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 | Live Television | Nuclear War | Atomic Weapons | Live Broadcast

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)

A look and feel different from any other TV production I have seen

I was totally blown away by this production. Despite the fact that the material has been filmed before, I felt like I was watching something totally new and original. This is due in no small part to the fact that director Stephen Frears and crew had the guts to do this as a live production AND film it in black and white. It made me feel like I was watching an old news broadcast. It also had a bit of a glossy look to it, sort of like the black and white films of the '30s and '40s. The performances are uniformly excellent, especially Richard Dreyfuss, Noah Wyle and Hank Azaria. There is no musical score, so you are either hearing dialogue and a few SFX or dead silence, which only adds to the eerie effect. The scary thing is that a scenario like this one could happen. If this is repeated or comes out on video, RUN to see it. You won't see another like it.