Parker Lewis
Three years before this live rendition of Fail Safe, George Clooney led the ER cast (the Michael Crichton one, not the 1980s comedy one) in a live broadcast of Ambush, the fourth season opener.This is a compelling drama and one almost blooper came to mind. It was when the maid almost kind of fell down the stairs carrying the washing basket. That would have been an interesting blooper for sure. The ending was very tragic, and I wonder why New York was fingered to be the sacrificial city. Why not another city? You can imagine the President didn't even bother campaigning in New York at the following presidential election, ceding it to his opponent, and losing a significant chunk of the Electoral College vote.
schielkesspp
If you have never seen or never had seen the original 1964 film, you would find this an exceptional piece of television, both in the story and the acting, and in the live production. It fairly portrays the tension and seriousness of the Cold War, now so easily forgotten (which I am old enough to have lived through, in the Cuban missile crisis). But what I find one of the most interesting qualities of this film is how it illustrates the range and risk taking of George Clooney as an actor, who was the driving force behind making this film and doing it live (as in "real time") on network television. The number and type of roles he has acted in his career is amazing. One of the best out there, as proved again over and over in the ten years since Fail Safe was performed. See it if you can.
DICK STEEL
I've enjoyed some of Stephen Frears past works like High Fidelity, Mrs Henderson Presents and his latest The Queen, so I was intrigued enough to pick up a DVD movie released some 8 years ago made for television, a CBS TV special that was broadcast live during the time. I'd bet it was a novelty and I could have seen it before, but nonetheless it didn't stop me from sitting through this rather gripping drama from start to end.Filmed in black and white, Fail Safe is set during the Cold War, where hostilities between the US and the Soviets are at an all time high, and military doctrine on both sides dictate world annihilation should anyone decide to provoke the other by firing off their nukes to the other's territory. And to ensure they don't get caught offguard, the US military has a system of checks and balances to ensure continuity of their battle plans even if there's a break in the chain of command, a mixture of fail safe elements involving processes, hardware and the men who take instructions down the line.Except for having to deal with Murphy's Law. In certain aspects, it might seem like Stanley Kubrick's Dr Strangelove, but this movie, based upon the novel by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler, doesn't include satire, and played it out in more serious tones, where there are enough going on that keeps it fast paced. The story revolves around four fronts, each having to face their own dilemma and having to contemplate their actions, and those which have moral implications, are always never easy to be dealt with. From the top you have the President (Richard Dreyfuss) and his Russian translator Buck (Noah Wyle) trying to convince the Russian premier about what's going to happen, and to defuse potential hostilities while at the same time having to build trust. You got to hand it to Dreyfuss for his role here in political gambit, acting with opposite Wyle, and a phone.The second front takes place in a war room where generals and think tanks trade blows in deciding what next to advise the president, with some naturally urging restraint, while others wanting to seize the opportunity to gain the upper hand through an accidental pre-emptive strike. Harvey Keitel goes up against Hank Azaria here, as a Brigadier General whom the President trusts, up against some dangerous philosophy of Professor Groeteschele's. The third front perhaps has the most actors placed in a single set, the war room where a complete view of how the plot is unfolding, gets put on display here. Loyalties come into question, and so does basic human decency. The characters here are also mixed and provides a more balanced view, from the military with Brian Dennehy and John Diehl, to politicians represented by Sam Elliott, and the vendor who provides the military with the computerized hardware, as represented by James Cromwell.Last but not least, the fly boys who are on the execution (pardon the pun) front, perhaps there to provide some possibility for action, but again, the sets are purpose built on soundstages. George Clooney and Don Cheadle partner in this area as they play guess and second guessing each other, being cut off from the chain of command, and as per their training, are out to carry their mission to a T, regardless what else they are told.Fail Safe tells a precautionary tale, that while we may plan for every conceivable scenario using a siege like mentality, there really isn't a totally fool-proof plan, and there are bound to be loopholes or cracks due to the assumptions we have to take or accept. Do we trust a human to make a judgement call, or rely on a calculating machine to do so based on predicates and cold logic? And what if the machine fails, do we know enough that it is wrong, and what measures there are to be placed for rectification? Can we do that fast enough? There are of course enough movies out there with machines like HAL and SkyNet going rogue, and addressing similar issues.Ultimately it's about control - when do we decide to relinquish, and whether we are able to seize it back when the need calls for it - and the moral dilemma that comes with weighted decisions that has repercussions beyond the immediate.
agentjoshw
I have always liked films that immerse me in the world of the characters. At first blush, this re-make jumps all over the place, but the story itself is so compelling, that the jumps from place to place do not make any difference. This on its own is a wonderful piece of television. I'm almost glad that there are commercial breaks in this film. Doubt I could take all that pressure.Richard Dryfuss turns in a pressure-packed performance as the president and George Clooney is wonderful in his role. Brian Dennehy was great. His presence alone was enough for the picture.I must say though that this review is slightly biased because I love live theatre. So seeing this performed live was more of a case-study, but I loved the fact that they gave this the "Playhouse 90" treatment. I doubt this would be as serious in color than in B&W. And the live portion of it made sure that everyone stayed in character. I want to see more live performances on TV like this.
