time, the US President (Henry Fonda), through his interpreter Buck (Larry Hagman), informs the Russian premiere of the impending nuclear disaster. Working in concert with SAC, the Russians send up interceptors to shoot down the American bombers, while some of the planes run out of fuel and crash. Unfortunately, one aircraft, piloted by Jack Grady (Edward Binns), manages to escape destruction and continues on its fatal mission. Realizing that Moscow is doomed, the President must decide how to avert World War III.
Released hot on the heels of director Stanley Kubrick's dark cold war comedy Dr. Strangelove, Fail Safe had a law suit against it from Kubrick claiming plagerism...While sharing a basic premise, I personally see them as two seperate films, but each one standing on its own merits. Both very good--Strangelove is wickedly dark satire, while Fail Safe is a riveting drama. Fail safe boasts a top notch cast that is highlighted by a dramatic turn from Walter Matthau as the hawkish scientist Prof. Groeteschele before he became known as a funny man. Fritz Weaver as Col Cascio, a round-the-bend millitary man who's loosing his grip, on top of Fonda as our Commander In Chief and you can't go wrong. The film is a real nail bitter even by today's standards. For its time, that realism had to be tempered with a government "disclaimer", at the film's end, insisting that the events depicted in the film could not possibly happen. How's that for scary? Seems like a pretty real senario to me. Beyond its "warning" the film is great entertanment that holds up. I guess that's why actor George Clooney and a few of his cohorts decided to remake the film in 2000 for a TV audience.
MGM has included a few solid extras on the DVD. Sidney Lumet provides a feature-length, screen-specific, Director's Commentary. During this very informative track, he discusses Stanley Kubrick's lawsuit, the difficulties he had with the Defense Department, and other great tidbits. It's a full bidied track that is never dull. The original sixteen-minute retrospective called Fail-Safe Revisited, includes interviews with Lumet, Berstein, the late great character actor Dan O'Herlihy to offer their memories of the film. George Clooney even shows up to offer up why he chose to remake Fail Safe. Some of Lumet's comments are heard on his audio track...Cast and Crew static notes on the lives and films of the director and three of the actors and theatrical trailers for Fail-Safe, The Caine Mutiny, Das Boot, and The Guns of Navarone tops off the disc.
The original Fail Safe is must see. It's suspense drama at its best |
| Rating | | | Date | April 23, 2005 | | Summary | A Sci-Fi in times of the Cold War | Content
| "Fail Safe" (1964 - 112 minutes), photographed in Black & White, is a drama of science fiction directed by Sidney Lumet from the script of Walter Bernstein, based on the book of Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler. Fails in the system of the Strategical Air Force Command of the United States sends orders for six B-58 bombers, equipped with nuclear ogives, to bomb Moscow. General Bogan [the actor Frank Overton], Commander of the Air Force, tries desperately to establish contact by radio with the bombers pilots, but they had been taught that once exceeded the "security limit" any order of reversion must be disrespected, because the enemy can know how to imitate the voice of the commanders and even of the president. Running against time, the president [the actor Henry Fonda], helped by Buck, an interpreter [Larry Hagman], informs to the Russian prime minister the imminent nuclear disaster. Working with the Strategical Air Force Command, the Russians send all their antiaircraft armory to knock down the American bombers. Unhappyly, an aircraft commanded by colonel Grady [Ed Binns] escapes and continues in its fatal mission. Perceiving that Moscow is doomed, the president takes then a radical decision to prevent the Third World-Wide War.
In Time: There was a remake of "Fail Safe" produced in live with 85 minutes by CBS in 2000, directed by Stephen Frears. In this film, also in times of the Cold War, an unidentified flying object intrigues the American army that orders some bombers to investigate. When they arrive, they discover that it was only a commercial airplane out of its route. However, a fail in the computers of the Department of Defense sends to a squadron of bombers a transmission of the codes of a nuclear attack. The orders are irreversible and indicate that the target is Moscow. From now on, the Pentagon and the proper president of the United States fight to prevent the Third World-Wide War.
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| Rating | | | Date | March 02, 2005 | | Summary | Really worth having in your collection | Content
| I'll never forget my reaction the first time viewing Fail Safe when the US Ambassador in Moscow describes the flash from an atomic blast. Good story, aside from its preachy anti-war passages proven wrong by history, great acting and all in the B&W format. Good performances from Larry Hagman and of all people, Dom Deluise! Henry Fonda's President is terrific. |
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