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Point limite

Original title: Fail Safe
  • 1964
  • Tous publics
  • 1h 52m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
27K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,960
2,288
Point limite (1964)
Watch Trailer [OV]
Play trailer2:56
1 Video
99+ Photos
EpicPolitical DramaPolitical ThrillerDramaThriller

A technical malfunction sends American bombers to Moscow to deliver a nuclear attack. Can all-out war be averted?A technical malfunction sends American bombers to Moscow to deliver a nuclear attack. Can all-out war be averted?A technical malfunction sends American bombers to Moscow to deliver a nuclear attack. Can all-out war be averted?

  • Director
    • Sidney Lumet
  • Writers
    • Walter Bernstein
    • Eugene Burdick
    • Harvey Wheeler
  • Stars
    • Henry Fonda
    • Walter Matthau
    • Fritz Weaver
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    8.1/10
    27K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    2,960
    2,288
    • Director
      • Sidney Lumet
    • Writers
      • Walter Bernstein
      • Eugene Burdick
      • Harvey Wheeler
    • Stars
      • Henry Fonda
      • Walter Matthau
      • Fritz Weaver
    • 207User reviews
    • 60Critic reviews
    • 75Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
      • 3 nominations total

    Videos1

    Trailer [OV]
    Trailer 2:56
    Trailer [OV]

    Photos182

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    + 176
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    Top cast26

    Edit
    Henry Fonda
    Henry Fonda
    • The President
    Walter Matthau
    Walter Matthau
    • Dr. Groeteschele
    Fritz Weaver
    Fritz Weaver
    • Colonel Cascio
    Dan O'Herlihy
    Dan O'Herlihy
    • General Black
    Frank Overton
    Frank Overton
    • General Bogan
    Edward Binns
    Edward Binns
    • Colonel Grady
    Larry Hagman
    Larry Hagman
    • Buck
    William Hansen
    William Hansen
    • Secretary Swenson
    Russell Hardie
    Russell Hardie
    • General Stark
    Russell Collins
    Russell Collins
    • Knapp
    Sorrell Booke
    Sorrell Booke
    • Congressman Raskob
    Nancy Berg
    Nancy Berg
    • Ilsa Wolfe
    John Connell
    John Connell
    • Thomas
    Frank Simpson
    • Sullivan
    Hildy Parks
    Hildy Parks
    • Betty Black
    Janet Ward
    Janet Ward
    • Mrs. Grady
    Dom DeLuise
    Dom DeLuise
    • Sgt. Collins
    Dana Elcar
    Dana Elcar
    • Foster
    • Director
      • Sidney Lumet
    • Writers
      • Walter Bernstein
      • Eugene Burdick
      • Harvey Wheeler
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews207

    8.126.6K
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    Featured reviews

    izzy4reel

    Intensely Powerful

    This movie was great. It may seem boring to many younger teenage crowds, but you need to take into consideration the era in which this was made. The SFX were terrific for 1964. It was heart pounding and very scary at times. The acting skills of the entire cast are superb. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who wants to know more about the cold war. 4.5 of 5 stars!
    10perfectbond

    Superior Cold War drama

    I was thoroughly in suspense throughout this magnificent film. I almost felt as if I was watching World War III unfurl like the Gulf War did on CNN, it was that convincing. Fonda as the President and Matthau as the Professor, in truly memorable performances, are superb in their roles and indeed the entire cast is strongly competent. Besides the unforgettable ending, by way of the President's unthinkable concession, are the arguments and attitudes of the Professor and Colonel Cascio. At the time it must have been very tempting to many hawks in Cold War administrations to end the deadlock whenever a seemingly decisive opening presented itself. I strongly recommend this film for its believablity and realism and even the final credits! 10/10.
    9tabuno

    A Stunning Apocalyptic Thriller

    22 January 2010. Even in black and white, this edgy, raw and gripping nuclear apocalyptic thriller retains is powerful and emotional message even after 46 years. Even though some of the equipment is dated in this movie, the serious and almost seemingly electronic starkness is able to project a impressive, compelling impression of sophistication that maintains a level of captivating images that breath intelligence and innovation of government operations even years ago. The acting and substance of this thriller contains a constant level of tension, off-balance conflict that hits home even today. While almost deviating, particularly in the beginning to the dated acting dramatics of the 60s, this movie successful keeps its attention on seemingly realistic and heightened elements of military and political strategy, operations and equipment, tactics that all fit well together making the entire movie a unified and seamless experience in accidental tragedy. 9/10.
    7bkoganbing

    Serious As a Crutch

    Interesting that both Failsafe and Dr. Strangelove both came out in 1964 the year that Barry Goldwater and his candidacy brought up the nuclear issue. After seeing both those films together with the flip comments Goldwater made about nuclear war, he was never to be anything other than a Senator from Arizona.

    Everyone remembers Stanley Kubrick's black comedy Dr. Strangelove about a nuclear exchange. Failsafe which is as serious as a crutch is less remembered. Still viewed today it still has an important message, maybe more important now than when it was a bi-polar world. At least everyone then seemed to be on one side or the other.

    My favorite performer in this film is Frank Overton who worked mostly in television. On the big screen he's probably best known as the small town sheriff in To Kill A Mockingbird. Though he did a lot of television work until he died in 1967, Failsafe turned out to be his last big screen performance. Overton does a great job as the general in charge of the Strategic Air Command in Omaha who is very reluctantly trying to help the Russians shoot down SAC bombers who've had one squad of them accidentally given the go ahead for nuclear war.

    Henry Fonda is the beleaguered president of the United States who is issuing commands from a deep underground bunker beneath the White House with only Russian interpreter Larry Hagman there. The whole claustrophobic atmosphere adds to the desperation of Fonda's performance. By the way note the large closeups of Fonda as he's trying to order the SAC bombers back from their mission.

    You might also note in a tiny role at the SAC command center Dom DeLuise in a very serious role as a sergeant. This may be the only time DeLuise ever had a serious part.

    At the Pentagon is Defense Department consultant Walter Matthau also in a serious role as a Herman Kahn type, looking to 'win' a nuclear exchange. He's one frightening fellow.

    The world is no longer bi-polar, but the lessons of Failsafe have yet to be learned.
    9iisaiah

    Shocking, brilliant, frightening, wonderful.

    See "Fail- Safe."

    I couldn't sleep without the light on after I saw this fantastically fabricated film. When a machine malfunctions and signals a U.S bomber to drop atomic missiles over Moscow, the Soviet Premier and the U.S President struggle to save the world from nuclear holocaust. The last three minutes are among the most powerful I've seen in a movie.

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    Related interests

    Orson Welles in Citizen Kane (1941)
    Epic
    Martin Sheen in À la Maison Blanche (1999)
    Political Drama
    Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford in Les Hommes du président (1976)
    Political Thriller
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    Drama
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    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The "computer-generated" image on the control-room screen (including the map of the world, the planes and the explosions) was entirely drawn and animated by hand.
    • Goofs
      The interior shots of the bombers, Convair B-58 Hustlers (see Trivia), actually were shot inside of a commercial airline simulator then under repair at a a New York airport. The three crew members sit within feet of each other, in an open cockpit layout. In an actual B-58, the world's first fly-by-wire and supersonic bomber (and capable of twice the speed of sound), the three-man crew of pilot, bombardier/navigator, and defense systems specialist were seated in-line and had no physical contact with one another. To make survivable ejection possible on such a high-speed aircraft, each compartment was specifically designed as wholly contained clam-shell "pod" that would be ejected intact if the need arose. As a result, the crew had to rely on an internal telecommunications system to talk, or a string-and-pulley system that ran along the cabin wall to exchange notes if those systems failed. It's speculated that this pod design was incorporated as a presidential safeguard on modern 747 versions of Air Force One, as implied in the film Air Force One (1997).
    • Quotes

      US Ambassador: [over the phone] I can hear the sound of explosions from the north east. The sky is very bright. All lit up.

      [phone melts and high pitched whining sound starts]

    • Crazy credits
      [FINAL CREDIT]: The producers of this film wish to stress that it is the stated position of the Department of Defense and the United States Air Force that a rigidly enforced system of safeguards and controls insure that occurrences such as those depicted in this story cannot happen
    • Connections
      Featured in Henry Fonda: The Man and His Movies (1982)

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    FAQ16

    • How long is Fail Safe?Powered by Alexa
    • What is this movie's connection to Dr. Strangelove?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 25, 1965 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Russian
    • Also known as
      • Límite de seguridad
    • Filming locations
      • Westbury, Long Island, New York, USA(Roosevelt Field: President's bunker)
    • Production company
      • Columbia Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $3,924,000
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 52m(112 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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