Fail Safe (2000/telefilm)

 

Picture: C     Sound: C+     Extras: D     Telefilm: C

 

 

An actor once told me he was not a fan of live TV work and Stephen Frears remake of the 1964 Sidney Lumet film Fail Safe was the impetus for our getting on the subject.  Though often overshadowed by Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, I liked Lumet’s film about nuclear holocaust realized despite officials supposedly being in control.  Unfortunately, this all-star cast remake done in black and white video led by producer George Clooney with an introduction by Walter Cronkite.  This likely led to what become the overrated Good Night & Good Luck (see my HD formats review elsewhere on this site).

 

Despite an amazing cast that includes Harvey Keitel, Don Cheadle, Hank Azaria, James Cromwell, Brian Dennehy, Norman Lloyd, Richard Dreyfuss, Sam Elliott and Noah Wyle, this never feels like it works and part of the problem is that is seems too staged.  Also, The Cold War was long over when it was taped and this fails (no pun intended) to recapture the feel.  Finally, it shows just how good Lumet’s version was.  For classroom viewing only.

 

The letterboxed, black and white 1.78 X 1 image is blurry, clearer in its brighter scenes and has a gray scale that shows it is color video with the color turned off.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is simple and without surrounds.  There are no extras.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo