Fail Safe (2000) (TV)

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writers (WGA):

Eugene Burdick (novel) and
Harvey Wheeler (novel) ...

Release Date:

9 April 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Cold War tensions climb to a fever pitch when a U.S. bomber is accidentally ordered to drop a nuclear warhead on Moscow. |

Plot Keywords:

Cold War | Nuclear Holocaust | Live Broadcast | Doomsday | Nuclear Threat

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Walter Cronkite	...	Himself - Host
Richard Dreyfuss	...	President
Noah Wyle	...	Buck
Brian Dennehy	...	Gen. Bogan
Sam Elliott	...	Congressman Raskob
James Cromwell	...	Gordon Knapp
John Diehl	...	Col. Cascio
Hank Azaria	...	Prof. Groeteschele
Norman Lloyd	...	Defense Secretary Swenson
Bill Smitrovich	...	Gen. Stark (as William Smitrovich)
Don Cheadle	...	Lt. Jimmy Pierce
George Clooney	...	Col. Jack Grady
Harvey Keitel	...	Brig. Gen. Warren Black
Doris Belack	...	Mrs. Johnson
Grant Heslov	...	Jimmy

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:PG | Iceland:12 | Singapore:PG | Canada:G (TV rating) | Germany:12 | Netherlands:AL | Spain:13 | Finland:K-10

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Maysville Pictures

Trivia:

The movie was performed on live television in black and white and required two sound stages on the Warner Brothers studio lot. Harvey Keitel had to run between the two stages for some of his scenes.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Buck begins translating, he begins speaking *immediately* upon hearing the Soviet premier speak, betraying the fact that he's just reciting lines in a script. A real translator would need to listen to most of the first sentence before speaking, especially with languages that place the verb at or near the end of the sentence, as most languages other than English do.

Quotes:

Tommy Grady, Col. Grady's Son: Dad! How long is this one gonna be?
Col. Jack Grady, Command Pilot Group 6: Shouldn't be too late.
Tommy Grady, Col. Grady's Son: Are you sure?
Col. Jack Grady, Command Pilot Group 6: I'm positive.
Tommy Grady, Col. Grady's Son: Only fools are positive.
Col. Jack Grady, Command Pilot Group 6: Are you sure?
Tommy Grady, Col. Grady's Son: I'm positive.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Man Who Shot Chinatown: The Life and Work of John A. Alonzo (2007)

What's the problem?

I just watched this on DVD. I'd already read some of the lukewarm comments by some here but bought it anyway - not having had the chance to see it on TV.

I simply can't fault it. It was well done in every department, it was just as tense as the original and just as well acted. Far from over the top scenery chewing, Dreyfuss's performance was on the money. What, he wasn't "statesman" enough? How many *real* presidents are?

Maybe it was the fact that most of the reviewers had to suffer the standard multitude of commercial breaks wrecking the tension, but viewed in one sitting on DVD, this thing packed a wallop.

And I'm not easily pleased.....