When people talk about a 1964 cold war movie, they're usually referring to Dr. Strangelove. Meanwhile, this intense, nerve-wracking, cleverly written masterpiece has remained largely under-appreciated.
One way to create a powerful drama is to make it feel as real as possible to the audience, and Fail-Safe succeeds marvelously at it. The order of the day on this film shoot must have been 'stark realism'. This agenda manifests itself most effectively in the vivid dream sequence that opens the film, but also in the terse intertitles indicating time and place, in the very contrasty (yes, I made that word up) black-and-white cinematography, in the absence of any musical scoring, and in the solid, unfussy performances by the actors (Henry Fonda and Larry Hagman deserve special mention). Oh yeah, and it's really suspenseful. The devastating ending gave me shivers.
Kudos to director Sidney Lumet, for his uncompromising and artistically daring vision.
One way to create a powerful drama is to make it feel as real as possible to the audience, and Fail-Safe succeeds marvelously at it. The order of the day on this film shoot must have been 'stark realism'. This agenda manifests itself most effectively in the vivid dream sequence that opens the film, but also in the terse intertitles indicating time and place, in the very contrasty (yes, I made that word up) black-and-white cinematography, in the absence of any musical scoring, and in the solid, unfussy performances by the actors (Henry Fonda and Larry Hagman deserve special mention). Oh yeah, and it's really suspenseful. The devastating ending gave me shivers.
Kudos to director Sidney Lumet, for his uncompromising and artistically daring vision.