Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Fail Safe Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 10, 2019

Sidney Lumet's "Fail-Safe" (1964) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include new program with critic J. Hoberman; audio commentary with director Sidney Lumet; and an archival featurette with clips from various interviews. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

It is not a coincidence that the message of Sidney Lumet’s Fail-Safe is basically identical to that of Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. They were both completed in 1964 and warn that the world was just a click away from a total nuclear annihilation -- because at the time that’s exactly where the world was heading, towards one big and permanent catastrophe that would have made ‘winning’ an utterly pointless term. The only major difference between these films is that they deliver their warnings in two drastically different fashions.

Lumet’s film imagines an event that mirrors the Cuban Missile Crisis. After an electrical malfunction in the control room of Strategic Air Command (SAC) in Omaha, a computer accidentally dispatches an attack code to a group of American bombers carrying nuclear weapons and they immediately head to Moscow. Back in the control room top military and political officials attempt to stop the attack, but quickly discover that the pilots have been trained to ignore orders after they pass the crucial safe-fail point. The President (Henry Fonda) then decides to reach out to his Soviet counterpart with the help of an interpreter (Larry Hagman) and explain the dangerous situation, but officials in Moscow assume that the electrical malfunction is just a pretext for a carefully pre-planned American attack whose ultimate goal is to have the U.S.S.R. wiped off the map.

The bulk of the film is dedicated to a number of interesting what-if scenarios and the possible choices the President has while dealing with his suspicious opponent. As the tension rises it is made clear that the most desirable solution is to openly engage Moscow and even ask for assistance, but there are also calls for action from trusted advisors who are convinced that the malfunction is in fact a great opportunity to decisively end the Cold War. All of these choices are presented with great debates that manage to highlight all of the important political points that were also considered during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

During the final phase of the conflict, however, the film temporarily switches in a preaching mode and delivers a number of unnecessary political statements that visibly hurt its credibility. For example, Walter Matthau’s character begins defending a grand vision of a world without communist states that is so naïve that it instantly makes it impossible to accept that he is a respected political expert whose opinion would matter to top strategists. There are also quite a few segments where the President utters a series of catchy phrases that would be far more appropriate in a political speech during an election campaign than in an urgent discussion that could very well determine the fate of the entire planet.

Today massive advancements in technology have greatly improved communication and the ability of governments to react quickly, but they have also created more opportunities for errors such as the one that triggers the crisis that is chronicled in this film. For as long as such opportunities exist, the Cold War’s biggest and most feared dilemma remains the same: Who is watching the watchers that are supposed to prevent them?

Fail Safe Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Fail Safe arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet that is included with this Blu-ray release:

"This new 4K digital restoration was undertaken by Sony Pictures Entertainment, with restoration cervices provided by Cineric in New York. A new digital transfer was created at Cineric on the facility's proprietary 4K high-dynamic-range wet-gate film scanner, primarily from the 35mm original camera negative. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered at Deluxe in Hollywood, under the supervision of Bob Simmons.

Transfer supervisor: Grover Crisp/Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Colorist: Sheri Eisenberg/Roundabout Entertainment, Burbank, CA."

The release is sourced from a brand new 4K master that was prepared by Sony Pictures. This isn't the same master that Australian label Via Vision Entertainment used to produce this release of Fail Safe in 2016. Here are the type of improvements that you should expect to see on the new release:

First, the new master is very clean and healthy, so all of the age-related imperfections that were visible on the older master -- which was also prepared by Sony Pictures -- are gone. Density levels are improved as well, though certain small fluctuations remain (see screencapyture #10). Now, on the previous release there were additional fluctuations, both in terms of density and contrast, that are eliminated here. As a result, even though it may appear that here the visuals are slightly softer depth and delineation are actually much better. In other words, the entire film has a much better balanced organic appearance. Image stability is excellent. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Fail Safe Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is clean and stable. Its dynamic amplitude is very similar to that of the lossy audio from the Australian release, and in some areas it is virtually impossible to distinguish the two. Balance is good. There are no dropouts, distortions, background hiss, or other similar anomalies to report.

Fail Safe Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• J. Hoberman - in this new video interview, critic J. Hoberman discusses the Eugene Burdick's 1962 novel that inspired Fail Safe as well as some of the key themes in it. Also, there are specific observations about the socio-political climate during the 1960s. The interview was recorded exclusively for Criterion in 2019. In English, not subtitled. (20 min, 1080p).

• Commentary - this audio commentary initially appeared on the R1 DVD release of Fail-Safe. Director Sidney Lumet discusses in great detail how the film came to exist, its political message, where various segments were shot, the casting process, etc.

• Fail-Safe Revisited - a standard featurette focuses on the relevance of Fail-Safe and includes clips from interviews with director Sidney Lumet and various actors, including George Clooney, the producer of Fail Safe (2000). In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by critic Bilge Ebiri and technical credits.

Fail Safe Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sidney Lumet's Fail-Safe channels the same fears that inspired Stanley Kubrick to shoot Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. While there is a part of it that feels quite dated, its core message actually remains relevant today. This upcoming release is sourced from a new 4K master that is quite a bit better than the one that Australian label Via Vision Entertainment used for the first official Blu-ray release of the film a couple of years ago. RECOMMENDED.