Fail-Safe vs. Dr. Strangelove

 

I watched "Fail-Safe" today, a movie which I had not seen before. It was released by Columbia Pictures, in the fall of 1964, when Americans thought a lot about whether or not Russia would launch nuclear bombs to completely destroy us. This was known as the "Cold War". Earlier the same year, Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" was released by Columbia Pictures, on Kubrick's insistence that his movie be released first.

These two movies eerily follow the same plot line. Unfortunately for "Fail-Safe", "Dr. Strangelove" is a satire. "Fail-Safe" is dead serious. It is said that moviegoers laughed at "Fail-Safe" because it was so much like "Dr. Strangelove". I have seen "Strangelove" a few times, and it has never impressed me to the extent that "Fail-Safe" did today. I have never been a great fan of Stanley Kubrick, who also directed "Spartacus", "Lolita", "2001: A Space Odyssey", "A Clockwork Orange", "Barry Lyndon", "The Shining", "Full Metal Jacket", and "Eyes Wide Shut". Of these films, I was riveted by "A Clockwork Orange", and thoroughly enjoyed "Barry Lyndon". The others I could take or leave, particularly "The Shining", because it is so far removed from the book that I think anyone watching it who had not read the book would not get the movie. A TV miniseries of "The Shining", which aired in 1997, and for which Steven King wrote the teleplay, is a much better adaptation of the book.

"Fail-Safe" was directed by Sidney Lumet, a brilliant director, many of whose films I love, and a man who died earlier this year. Sidney Lumet got his start directing television. His feature film directorial debut was "12 Angry Men". He also directed "Serpico" (my first R-rated movie), "Murder on the Orient Express", "Dog Day Afternoon", "Network", "Equus", "The Wiz", "The Verdict" (hands down, my favorite Paul Newman movie), and "The Morning After" (one of the few Jane Fonda films I have enjoyed, probably because it stars Jeff Bridges, whom I adore).

If you have a hankering to watch both of these cold war movies, I would suggest watching "Fail-Safe" first. That way, it won't be funny, and you can appreciate the humor and satire of "Dr. Strangelove". I recommend "Fail-Safe", if you're in the mood for a serious thriller. Be prepared to avoid distractions, as missing any part of the plot can be confusing.

I had a similar experience with two other movies that had nearly identical plots, one meaning to be serious, and the other satirical. In this instance, I laughed at the serious movie, because it seemed so ridiculous. The serious movie was "Zero Hour". The satire was "Airplane". I later learned that the Zucker brothers, who wrote and directed "Airplane" with Jim Abrahams, bought the rights to "Zero Hour" so that they could remake it as a comedy. There are scenes in these two films that are identical, including the dialogue, which is delivered by the actors seriously in "Zero Hour", and comically in "Airplane". The characters all even have the same names.

Until next time, keep your ear to the ground and keep watching the skies!