I forgot how great this movie is. Fantastic performances everywhere. Henry Fonda, Larry Hagman, Walter Matthau, Dan O'Herlihy...
What a world we used to live in.
What a world we used to live in.
Fail-Safe
- Thread starter bagdropper
- Start date
Believability isn't a requirement for a movie. That being said, I really enjoyed Fail Safe.
Truly a shocking premise the first time you see it. It was surreal when the cabinet starts considering what documents, artifacts, etc. are in NYC that are truly vital to retain for the USA to continue functioning.
The look on POTUS (Fonda) face during his last conversation on the red phone w/Moscow was like that of Mr. Chicken (Don Knotts) when the organ with blood on the keys started playing itself in the haunted house.
You knew Dr. Strangeglove was a comedy and even the dramatic scenes were acted 'tongue-in-cheek'. Any movie with Slim Pickens riding an A-bomb to its destination is a farce.
Wasn't it one of the first big screen roles for James Earl Jones?
I do understand the plausibility aspect of both Strangelove and Fail-Safe - but the real fear of such a scenario was present back then. People genuinely feared post-Cuba that we were going to be in a nuclear war eventually, and it would be an accident that causes it.
The things both those movies have in common though are utterly fantastic performances and great directors.
To me...movies aren't necessarily the stories so much as the performances. I love great performances be them by the lead or for instance Slim Pickens in Strangelove or Dom DeLuise in Fail-Safe. DD's role has him maybe tops 2 minutes of dialog...yet is most likely the best performance of his career.
For instance, Walter Matthau...I have a hard time believing he had better performances than in Fail-Safe or for instance The Taking of Pelham 123. He's most likely not well known for either role. The "performances" in both were just plain great. Fascinating characters played.
The things both those movies have in common though are utterly fantastic performances and great directors.
To me...movies aren't necessarily the stories so much as the performances. I love great performances be them by the lead or for instance Slim Pickens in Strangelove or Dom DeLuise in Fail-Safe. DD's role has him maybe tops 2 minutes of dialog...yet is most likely the best performance of his career.
For instance, Walter Matthau...I have a hard time believing he had better performances than in Fail-Safe or for instance The Taking of Pelham 123. He's most likely not well known for either role. The "performances" in both were just plain great. Fascinating characters played.
Awesome movie. One of my favorites when I was a kid. Scary as hell and a real ugly choice at the end, but brilliant movie.
Yeah, I wouldn't necessarily compare the two movies although the subject matter was similar. And whoever made the plausibility comment was off base. Strangelove is a dark comedy. Plausibility is not necessary. It's always been one of my favorites because I was a huge Peter Sellers fan, (pure genius) and I got a huge kick out of George C Scott's General Buck Turgidson as well. What makes Fail Safe riveting though, like bagdropper said, are the performances right down to Dom DeLuise. Matthau was fantastic and the exchanges between Fonda and a very young Hagman are one of the best parts of the movie. I'm also a sucker for good black and white as well.
I saw where one of the other movie channels (Sony or MGM maybe) had Fail Safe and The Bedford Incident on, back to back yesterday. The latter is another very well done cold war film.
Absolutely. This is a very underrated film with a ton of good performances. Interesting twist with Eric Portman's former U-boat commander on board during the cat-and-mouse between the destroyer and the sub.
Widmark is such an over-bearing character in that movie. For some reason I have never taken to him as an actor. It makes the movie a difficult watch for me.
I thought the ex-German U-boat captain on the ship made that movie. Wally Cox is excellent in it also.
I thought the ex-German U-boat captain on the ship made that movie. Wally Cox is excellent in it also.
If your talking "great" Post WW2 (early 60's) movies that are done in B/W.....you can never leave out "7 Days in May" or "The Manchurian Candidate".........Both casts loaded with great performances.
Seven Days in May indeed had excellent performances in it. Big Kurt Douglas, Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner fan here.
Manchurian...Angela Lansbury is just plain evil. Great performance.
To me...this is when movies were great. Didn't need special effects bells and whistles. Had things like...plots, emphasis on acting, sterling directing and editing. Not saying special effects don't have their place, but it seems like most movies nowadays are lowest common denominator type movies.
Fluff basically. How do we water down the story to make it hit the largest cross-section of ticket buyers possible. The story and performances seem to be secondary nowadays.
Pretty hard to fake it with B&W and no special effects at all. The actual story and acting MUST stand out.
Manchurian...Angela Lansbury is just plain evil. Great performance.
To me...this is when movies were great. Didn't need special effects bells and whistles. Had things like...plots, emphasis on acting, sterling directing and editing. Not saying special effects don't have their place, but it seems like most movies nowadays are lowest common denominator type movies.
Fluff basically. How do we water down the story to make it hit the largest cross-section of ticket buyers possible. The story and performances seem to be secondary nowadays.
Pretty hard to fake it with B&W and no special effects at all. The actual story and acting MUST stand out.
Sinatra was really top end in Candidate, too. Really strong performance by him...in my very humble and non-professional opinion, his very best on film. I liked his Major Marco much more than his Private Maggio.
Ah, they'll accuse us of being old or older, but I can't tell you how much I agree with all of this. Story and performance always drives the bus for me. Throw in a good cinematography and I'm usually sold.
The 60s and 70s were a fertile time for great movies.
Agree about The Manchurian Candidate and Seven Days in May. The garden club scene Candidate is amazing.
TCM trivia for Seven Days in May - Kirk Douglas was co-producing and gave Burt Lancaster the "better" part to encourage him to do the film.
Off on a tangent, but watching The Academy Awards back in the 60s, Douglas and Lancaster did a cute little number about how audiences sometimes mixed them up. They made 7 films together. Wish I could find that somewhere.
TCM trivia for Seven Days in May - Kirk Douglas was co-producing and gave Burt Lancaster the "better" part to encourage him to do the film.
Off on a tangent, but watching The Academy Awards back in the 60s, Douglas and Lancaster did a cute little number about how audiences sometimes mixed them up. They made 7 films together. Wish I could find that somewhere.
