Fail Safeis getting a modern-day reimagining. The story is derived from a 1962 novel by Harvey Wheeler and Eugene Burdick, focusing on a fictional nuclear attack during the Cold War. Two years later, iconic director Sidney Lumet adapted it into a political thrillerstarring Henry Fonda. Fonda played the President in the film, whose supporting cast included Walter Matthau, Fritz Weaver, Dan O’Herlihy, Larry Hagman, Edward Binns, and Frank Overton.Fail Safewas nominated for one BAFTA awardand was well-regarded.
As perVariety,Fail Safewill get a modern-day remake from director Joe Berlinger.According to a statement, the new moviewill take a“faux-cinéma vérité approach [to] reimagine what the world would look like today had the events in the book really happened in 1967, with the total nuclear annihilation of New York and Moscow.” Berlinger will “combine high-stakes international drama and classic documentary storytelling” in this reimagined version. Casting information forFail Safehas yet to be revealed.
What This Means For Fail Safe
Fail SafeWas Remade Once Before
This is not the first timeFail Safehas been remade after the iconic Fonda version hit theaters in 1964. In 2000,Stephen Frears and Martin Pasetta co-directed a TV movie version, which starred Richard Dreyfuss,George Clooney, Noah Wyle, Don Cheadle, Hank Azaria, and Harvey Keitel in lead roles. This remake was well-received, getting a 100% Tomatometer, albeit with only five reviews available.
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Berlinger has worked up an impressive resume thus far in his filmmaking career.He directed the true-crime documentaryParadise Lost 3: Purgatory, which was nominated for an Oscar forBest DocumentaryFeature. The director went on to make otherParadiseLostfilms as well as other works in the true-crime genre, including the 2024 miniseriesCold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey. This true-crime background will give Berlinger a unique perspective as he attempts a work of narrative fiction withFail Safe.
Our Take On The Fail Safe Remake
This Could Be The Most Interesting Version Yet
The most promising detail about this newFail Safeadaptation is how different the movie sounds from the original. As a filmmaker whose main background is in the documentary genre, it makes sense that Berlinger might use “classic documentary storytelling” to weave the tale ofFail Safe. If he pulls it off, his version of the novel could be the most interesting interpretation yet, especially as it reaps the benefit of retrospect even more than the 2000 film was able to.
