“Failsafe” — movie review | |
Today’s movie review is for the 1964 military / political thriller “Failsafe“. The plot revolves around a falsely identified aircraft entering U.S. airspace and the nuclear destruction which follows. The premise is that both men and machines can fail when humanity trains specifically for world-wide destruction. | |
Henry Fonda stars as the (un-named) President of the U.S., a young Larry Hagman of “Dallas” and “I Dream of Jeannie” fame is the translator working for the President, Ed (Edward) Binns is the flight commander attacking Moscow, Frank Overton plays General Bogan (in command of the Strategic Air Command (SAC)), Fritz Weaver plays Colonel Cascio who believes the Soviets are actually attacking and tries to mutiny against Bogan and the President, Walter Matthau plays Dr. Groeteschele, an academic / Pentagon consultant who wants to use the “mistake” to initiate an all-out attack / war against “the Communists”, and Dan O’Herlihy plays General Black (“Blackie”) a college friend of the President who is called upon to bomb New York City to compensate for Moscow and to prevent a full-scale nuclear exchange. | |
To “understand” the movie, a little historical perspective is required… In the previous year (1963), the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. faced off in what would come to be known as the “Cuban Missile Crisis”. As far as we know, this is the closest humanity has ever come to nuclear annihilation. Earlier in the year (1964), another movie of a similar vein (“Dr. Strangelove“), but more of a political / military satire was also released. Both involved a rogue aircraft destroying a Soviet city. However, in the first movie, the Soviets have a world destroyer which is activated. In this movie, the President acts to placate the Soviets and save humanity from destruction. | |
So, is this movie any good? Is it realistic? Is it entertaining? Yes! Yes! And, yes! The film is an interesting throw-back to the days of the black and white drama. This role and Fonda’s role in “12 Angry Men” are the two signature roles which I remember Fonda for. “The Grapes of Wrath” and “On Golden Pond” are both equally memorable, but the former was before my time / interest and the latter was at the very end of his long career (he appeared in over 60 films). And, of course, in my day, EVERYONE was compelled to view “The Ox-Bow Incident” in high school. For me, the title is more memorable than the film – of which I have almost no recollection. (Just sayin’.) | |
Is “Failsafe” realistic? Yes, particularly compared to “Strangelove“. Aside from the B&W filming, the technology was “advanced” for its time and quite well done. The acting was tense and there were a lot of close, sweaty shots which brought the tenseness which real participants would have felt if we were approaching nuclear war. An interesting side note: the Air Force did not want to promote the idea such an event (“mistake”) was possible and therefore refused to participate in production. The film uses stock footage of planes to depict a fictional bomber and a mixture of other aircraft to represent U.S. and Soviet fighters. | |
Entertaining? Yes! I haven’t seen this film in over 40 years and I could still feel the “moment” of the film. The number of times you see actors with shaky hands and sweaty forearms really high-lights the nervous energy which the movie conveys with virtually no music score to “artificially” build emotional impact. | |
Final recommendation: Very Highly Recommended! This is a movie which should be viewed widely in America. In 2020, the world is racing to a different type of annihilation (climate change), but it is important to remember there are multiple nuclear powers in the world and any one of them could initiate the end of humanity through either human or technical failure. The moral of the story is one of personal responsibility and taking action to ensure nothing like this film portrays ever happens in real life. | |
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On This Day In: | |
2019 | Is #45 Warning Alabama Again? |
Day 11: 49ers Win | |
2018 | Worry (x2) |
2017 | Still Working |
Gold In The Morning Sun | |
2016 | Power Inside |
2015 | Sometimes I Feel Small |
2014 | It Slipped Away |
2013 | Corollary |
2012 | Working Retired |
2011 | The Web Is Not Authoritative! (Really?) |
Posts Tagged ‘Henry Fonda’
An Eye For An Eye
Posted in History, Leadership, Movie Review, Movies, Philosophy, Reviews, tagged 12 Angry Men, colonel Cascio, Dallas, Dan O'Herlihy, Dr. Groeteschele, Dr. Strangelove, Edward Binns, Failsafe -- movie review, Frank Overton, Fritz Weaver, General Black, General Bogan, Henry Fonda, History, I Dream of Jeannie, Larry Hagman, Military Leadership, Moscow, New York City, On Golden Pond, Philosophy, SAC, Strategic Air Command, The Cuban Missile Crisis, The Grapes Of Wrath, The Ox-Bow Incident, Very Highly Recommended Movie, Walter Matthau on September 9, 2020| Leave a Comment »
Two Midway
Posted in Movie Review, Movies, tagged Aaron Eckhart, Charlton Heston, Cliff Robertson, Dennis Quaid, Ed Nelson, Ed Skrein, Glenn Ford, Good to Strong Movie Recommendation, Hal Holbrook, Henry Fonda, James Coburn, James Shigeta, John Fujioka, Luke Evans, Mandy Moore, Midway (1976) -- movie review, Midway (2019) -- movie review, Moderate to Good Movie Recommendation, Mr. Miyagi, Nick Jonas, On Golden Pond, Pat Morita, Patrick Wilson, Rambo, Robert Ito, Robert Mitchum, Robert Wagner, Tadanobu Asano, The Battle of Midway, The Battle of the Coral Sea, Toshiro Mifune, Woody Harrelson on April 17, 2020| 2 Comments »
Today’s movie(s) review is for each / both the “Midway” movies – the first from 1976 and the second from last year (2019). Both movies are “epic” war movies with ensemble casts. Both try to give a “feel” for each combatant (Japanese and American). And, both are – at best – mediocre in terms of popular and professional reviews. Anyway, here goes… | |
Midway (1976) — movie review | |
This film is almost entirely a male cast. The only significant female role is Christina Kokubo playing the fiance of a (fictional) naval pilot. The movie hosts a number of (for that time) big name movie stars on both sides of the battle lines, including: American side: Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, James Coburn, Glenn Ford, Ed Nelson, Hal Holbrook, Robert Mitchum, Cliff Robertson, and Robert Wagner; and, Japanese side: Toshiro Mifune, James Shigeta, Pat Morita, John Fujioka, and Robert Ito. With the possible exception of Pat Morita, who played Mr. Miyagi in the “Karate Kid” movie series, most of these actors will (probably) be unknown to anyone under 30 years of age as most have been dead or retired for over 20 years. | |
This movie has two basic story lines. The main one, of course, is the naval battle. The second, which I guess is meant to create character sympathy, is a fictional story about a father and son who are naval pilots and their “family issues”. Other than the overly-strict father (Heston) trope common to military movie / stories, there is also the introduction of an inter-racial love story between a Japanese-American young lady (Kokubo) who is about to be incarcerated (internment for the war) with her family, who is also not allowed to marry the son / naval pilot (played by Edward Albert). | |
The movie incorporates a lot of stock footage from World War II, most of which is not from the actual battle. Anyway, the “Battle of Midway” is widely considered the turning point of the naval battles in the Pacific theater. It marked a decisive victory for the Allied forces from which the Japanese forces never recovered. | |
As a small point here… In my humble opinion, the Battle of the Coral Sea (which is mentioned in both movies) was actually the turning point, but it was not a “decisive” U.S. victory, so history almost unanimously ranks Midway as the more significant battle. | |
So, is this movie any good? Is it entertaining (even if not entirely accurate)? Why is it considered “blah” by viewers and reviewers? I have distinct memories of first seeing this movie at a theater, so I viewed it while I was in the Army (1974-1978). I mention this to answer the third question first. In the 1970’s, the U.S. was just getting out of Vietnam and there was a significant amount of backlash against our participation there and a corresponding backlash against the glorification of past wars. Both of these trends would culminate in the “Rambo” genre movies which began emerging in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. | |
So, is this movie any good? Yes. Is it accurate? Well, it had the correct combatants, the correct time line and the correct result. Most everything else I put down to artistic license and limited special effects. Entertaining? Yes, but I like action movies and war epics, so I’m a biased audience. | |
Final recommendation: moderate to good. Come for the “old Hollywood” and stay for the so-so history lesson. One caution to younger viewers: many of you will come away thinking either these guys can’t act or they are mailing it in. My vote is the latter, but mostly because I like(ed) most of the geezers in this version when they were in other (mostly younger) roles. | |
Midway (2019) — movie review | |
This second review is for last year’s remake. As mentioned above, another ensemble cast: Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid, Tadanobu Asano, and Woody Harrelson. I’m not sure why, but while watching this version my initial reaction was: “they picked a lot younger cast.” | |
As with the earlier version, this movie chose to run parallel story lines to create character interest (drama). This movie chose three lines, though, instead of two. Again, a pilot love story, blah, blah, blah, “those who sit and wait”. The second is about an Intel Officer who figures out what’s going to happen (Edwin Layton – who was “kind of” the basis for the composite fictional character played by Heston in the earlier version). And, then of course, the battle / result. This movie also provides a view of leadership on both sides of the conflict as we lead up to and then throughout the battle. | |
Is this movie any good? Yes! Is it accurate? Again, so-so. Like the first, it gets most of the main stuff correct. Is it entertaining? Yes! Much more so than the 1976 version. To begin with, the special effects are FAR superior. Gosh, what a surprise… Seriously, though, the attack on Pearl Harbor and the battle scenes almost appeared to me to be in 3D. Of course, I’m watching this movie on a 48-inch screen from 2.5 feet away and not at a big screen theater, but still… I thought most of the photography was excellent and I don’t remember ever thinking: “CGI this. Or, CGI that.” It looked like I was watching the action through a window. So, how was the acting? Again, FAR superior to the earlier version. Some of the acting may not have been very good, but I didn’t think it was because they were mailing in the performance. I would add – in particular – I have never been a fan of Woody Harrelson, but he played a much better Admiral Nimitz in this version than Henry Fonda did in the original. (Just my opinion…) | |
Final recommendation: Good to strong. The camera / photography was very good. The acting was pretty good. I find “epic” war movies very difficult to get right (as a viewer / fan of the genre). The action scenes (independent of the effects) were good. And, I think they got most of the main history points correct, too. I don’t usually prefer remakes, but this is the much better of the two versions. | |
Final thought: I’ve owned the DVD of the 1976 version for over a decade and watch it every three or four years. I bought it when I went through a Henry Fonda kick after re-watching “On Golden Pond“. I will pick up a copy of the 2019 version when the price point drops to my range ($5 – $6). Heck, I may even pick up a streaming version of the original if it ever makes it’s way to my preferred supplier. Then I can binge them both like I did this time! | |
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On This Day In: | |
2019 | Speaking Of #45 |
2018 | A Higher Loyalty |
RIP – Our Silver Lady | |
2017 | Slowly Cutting Their Own Throats |
2016 | Man’s Advantage Over God |
2015 | Deeply |
2014 | Hi-Yo Silver, Away! |
2013 | Warning: |
2012 | Thinking About Beauty |
2011 | A Founding Father’s Argument Against Public Funding Of Religious Education |
Weekend Update | |
So Far, So Good | |
Why Don’t You Tell Us What You Really Think?
Posted in Politics, Quotes, tagged #DumbDonald, Anthony Scaramucci, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Boy Scout Jamboree, Claremont McKenna College, CNN, David Chase, Drama Queen, FBI, Gary Cooper, George H.W. Bush, Henry Fonda, Hillary Clinton, http://www.peggynoonan.com/, Inauguration Day, John J. Pitney Jr., John Wayne, Joshua Zeitz, Loyalty, Melania Trump, Michael C. Bender, Ohio, Opinion Pieces, Peggy Noonan, Politico, Politics, President Ronald Reagan, Projection, Quotes, Reince Priebus, Republicans, Sean Hannity, Tony Soprano, Trump Is Weak, Wall Street Journal, West Virginia, Woody Allen, Youngstown on August 7, 2017| Leave a Comment »
Trump Is Woody Allen Without the Humor |
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Half his tweets show utter weakness. They are plaintive, shrill little cries, usually just after dawn. | |
By Peggy Noonan | |
(Former speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan) | |
July 27, 2017 6:06 p.m. ET | |
This opinion piece originally appeared in: The Wall Street Journal | |
The president’s primary problem as a leader is not that he is impetuous, brash or naive. It’s not that he is inexperienced, crude, an outsider. It is that he is weak and sniveling. It is that he undermines himself almost daily by ignoring traditional norms and forms of American masculinity. | |
He’s not strong and self-controlled, not cool and tough, not low-key and determined; he’s whiny, weepy and self-pitying. He throws himself, sobbing, on the body politic. He’s a drama queen. It was once said, sarcastically, of George H.W. Bush that he reminded everyone of her first husband. Trump must remind people of their first wife. Actually his wife, Melania, is tougher than he is with her stoicism and grace, her self-discipline and desire to show the world respect by presenting herself with dignity. | |
Half the president’s tweets show utter weakness. They are plaintive, shrill little cries, usually just after dawn. “It’s very sad that Republicans, even some that were carried over the line on my back, do very little to protect their president.” The brutes. Actually they’ve been laboring to be loyal to him since Inauguration Day. “The Republicans never discuss how good their health care bill is.” True, but neither does Mr. Trump, who seems unsure of its content. In just the past two weeks, of the press, he complained: “Every story/opinion, even if should be positive, is bad!” Journalists produce “highly slanted & even fraudulent reporting.” They are “DISTORTING DEMOCRACY.” They “fabricate the facts.” | |
It’s all whimpering accusation and finger-pointing: Nobody’s nice to me. Why don’t they appreciate me? | |
His public brutalizing of Attorney General Jeff Sessions isn’t strong, cool and deadly; it’s limp, lame and blubbery. “Sessions has taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes,” he tweeted this week. Talk about projection. | |
He told the Journal’s Michael C. Bender he is disappointed in Mr. Sessions and doesn’t feel any particular loyalty toward him. “He was a senator, he looks at 40,000 people and he probably says, ‘What do I have to lose?’ And he endorsed me. So it’s not like a great loyal thing about the endorsement.” Actually, Mr. Sessions supported him early and put his personal credibility on the line. In Politico, John J. Pitney Jr. of Claremont McKenna College writes: “Loyalty is about strength. It is about sticking with a person, a cause, an idea or a country even when it is costly, difficult or unpopular.” A strong man does that. A weak one would unleash his resentments and derive sadistic pleasure from their unleashing. | |
The way American men used to like seeing themselves, the template they most admired, was the strong silent type celebrated in classic mid-20th century films — Gary Cooper, John Wayne, Henry Fonda. In time the style shifted, and we wound up with the nervous and chattery. More than a decade ago the producer and writer David Chase had his Tony Soprano mourn the disappearance of the old style: “What they didn’t know is once they got Gary Cooper in touch with his feelings they wouldn’t be able to shut him up!” The new style was more like that of Woody Allen. His characters couldn’t stop talking about their emotions, their resentments and needs. They were self-justifying as they acted out their cowardice and anger. | |
But he was a comic. It was funny. He wasn’t putting it out as a new template for maleness. Donald Trump now is like an unfunny Woody Allen. | |
Who needs a template for how to be a man? A lot of boys and young men, who’ve grown up in a culture confused about what men are and do. Who teaches them the real dignity and meaning of being a man? Mostly good fathers and teachers. Luckily Mr. Trump this week addressed the Boy Scout Jamboree in West Virginia, where he represented to them masculinity and the moral life. | |
“Who the hell wants to speak about politics when I’m in front of the Boy Scouts, right?” But he overcame his natural reticence. We should change how we refer to Washington, he said: “We ought to change it from the word ‘swamp’ to perhaps ‘cesspool’ or perhaps to the word ‘sewer.’ ” Washington is not nice to him and is full of bad people. “As the Scout Law says, ‘A Scout is trustworthy, loyal — we could use some more loyalty, I will tell you that.” He then told them the apparently tragic story of a man who was once successful. “And in the end he failed, and he failed badly.” | |
Why should he inspire them, show personal height, weight and dignity, support our frail institutions? He has needs and wants — he is angry! — which supersede pesky, long-term objectives. Why put the amorphous hopes of the audience ahead of his own, more urgent needs? | |
His inability — not his refusal, but his inability — to embrace the public and rhetorical role of the presidency consistently and constructively is weak. | |
“It’s so easy to act presidential but that’s not gonna get it done,” Mr. Trump said the other night at a rally in Youngstown, Ohio. That is the opposite of the truth. The truth, six months in, is that he is not presidential and is not getting it done. His mad, blubbery petulance isn’t working for him but against him. If he were presidential he’d be getting it done — building momentum, gaining support. He’d be over 50%, not under 40%. He’d have health care, and more. | |
We close with the observation that it’s all nonstop drama and queen-for-a-day inside this hothouse of a White House. Staffers speak in their common yet somehow colorful language of their wants, their complaints. The new communications chief, Anthony Scaramucci, who in his debut came across as affable and in control of himself, went on CNN Thursday to show he’ll fit right in. He’s surrounded by “nefarious, backstabbing” leakers. “The fish stinks from the head down. But I can tell you two fish that don’t stink, and that’s me and the president.” He’s strong and well connected: “I’ve got buddies of mine in the FBI”; “Sean Hannity is one of my closest friends.” He is constantly with the president, at dinner, on the phone, in the sauna snapping towels. I made that up. “The president and I would like to tell everybody we have a very, very good idea of who the leakers are.” Chief of Staff Reince Priebus better watch it. There are people in the White House who “think it is their job to save America from this president, okay?” So they leak. But we know who they are. | |
He seemed to think this diarrheic diatribe was professional, the kind of thing the big boys do with their media bros. But he came across as just another drama queen for this warring, riven, incontinent White House. As Scaramucci spoke, the historian Joshua Zeitz observed wonderingly, on Twitter: “It’s Team of Rivals but for morons.” | |
It is. And it stinks from the top. | |
Meanwhile the whole world is watching, a world that contains predators. How could they not be seeing this weakness, confusion and chaos and thinking it’s a good time to cause some trouble? | |
[I found this on her site at: http://www.peggynoonan.com/trump-is-woody-allen-without-the-humor/ | |
I apologize to any who are offended by my posting this editorial without prior permission. Hopefully my full attribution to both Ms. Noonan and the WSJ mollifies you somewhat… — KMAB] | |
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On This Day In: | |
2016 | Discontent |
2015 | Do You Know Me? |
Appetite For Life Update | |
2014 | Tough Journalism |
2013 | Things I’ve Learned |
2012 | Abstainer, n. |
2011 | Rain, Rain, Rain |
Test Your Strength | |
2009 | End the mistakes… |
Life Works
Posted in Faith Family and Friends, Investing, Philosophy, Politics, Quotes, Reading, Serendipity and Chaos, tagged Alice Schroeder, Book Review, Henry Fonda, Investing, Katharine Hepburn, On Golden Pond - movie review, Philosophy, Reading, Recommended Reading, Serendipity and Chaos, The Snowball - book review on March 6, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Last night I finished reading another of the $2 books I keep picking up at my local used bookstore (Half-Priced Books). This was not one of the ones I was planning to take with me to Baltimore for my (now) aborted detail, but it was picked up shortly after I wasn’t able to go. | |
The book is titled: “The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life“, and was written by Alice Schroeder (2008©). The author spent several years with Mr. Buffett and seems to have had fairly unlimited access to his time and records in order to create this work. And, it is a “work”, as it’s over 800 pages! Having cautioned any readers about the volume of the tome, I’ll now state categorically it is well worth the time invested in reading it (pun intended). | |
If you know anything about Warren Buffett, it’s probably that he is one of the ten richest men in the world. You may also have heard something about his personal philanthropy – he will be giving away tens of billions of dollars over the next decade. How does such a man come to be so wealthy? What “tricks” did he use? And why does he now plan to give it away? The answers appear to be he earned it by saving, investing, and having an incredible amount of focus and intensity; and, he plans to give it all away because he can. | |
That’s all you will really get out the book… A personality, a philosophy and a lifestyle, but almost no tips of the trade or inside knowledge of how to make “smart” investments. Sadly (or maybe not), this is what I was hoping to get from reading the book. Buffett’s suggestion if you want to learn how to invest: read Benjamin Graham’s books. After all, that’s what he (Buffett) did. Again, having said the book is not what I hoped for – or expected – it turns out to be a terrific biography about a truly historical figure. The book covers most of the 20th century and is almost a history book in itself. | |
I found the book to be extremely well written and I will even go so far as to admit I cried when Mr. Buffett’s wife passed away. Highly recommended! | |
Last night I watched “On Golden Pond” with Hil. We are both Katherine Hepburn fans and we have both seen this movie multiple times, but probably not in the last ten years or so. Anyway, the movie co-stars Henry Fonda in his final movie role and for which he received an Oscar for Best Actor. The movie is about an elderly couple trying to come to terms with family issues (cantankerous father and insecure daughter) as they also are trying to come to terms with their own mortality. I believe it was nominated for ten Oscars and it won three. I highly recommend it – for the actors, the cinematography and the story – all brilliant! | |
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