Fail_Safe

Starring: George Clooney, Noah Wyle, Richard Dreyfuss, et al.

Product Description

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: DVD
• Language: English
• UPC: 085391865322
• Release Date: January 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Publisher: WarnerBrothers
• Director: Stephen Frears
• Starring: George Clooney, Noah Wyle, Richard Dreyfuss, Hank Azaria, Brian Dennehy, Harvey Keitel, Don Cheadle, James Cromwell, Sam Elliott
• Runtime: 1 hour, 24 minutes
• Number of Disks: 1
• Other Video Info: Multiple Formats; Black & White; Widescreen; NTSC
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.8" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

The technology exceeds our grasp.

We are at the height of the Cold War. We use assured mutual destruction to keep the commies at bay. The main defense is the use of strategic bombers to deliver nuclear weapons. In the event of a perceived threat, we send the bombers to points called Fail-Safe. From there, if the threat is determined to be real, the president gives the go signal in a coded message. At a further point, there is no recall. What if the recall signal was jammed? We are now faced with many questions that move from the theoretical. Is it a trick? Will the Ruskies believe it is an accident? Should we take the first strike initiative? Is mutual destruction assured? In today’s world, it is easy and commonplace to imagine some artificial intelligence that we have ceded authority to taking over for malevolent or even benevolent purposes. We have every type of movie from “2001” (1968) with the HAL 9000 to “The Forbin Project” (1970) with Colossus. This film, however, is a lot spookier because it is played out with what looks like it could be a real scenario. It also looks like it could have been a play, as the action is mostly dialogue that takes place in two rooms and the interior of a strategic bomber. It has a claustrophobic feel with the black and white, with oddly placed lighting. According to “A Blockbuster Glossary of Movie and Film Terms,” this is known as a “bottle movie”. There are many fine actors in this film. One surprisingly strong performance was by Larry Hagman as Buck, the interpreter for the President. The survival of the world hinged on his facial expressions as he had to interpret not just the words but the attitude of the Soviet Premier.