Rating: 
Summary: The Ultimate Drama
Review: What a sobering view of the "Cold War"!Fail Safe is a far-too-real scenario that has almost happened a few times. On a few occassions, both America and Russia came within 2 minutes of starting World War III, due to technological
"glitches", such as satellites mistaking the Sun's reflection off of clouds for the heat of an ICBM. The message the movie tries to make is that mankind was becoming too dependent upon technology. And we were going to pay the ultimate price for this. It's amazing that the authors of the novel the movie of the same name is based upon had such great "vision" and foresight. Fail Safe also does a fantastic job of showing the Cold War paranoia of both the American & Soviet military and government "higher ups". For those who have not seen it, the ending will send a chill down your spine, and may even bring tears to your eyes! There were great acting performances all around. The actors that played General Black & General Bogan, the two "voices of reason"
in the military leadership are two of the best performances I've ever seen. Henry Fonda brought to life his role as the most powerful man in the world. The late Walter Matthau was outstanding as the politcal scientist-Pentagon advisor who wanted the U.S. to take advantage of the madness to wipe-out our
"mortal enemy". Fail Safe is a movie "for the ages"!
Rating:
Summary: Great Video
Review: This movie, although released in 1964 is, in my opinion, one of the most terrifying movies I ever saw. What this movie shows in sometimes graphic detail what happens when we (the United States), create the ultimate system against war and yet that same system becomes our adversary rather than our ally. What I mean is this system named "Fail Safe" plunges the U.S. into a war with the Soviet Union. What I like is when the the President (Henry Fonda) tries to assure The Premier of the Soviet Union (in the movie the Soviet leader is referred to as, "Mr. Chairman") through his (the President's inturpreter "Buck" played by Larry Hagman) that the attack on his country (the Soviet Union) in general, Moscow in paticular,was an accident through a number of conversations via the offical "Hot Line" between Washington, D.C. and Moscow. In the meantime the Secretary of War, played by Walter Matthau, insists that we (the U.S.) should obliterate the Soviet Union including Moscow, from the face of the earth. The conclusion is exciting because we (the U.S.) have to sacrifice New York City because by that time Moscow and the Soviet Union are wiped off the face of the earth. I would highly reccommend this video to anyone who is into war and political movies.
Rating:
Summary: Intelligent; Realistic; Frightening; Fantastic!!!!
Review: This is an underrated gem from Sidney Lumet. This film could very easily have departed from its ultimately brilliant course, and been turned into an overblown, over-the-top, unrealistic "Doomsday" farce. But Lumet holds on to reality and presents us with a very realistic, and quite frightening look at what could possibly happen if one of our bombers should get a false message to attack Moscow. Henry Fonda is totally believable as the U.S. President trying to avert a catastrophe. And check out a young pre-"I Dream of Jeannie" Larry Hagman as the Russian interpreter! I liked Larry very much in this role. He, like everyone else in this good cast, remains completely realistic and believable. I don't think this film would have had as great an impact on the viewer had it been shot in color. The stark, brooding black-and-white photography adds volumes to the mood and setting of the film. Buy this one NOW! And if you have never seen it before, watch it immediately upon getting it!
Rating:
Summary: Gripping and Devastating !!
Review: Awesome film. What got me hooked was Henry Fonda playing the President negotiating with the Russian President with the use of Larry Hagman as the interpreter. The ending ( which to me was totally unexpected) blew me away completely. A classic. A+.
Rating:
Summary: Classic
Review: A true classic. I would rate it as one of the best movies ever made. First class story and acting. I enjoy Dr. Stranglelove and highly recommend it but you won't be laughing at the end of this gem.
Rating: 
Summary: BOP 'TIL YOU DROP
Review: I wonder how many years we would have waited for Director Sidney Lumet's FAIL SAFE to be released in the DVD standard if the 2000 remake hadn't be shot. Holy Mysteries of the global economic laws, I suppose ! But, let's stop the sarcasms and enjoy this black and white political-fiction drama adapted by Walter Bernstein -one of the numerous talented screenplay writers Hollywood put on the "black" list during the fifties- from a best-selling novel. Sidney Lumet and John Frankenheimer directed in the early sixties some of the most powerful serious movies of the period and FAIL SAFE hasn't lost its impact for the 2001 audience. Contemporary TV networks offer us by the dozens political debates permitting to serious university professors to expose their personal theories about nuclear wars and limited strikes while they enjoy their drinks in the cozyness of the studio. In this perspective, Walter Matthau's character has got an extraordinary prophetic dimension. Just see his apocalyptical show, at the really beginning of FAIL SAFE, in front of an hypnotized audience. Matthau's performance is one to be remembered. The special edition of this DVD also offers a commentary track recorded by Sydney Lumet as well as a featurette with interviews of Lumet, Bernstein and interesting comparisons between FAIL SAFE and Stanley Kubrick's DR. STRANGELOVE. In my opinion, the tension produced by FAIL SAFE is more powerful than the black humor of Kubrick's movie. You won't feel good after FAIL SAFE's ending. Henry Fonda is as always exceptional and Larry Hagman's performance -as the translator- very sensible. In short, FAIL SAFE is a must if you are interested in the american film production of the sixties or in good political fictions. A DVD zone badaboom.
Rating:
Summary: It's a Classic
Review: Dan O'Herlihy and Walter Matthau were spectacular in this classic. This and Dr. Strangelove are what started the whole nuclear film revolution. The way they put this film together will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. In the film, a computer error had caused SAC bombers to accidentally launch beyond their fail safe points. Their destination was moscow. Henry Fonda (The President) struggled to convince a Soviet leader that the attack was a mistake. There were only two downfalls of the film. One was the complete and utter debasement of of the fine acting qualities of Hildy Parks (Betty Black). The other was the ending of the film. I like big visually stimulating explosions to depict a nuclear explosion. In Fail Safe, this aspect is left up to the viewers imagination. This is a film that every concerned American must see.
Rating:
Summary: The "almost" Atomic War anti-fable...
Review: The bleak black and white ...sometimes grainy, occasionally jump/jolt cut film...combined with understated dialogue, few special effects and no dramatized combat sequences produce a movie with a ONCE-UPON-A-NIGHTMARE quality. Henry Fonda is excellent as THE PRESIDENT who must convince the never-shown Soviet Premier not to unleash a retaliatory strike against The United States when a squadron of American Vindicator Bombers (decommisioned B-58 Hustlers) threatens Russia because of a computer/Black Box glitch. Walter Matthau is fascinatingly repellant as THE PROFESSOR...a Herman Kahn/Dr.Strangelove clone... who glories in his role as high-priest/adept of Nuclear Deterrence strategies. A young Larry Hagman is memorable as Buck, the President's Russian language translator. Dan O'Herlihy is convincingly tragic as an Air Force commander who must make "the sacrifice of Abraham" to save the world from WW III. There is not a single "mushroom cloud" shown. Combat actions are reduced to electronic displays on the War Room/SAC Big Board. Many opportunities for "thrills" are foresaken by Director Lumet. Instead, he relentlessly paces his "almost" Atomic War anti-fable until a telephone monitored by the US Ambassador to Moscow howls:..this tocsin signals the death of millions and the beginning of Armageddon. There is no such thing as FAIL-SAFE. The film is 40 years old. But like fable, the "sermon" speaks to today, tomorrow and...probably?...para siempre.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie from a great book
Review: Most books, even the great ones, unfortunately do not translate well onto the big screen. Fail Safe is a happy exception to the rule. The story is now two generations old. Mechanical error sends six bombers towards the Soviet Union (remember them? they used to be our one mortal national enemy). The President and the government try all they can to recall them, to no avail. Emotions understandibly run high. Men get stretched to the breaking point, and some snap. The President makes a terrible sacrifice, to convince the Russians that it WAS an accident. The price of this ticket it incredibly high. Forget about the comparisons with Dr. Strangelove (which is a great movie in its own right). They belong together only by their contrasting styles. This movie is chilling in Black & White. You will never think of J.R. Ewing again the same way, after seeing Larry Hagman in the role as the President's translator.
Rating:
Summary: Truly one of the great Cold War movies
Review: This film is remarkable in it's own right, and frankly, where Dr. Strangelove can seem rather dated nowadays, "Fail Safe" is still as distressingly and blood curdlingly contemporary as it ever was. The complete lack of music, the hard cuts (no fades), the long, painful close-ups on Henry Fonda, the long silences in the dialog, give this film a stunning verisimilitude, and make it far more absorbing that it might have otherwise been. And if the last 30 seconds of this film do not leave you feeling as if a bomb had been dropped on you... well, it will, believe me.
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