Rent Fail-Safe (1964)
3.9 of 5 from 113 ratings
1h 47min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- When a computer error deploys a squadron of SAC bombers to destroy Moscow, the American President (Henry Fonda) tries to call them back. But their sophisticated fail-safe system prevents him from aborting the attack, so he must convince the Soviets not to retaliate. In desperation, the President offers to sacrifice an American city if his pilots succeed in their deadly mission over Moscow. This Cold War thriller builds tension and suspense with every tick of the nuclear clock.
- Actors:
- Henry Fonda, Walter Matthau, Fritz Weaver, Dan O'Herlihy, Frank Overton, Edward Binns, Larry Hagman, William Hansen, Russell Hardie, Russell Collins, Sorrell Booke, Nancy Berg, John Connell, Frank Simpson, Hildy Parks, Janet Ward, Dom DeLuise, Dana Elcar, Stewart Germain, Louise Larabee
- Directors:
- Sidney Lumet
- Producers:
- Max E. Youngstein
- Voiced By:
- Charles Tyner
- Writers:
- Walter Bernstein, Eugene Burdick, Peter George
- Aka:
- Fail Safe
- Studio:
- Sony
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama, Thrillers
- Collections:
- Films by Year, Films From: 1964, The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to Sidney Lumet, The Instant Expert's Guide to Stephen Frears, Top 10 Films About Planes and Pilots, Top Films
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 03/02/2020
- Run Time:
- 112 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.85:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Audio commentary from 2000 featuring director Sidney Lumet
- New interview with film critic J. Hoberman on 1960's nuclear paranoia and Cold War films
- "Fail Safe" Revisited, a short documentary from 2000 including interviews with Lumet, screenwriter Walter Bernstein, and actor Dan O'Herlihy
- An essay by film critic Bilge Ebiri
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Reviews (1) of Fail-Safe
Final Conflict. - Fail-Safe review by Steve
A cold war film about an error in the entrenched missile systems of USA and the Soviet Union which triggers a nuclear exchange. A computer malfunction fails to step down a resolved warning on America's satellite surveillance, releasing warheads which no human is able to recall.
Critics feel that this bombed at the box office because Dr. Strangelove was released earlier the same year and satirised a plot that Fail-Safe played for real. But it may also be because Sidney Lumet's film is quite cerebral and loaded with theory. Every aspect of the ethics and efficiency of the nuclear stand-off is discussed. Walter Matthau's character even delivers a lecture!
Though the themes are complex, they are interesting and accessible. And once the missiles are in transit to Moscow the film becomes incredibly tense as the President (Henry Fonda) ironically tries to help the Soviets shoot down American bombers. And then tragic as he negotiates a horrifying recompense for American bombs and the loss of five million lives.
There is no action in Fail-Safe, but it is one of the greatest war films ever made. It is always relevant. Fonda was born to play the US President, and pre-stardom Matthau is convincingly malevolent as a war games consultant who recommends exploiting the accident to start a conflict which will end Soviet communism. It's a story that seeks to educate, but it is also a phenomenally suspenseful encounter with the ultimate catastrophe.
1 out of 2 members found this review helpful.