{"id":89782,"date":"2023-02-07T13:38:11","date_gmt":"2023-02-07T20:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=89782"},"modified":"2023-02-07T20:23:55","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T03:23:55","slug":"fail-safe-1964","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=89782","title":{"rendered":"Fail Safe (1964)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;In a nuclear war, everyone loses.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Poster-194x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"194\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-89785\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Poster-194x300.png 194w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Poster-83x128.png 83w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Poster-175x270.png 175w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Poster.png 607w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen a group of U.S. bombers are accidentally sent to destroy Moscow, the president (Henry Fonda) enlists help from a translator (Larry Hagman) in reaching the Soviet Prime Minister and attempting to prevent a nuclear disaster.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cold War<\/li>\n<li>Henry Fonda Films<\/li>\n<li>Nuclear Threat<\/li>\n<li>Sidney Lumet Films<\/li>\n<li>Walter Matthau Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary refers to this &#8220;very tense, grim drama, seriously directed by Sidney Lumet&#8221; &#8212; based on <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fail-Safe_(novel)\">a 1962 novel of the same name by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler<\/a> &#8212; as &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=51940\"><em>Dr. Strangelove<\/em><\/a> without the humor.&#8221; This story about &#8220;U.S. planes carrying nuclear bombs [who] are accidentally given the go-ahead to fly a bombing mission deep into Russia&#8221; &#8220;points out that there would be hawks in our government who&#8217;d insist that the U.S. should go through with a full-scale nuclear attack if such a mistake occurred rather than wait for the Russian retaliation.&#8221; What&#8217;s &#8220;most interesting is how we end up rooting for our own planes to be shot down, although the innocent men inside believe they&#8217;re just following orders.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Pilots.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Pilots-1024x568.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"355\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-89790\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Pilots-1024x568.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Pilots-300x166.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Pilots-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Pilots-768x426.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Pilots-487x270.png 487w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Pilots-1038x576.png 1038w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Pilots.png 1289w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I was very pleasantly surprised to see how well this &#8220;serious counterpart&#8221; to <em>Dr. Strangelove<\/em> (both produced by Columbia Pictures) has stood up. Fonda effectively embodies the measured president we all wish we had; and Hagman is quietly nuanced in one of his earliest film roles. Meanwhile, Lumet&#8217;s direction (with support from George Hirschfeld as DP, Walter Bernstein&#8217;s script, and Ralph Rosenblum&#8217;s editing) is spot-on in terms of creating and maintaining tension across the various inter-connected spheres of the storyline (primarily the president&#8217;s office, the War Room, and the pilots&#8217; cockpit). <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Presidents-Office.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Presidents-Office-1024x568.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"355\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-89791\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Presidents-Office-1024x568.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Presidents-Office-300x166.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Presidents-Office-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Presidents-Office-768x426.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Presidents-Office-487x270.png 487w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Presidents-Office-1038x576.png 1038w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Presidents-Office.png 1285w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This film is a literal nailbiter in terms of what will come next, with nothing less than the fate of our planet in the balance. You have every right to go into a viewing of it with trepidation &#8212; and come out feeling even more. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Henry Fonda as the President<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Fonda3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Fonda3-1024x571.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"357\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-89786\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Fonda3-1024x571.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Fonda3-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Fonda3-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Fonda3-768x428.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Fonda3-484x270.png 484w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Fonda3.png 1293w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Larry Hagman as Buck<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Hagman5.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Hagman5-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-89789\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Hagman5-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Hagman5-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Hagman5-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Hagman5-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Hagman5-480x270.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Hagman5.png 1303w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>George Hirschfeld&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Screen.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Screen-1024x570.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"356\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-89787\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Screen-1024x570.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Screen-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Screen-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Screen-768x427.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Screen-485x270.png 485w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Screen-1038x576.png 1038w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Fail-Safe-Screen.png 1289w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Walter Bernstein&#8217;s screenplay<\/li>\n<li>Ralph Rosenblum&#8217;s editing <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a powerful Cold War thriller. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Good Show<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0058083\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/4556\/fail-safe#articles-reviews\">TCM Articles<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.moriareviews.com\/sciencefiction\/fail-safe-1964.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/reviews\/review\/74181\">DVD Talk Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;In a nuclear war, everyone loses.&#8221; Synopsis: When a group of U.S. bombers are accidentally sent to destroy Moscow, the president (Henry Fonda) enlists help from a translator (Larry Hagman) in reaching the Soviet Prime Minister and attempting to prevent a nuclear disaster. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Cold War Henry Fonda Films Nuclear Threat Sidney Lumet Films Walter Matthau Films Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: Peary refers to this &#8220;very tense, grim drama, seriously directed by Sidney Lumet&#8221; &#8212; based&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=89782\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=89782"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89819,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89782\/revisions\/89819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=89782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=89782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=89782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}