FAIL-SAFE (1964)
Political noir horror melodrama about the U.S. accidentally losing control of a nuclear bomb, sending it to destroy Moscow. The President (Henry Fonda) must deal with this impossible world-threatening situation.
Kubrick originally wanted to make this movie. But Sidney Lumet was developing it simultaneously. So, Kubrick decided they could both win, do the same story but with dramatically different takes. Kubrick got Terry Southern involved and wrote a comedy version called Dr. Strangelove which ended up much better known than its serious drama counterpart. However, I personally prefer this version. Usually movies covering subjects of this magnitude can’t help but be ridiculous. But this movie brings a realism and humanity to the impossible-to-conceive horror of nuclear war.
