Fail Safe (2000)

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

Directors:

Stephen Frears, Martin Pasetta (as Martin A. Pasetta Jr.)

Writers:

Eugene Burdick (novel), Harvey Wheeler (novel)

Stars:

Walter Cronkite, Richard Dreyfuss, Noah Wyle

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

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 | political thriller | live broadcast | u.s. president | nuclear war | 

---

Taglines:

The World on The Brink of Accidental War -- UNFOLDING LIVE!

---

Genres:

Drama | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 April 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Zona de seguridad

Filming Locations:

Stage 15, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Maysville Pictures,Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Fail-Safe (1964) featured Phyllis Hill, who had been the second wife of José Ferrer. Ferrer's third wife was George Clooney's aunt, Rosemary Clooney.

---

Goofs

General Bogan refers to the enlisted missile technician as "Sergeant Collins" even though he is clearly wearing the stripes of a Chief Master Sergeant. In the A.F. a Chief Master Sergeant is always referred to as "Chief" and never as "Sergeant".

---

Quotes

Gordon Knapp: If you pile all these electronic systems one on top of the other, sooner or later you're going to get a faulty transistor or a damaged rectifier, and then the whole thing just shuts down. Even computers suffer fatigue. They become erratic, they break down, just like overworked people.
Prof. Groeteschele: Excuse me, but you're overlooking one important factor: Humans control those machines. Humans can see an error and correct it.
Gordon Knapp: I'm sorry, sir, but you are misinformed. The fact of the matter is that these machines...

---

Connections

References My Fair Lady (1964)

User Reviews

a good remake

one of the best TV films I have seen in recent years! However, I must say that I thought the original was a very good film indeed, so I might of been biased. The thing that I liked about the latest remake was that the producers decided that the TV broadcast was going to be just like the original and not brought up to date. This gave the film a claustrophobic feeling to it and made it more real. So many films today are just explosions and S.F.X. that the real stories are left behind. A well made movie, and a joy to see Richard Dreyfuss back to his top form.