What's new

Fail Sfae (2000) and The Hill (1965) -- Due 6/5/07 (1 Viewer)

Patrick Mirza

Supporting Actor
Joined
Mar 12, 1999
Messages
877
Oscar winner George Clooney heads an all-star cast in the tense and powerful Cold War thriller Fail Safe. Originally broadcast live on CBS in April 2000, the cold war drama was directed by Oscar-nominee Stephen Frears ("The Queen") and featured an all-star cast including Richard Dreyfus, Noah Wyle, Don Cheadle, Harvey Keitel, James Cromwell, Hank Azaria and Sam Elliott. The DVD from Warner Home Video arrives on June 5th and features a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and Dolby Digital Mono audio. Retail is $19.97.

Also due on June 5th are a number of other catalog titles, including 36 Hours, 1943's Air Force, Command Decision, Hell To Eternity, 1965's The Hill with Sean Connery and Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo. All feature new fullscreen transfers, except The Hill (1.85:1 anamorphic) and 36 Hours (2.40:1 anamorphic). Retail is $19.97 apiece, or you can get all in the WW II Collection Vol. 2: Heroes Fight For Freedom for $59.92.



 

Lord Dalek

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2005
Messages
7,093
Real Name
Joel Henderson
IIRC Clooney elected to perform Fail Safe twice so that it would be live on both coasts. If thats true then which version are we getting here?
 

Jeff_HR

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2001
Messages
3,593
Clooney's Fail Safe is nowhere as good as the Henry Fonda Fail Safe. If you're only going to own one, go for the Fonda version.

I've had the Clooney version on a R2 version (I believe) for some time.
 

Matt Hough

Reviewer
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2006
Messages
26,152
Location
Charlotte, NC
Real Name
Matt Hough
Well, to be fair, Clooney's FAIL SAFE was a live studio drama, and for that medium, I found it quite compelling. It's a totally different animal to the Fonda/Lumet film which has all the benefits of film technique over live drama.

Comparing the two would be like comparing the TV versions of TWELVE ANGRY MEN, THE MIRACLE WORKER, or REQUIUM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT to their much more polished and authorative film versions. Yes, the films are wonderful to watch, but there's something uniquely thrilling to watching something that's happening live in a studio without the possibility of retakes.
 

David_B_K

Advanced Member
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 13, 2006
Messages
2,590
Location
Houston, TX
Real Name
David
Whichever version of Fail-Safe it is, that story has lost some sting since the height of the cold war, IMO. I'd rather watch Dr Strangelove anyway.

I am interested in The Hill, though. Haven't seen it since the "CBS Late Movie" days, but remembered it being pretty good. Besides Connery, some good performances from Harry Andrews, Ossie Davis and Alfred Lynch.
 
Joined
Jan 28, 2001
Messages
31
I just got the DVD of Fail Safe... it is widescreen, but sadly not anamorphic. I noticed that the back cover did not mention it being 'enhanced for widescreen', but was hoping this was just an oversight. It was not. Why are studios still releasing non-anamorphic transfers in 2007?
 

Robert Crawford

Crawdaddy
Moderator
Patron
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 9, 1998
Messages
67,604
Location
Michigan
Real Name
Robert
Perhaps because it was a television production from 2000. So I don't even know if it was filmed in a widescreen format?
 

SteveJKo

Second Unit
Joined
May 5, 2005
Messages
449

I watched it when it was telecast live and I vaguely remember it being broadcast in the letterbox format, but I wouldn't bet the house on it.
 

Colin Jacobson

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2000
Messages
13,328
The DVD is 1.78:1 non-anamorphic. I have no clue why it's not 16X9 enhanced, but the movie is definitely PRESENTED letterboxed...
 

Richard--W

BANNED
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2004
Messages
3,527
Real Name
Richard W
Keep your eye on Ossie Davis in THE HILL. Talk about courage. His performance is dangerous in 1965. Nobody today would even think of doing what he did then. Way out on a limb.

I think it's Sean Connery's best work, too.

Sometimes the simplest stories make the best films
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest Articles

Forum statistics

Threads
356,814
Messages
5,123,752
Members
144,184
Latest member
H-508
Recent bookmarks
0
Top