Fail Safe and Dr. Strangelove: Two Ways to tell a Story:

The 1964 classic ‘Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb’ (it’s lengthy title adding to the absurdity of the film) released early in the year in January to incredible critical and box office acclaim, while its counterpart that released later in the year did not reach the heights that its predecessor did. Why was that? Well, audiences believed that both films shared such a resemblance to the other that many believed the latter was a rushed remake, while this was not the case. 

‘Dr. Strangelove’ was directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the 1952 novel ‘Red Alert’ written by Peter George (despite it being published one of his many pseudonyms). On the other hand, Fail Safe was directed by another legendary director, Sidney Lumet and based on a novel of the same name, whose similarities to ‘Red Alert’ led both Kubrick and Paul George to sue the film and source material. The case was settled out of court and the result was Columbia Pictures purchasing both projects. Recently, I watched both pictures and realized that despite the story being essentially the same, both films have 2 ways of telling the story. This is my review and analysis.

Both films follow the similar story of either someone or something (General Jack D. Ripper in the case of Dr. Strangelove) leading to the launch of nuclear warheads towards Russia, causing the most important figures in US politics to try to defuse and avoid the potential nuclear war. It feels relevant to state that despite my love for both movies, I am inclined to enjoy ‘Dr. Strangelove’ more. Kubrick’s war comedy manages to present a scarily plausible situation and combine it with not only his wit and sense of humor (added in his adaptation of the script and not present in the original novel), but also with the skills of incredible actors such as Peter Sellers (whose 3 characters that he portrays give the film the charm that it boasts of) and George C. Scott to create a comedy that still manages to make the audience sit on the edge of their seat.

Dr. Strangelove is a film that I can easily consider perfect. The script is air-tight, focusing on the comical side of the situation at hand, a possible nuclear war. It’s use of characters including, but not limited to all of Peter Sellers’ characters (especially the titular Dr. Strangelove, a disgraced Nazi nuclear expert), Jack D. Ripper, the crazed general that due to his paranoia launches nukes to Russia and T.J. Kong, the Texan airplane pilot who carries the responsibility of dropping the nuclear bomb, makes the film’s 3 locations and parallel stories as memorable as the last. The acting, as mentioned, is spectacular, most  of my praise going to Peter Sellers’ trio of roles, all of whom he performs with such great displays of physical comedy that I consider them possibly some of the most hilarious characters ever put to screen. Finally Kubrick’s directing cannot go under the radar, as, with the aid of the tool that is filming in black and white, he is able to play around with lighting that could not have been possible had he filmed with color, making the film even more memorable.

On the other hand, despite following virtually the same story, Sidney Lumet’s (whose titanic filmography is grisly overlooked when talking about the best directors of all time) version of this political war thriller is much more serious in tone. Henry Fonda’s and Walter Matthau’s performance instill suspense and portray 2 sides of nuclear war, those who believe in it and defend it, and those who at the cost of many, try to stop it. Sidney Lumet’s directing aids in instilling the nervousness that is created in Fail Safe with similar techniques he had previously used in 12 Angry Men, using closeups that focus on small expressions in the characters faces and while choosing to omit score in the film, makes the situation much more dire.

Fail Safe is much more serious than Dr. Strangelove, so much so that the only scene in the film that could be seen as comedic is quickly shut down, as one of the colonels managing the disaster reminds both the audience and the characters celebrating a plane being shot down in a hooliganism manner that the matter is serious. A great example of the juxtaposition of both films’ tones occur in two characters very similar to each other, in Dr. Strangelove it’s titular character, while in Fail Safe it is represented by Professor Groeteschele. The latter, played by Walter Matthau in a very common villainous role for him, advocates the destruction of innocent Russian civilians, believing that a resolution to the Cold War stems from one side losing, or, in the socio-political context of the conflict, one team submitting under one or the others’ military power. Professor Groeteschele’s character is a grim look into the kind of minds that are assigned to carry out responsibilities such as advising politicians, and, in unison with Fail-Safe’s overall tone, creates a tension and frustration that is not present in its Kubrick counterpart. The character of Dr. Strangelove, an ex-nazi bound to a wheelchair, suffering from alien hand syndrome is a bumbling lunatic, speaking in an exaggerated accent and due to his previously mentioned condition, constantly twitching and flexing his body in an admittedly fantastic Peter Sellers performance. He plays the same role as Professor Groeteschele, however, his intentions are quite different, and similarly to the difference in mood between both films, less serious and ruthless, despite Sellers’ character’s nazi ideals.

In conclusion, we, as film lovers, go see movies for different stories, and these 2 masterpieces that marked an era in their respective filmmakers’ career do deliver on giving us these different stories and different perspectives, despite their source material and thematic differences being quite alike. However, as usually occurs when 2 films are pitted against each other, I do enjoy one over the other, but not by an inconceivable margin, that being Dr. Strangelove’s comedic aspects allowing me to enjoy its story more than Fail-Safe’s intense atmosphere.

Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learnt to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb: 100/100

Fail-Safe: 95/100


Posted

in

by

Tags:

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *