Cinematic Analysis
Cole Greenberg
Blue Group
2/26/15
Part A
The Movie Fail Safe filmed in 1964 captures the thrilling story
of an alternate past which centers on the theme that humans should
be careful not to place too much faith in technology. Taking place
during the Cold War the movie follows the military through a
catastrophic event which ends in both the destruction of New York
and Moscow. During a tour of the Strategic Air Command Center in
Omaha, Nebraska the Command Centers extensive radar technology
picks up an UFO heading towards American soil. During the Cold War
the American military created a fail-safe system so that if the
soviets launched a surprise attack on America, American jets would
be in position to launch a counter attack. So when this UFO remains
unidentified the jets get into the Fail Safe position, bringing
their planes just off side of International borders. Soon enough
the UFO is identified as an off course airliner by American
Fighters combing the area. Sadly when the Command Center goes to
cancel the Fail Safe Preparations the technology running the whole
system creates an error and Colonel Jack Grady flying just outside
of Soviet boarders receives a fake command to initiate the Fail
Safe. Under the Impression that the Soviets have just launch an
attack on America the Colonel begins to fly past the Fail Safe
point and on to Soviet land to bomb Moscow. No one is aware of the
error until the radar technology shows an American fighter flying
300 miles inland to Russia. Coincidently right after the Go command
was given, experimental Soviet technology is able to jam the planes
radios making it impossible for the Command Center to contact the
plane. General Black working at the command center makes the
executive decision to contact the President as the situation grows
worse by the minute. As pressure grows the President is forced to
call back American Planes flying home to try and shoot down Colonel
Grady and his fleet currently carrying the firepower to decimate
Moscow. The Planes are unable to take down the Bombers and the
President contacts The Soviet Chairman in an attempt to help the
Soviets stop the planes. The President and Chairman discuss the
situation, and the Chairman agrees to release the jamming signal.
Unfortunately Colonel Grady is under orders not to turn back under
any circumstances, even under the order of the President. Soviet
planes are unable to take down all of the bombers even with the
reluctant cooperation of American technicians. Colonel Grady and
his wingman bomb Moscow going down in the blast, while the
President comes to a compromise with the Soviet Chairman to stop an
all-out nuclear fallout. After Moscow has been blown up, Colonel
Black will fly a plane over New York to drop a nuclear bomb to
appease the Russians. New York is nuked and although nuclear war is
avoided the effects of the technological error are catastrophic.
The reality of this movie is that the advanced technology that they
relied on to protect their nation actually destroyed it.
Part B
The Film takes place in the ever so terrifying Cold War where
the fear of a nuclear war trumped every other aspect of American
life. Due to this constant fear it would be crucial for the
American military to run a system close to the system portrayed in
Fail Safe to enforce mutually assured destruction. Certain parts of
the film capture the Americans hate towards the Soviets accurately,
like the section of the film where many American engineers are
uncooperative to the soviets even under the threat of the
destruction of Moscow. Another feature of the film that holds a
historical significance would be the Americans growing trust in
mechanical systems which eventually leads to their down fall.
During the Cold War America had begin to develop new military
technology all the time during attempts to gain technology faster
than the Russians. According to an article on the cold war Because
of the Cold War and the competition between the United States and
the Soviet Union, many technological advances that we take for
granted today were created( http://www.studythepast.com/.)
Competition drove each country into a state of constant paranoia
ready to launch a counter strike at even the slightest hint of an
attack. The Film captures this paranoid military excellently over
the course of an hour and a half. Although this film will keep you
on the edge of your seat for the entirety of the thrilling
adventure, there are a few historical errors involved. A big error
is the fact that the Fail Safe system was easily brought to hell by
a small technical malfunction. According to historian, and reviewer
Sidney Hook the positive command would have been transmitted by a
coded voice message, verified in several stages by several members
of the crew( http://www.strategypage.com/.) So in the event of a
technical error in real life the go- command would not be issued to
the pilots. According to another reviewer the technical errors
where too over dramatized and to many coincidences fell into place
for the film to seem semi realistic. Other than these errors the
film held an important historical significance and captured the
Cold War with excellence
Part C
1. Discuss how various cinematographic techniques are used to
increase the viewers awareness of the setting, characters or plot
development.
During the Film Fail Safe the Cinematographic techniques are
used to emphasize certain themes of the play. By using these
techniques the director is able to convey a message to the
audience, that while may not be spoken directly to the audience,
takes place in the film. One of the messages of the film is that
technology has become too much of a ruling factor in these peoples
lives and instead of protecting them the technology has begun to
control them. This is created by taking shots of people next to
technology which towers over them creating the feeling that the
humans have become miniscule in this whole equation. An example is
of the long shots of the military base in Omaha where the military
generals and technicians stand next to the large machines and the
giant screen capturing the fail safe system towering over them.
Along with this message comes the other important message that with
creating this Fail safe system the United States has trapped
themselves inside the system unable to do anything about the
outcome of the bombing. Besides the shots of machines next to
humans the film consists of multiple extreme close ups of the
generals, president and many others. These claustrophobic shots
cause even the viewer himself to feel trapped with these doomed
soldiers and generals. The shots of the humongous electronics and
close ups grow more frequent as the problem intensifies giving the
viewer the impression that situation has grown worse and their
system can no longer be controlled by man. These techniques come in
handy later in the film once every thing comes into place, and the
metaphors in the play are easily seen with the cinematography.
Works Cited Page
1. "The Cold War's on Science and Technology."Study the Past.
N.p., 10 Apr. 2008.Web. 5 Mar. 2015. .
2. "Fail Safe."Strategy Page. StrategyWorld.com, n.d. Web. 5
Mar. 2015..
