Fail-Safe (1964, United States)
Categories: aircraft movies political movies
Fail-SafeDirector: Sidney Lumet
Czas: 110 minut
Laguages: English
Categories: aircraft movies political movies
Fail-SafeDirector: Sidney Lumet
Laguages: English
American nuclear defence system produces a small failure that might start the global war. The final global war.
In the middle of Cold War political tensions between USA and Soviet Union are heightened. On an alert signal American strategic bombers take off and head towards Soviet borders across the North Pole. The crews prepare for retaliation strike in case this time the alert was a real thread to American cities. The crews open the envelopes with codes that are needed to confirm the use of nuclear weapons and arm their arsenal. As it turns out the alert was again false, so the bombers are being ordered to return to their bases. But one of them fails to receive that signal and continues the mission to drop nuclear weapons on Moscow. When headquarters realize what is going on they try to find a way of stopping the crew, but according to the protocols they are suppose to ignore any other ways of contact than the electronic way. President of Untied States authorizes the jet fighters to intercept and shot down the bomber.
Interesting drama showing how the whole nuclear might of United States was dependable on electronics and security procedures. One failure might lead to inevitable nuclear war and both sides would have to depend on human factor to avoid the destruction of human kind. Although this movie shows very little action and most of the plot takes place in cabinets of high level officials it is a gripping drama that was made as one of the wake up calls (others being f.e. On The Beach, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb) for the American and Soviet governments to show them how turning Cold War into nuclear war will destroy both sides and how close they are to starting the holocaust.
Our rating
4.8
Film value
7 / 10
Realism factor
3 / 5
Adventure factor
1 / 5
Historical accuracy
1 / 5
Sidney Lumet
director
Walter Bernstein
screenplay
Eugene Burdick
screenplay
Harvey Wheeler
screenplay
Henry Fonda
as The President
Walter Matthau
as Groeteschele
Dan O’Herlihy
as General Black
Frank Overton
as General Bogan
Edward Binns
as Colonel Grady
Fritz Weaver
as Colonel Cascio
Larry Hagman
as Buck