what was this 80's movie?

[unsped]

i remember seeing a movie when i was younger, it mainly took place aboard a nuclear equipped bomber that was headed into russia. i believe it was a b1 bomber, and that they came under attack a few times im not sure if they ever reached there target or dropped any bombs. i believe i remember at some point that they blacked out the windows in the bomber.

kinda of a survival slash nuclear delimma movie from the point of view of the people onboard the bomber.

very vague i know lol, i believe i saw it on network tv but i believe it was an actual movie that had at least some sort of video release, it was decently produced and not a B movie etc..

any ideas?

 

[blackdogdeek]

i think i remember this movie. i think it might have been an hbo movie as opposed to wide release. and i think rebecca demornay might have been in it.

maybe it was called failsafe or something? i'll check imdb.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Before I read the description I was going to say Red Dawn. Nevermind.

 

[mugs]

Dr. Strangelove fits several of your criteria, but not others... and if you were thinking of Dr. Strangelove, I'd like to think you wouldn't put it in the 80s.

Sorry.

 

[blackdogdeek]

by dawn's early light?

 

[BoomerD]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099197/

 

[darkswordsman17]

Hmm. I don't know. I remember a Clint Eastwood movie where he was flying a bomber and landed on snow/ice at one point.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083943/

 

[K1052]

Originally posted by: blackdogdeek
by dawn's early light?

Yep.

It was a B52 crew.
They get credit for innovative use of a multi megaton H-bomb to take out some fighters too

 

[mcvickj]

Originally posted by: Fingolfin269
Before I read the description I was going to say Red Dawn. Nevermind.

I was going to do the same thing. Never watched By Dawn's Early Light. Any good?

 

[AnitaPeterson]

By Dawn's Early Light is one of the better WWIII / nuclear strike / nuclear emergency films out there, although by now it's a bit dated. I really like the performances of the actors, and it's a pleasure to see James Earl Jones again.

Other films tackling the same subject (in no particular order):

Dr. Strangelove
Fail-Safe (the best of the bunch, IMHO - Henry Fonda makes a fantastic President, and Larry Hagman, as an interpreter, gives the performance of his career)
Crimson Tide
K-19 (these last two should be watched back-to-back for a thought-provoking juxtaposition of leadership/decision-making types)

 

[unsped]

its gotta be by dawns early light, thanks guys been bugging me for awhile

ill have to checkout failsafe too

 

[Joemonkey]

What was the name of the live action thing they did along these same lines on broadcast TV a while back? i know george clooney was a US bomber pilot and was on his way to Russia as a training/exercise type thing and got orders to go drop the bomb on moscow via a malfunctioning computer. They could not get him to come back and successfully dropped the bomb, so they had harvey kietel as another US bomber pilot circling over NYC (with his family shopping below) drop a nuke to prove it was not an act of war but an equipment malfunction (right after harvey presses 'the button' he kills himself)

 

[Kadarin]

There's this gem, starring Dennis Hopper...

 

[whistleclient]

Originally posted by: Joemonkey
What was the name of the live action thing they did along these same lines on broadcast TV a while back? i know george clooney was a US bomber pilot and was on his way to Russia as a training/exercise type thing and got orders to go drop the bomb on moscow via a malfunctioning computer. They could not get him to come back and successfully dropped the bomb, so they had harvey kietel as another US bomber pilot circling over NYC (with his family shopping below) drop a nuke to prove it was not an act of war but an equipment malfunction (right after harvey presses 'the button' he kills himself)

That was a live remake of "Fail Safe".

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Some of the reasons I like "Fail-Safe":

* Matthau, Fond and Hagman were fantastic (Hagman, best-known as JR from "Dallas" was a revelation, too bad he got stuck with TV series afterwards.)
* The tension build-up is flawless (one of the best film constructions I can think of, and although many films of the 60's and '70 have a "padded" feeling for present-day audiences, the pacing here is perfect, no "dead times".)
* The dilemmas are real, timeless and universal.
* You don't realize they're working on a low-budget; and
* The film does NOT rely on special effects!!!

 

[Joemonkey]

Originally posted by: tangent1138

Originally posted by: Joemonkey
What was the name of the live action thing they did along these same lines on broadcast TV a while back? i know george clooney was a US bomber pilot and was on his way to Russia as a training/exercise type thing and got orders to go drop the bomb on moscow via a malfunctioning computer. They could not get him to come back and successfully dropped the bomb, so they had harvey kietel as another US bomber pilot circling over NYC (with his family shopping below) drop a nuke to prove it was not an act of war but an equipment malfunction (right after harvey presses 'the button' he kills himself)

That was a live remake of "Fail Safe".

ah ok, i think i'll have to watch the original after some recommendations in this thread

 

[FoBoT]

i saw that on TV, Dawn's Early Light

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: AnitaPeterson
By Dawn's Early Light is one of the better WWIII / nuclear strike / nuclear emergency films out there, although by now it's a bit dated. I really like the performances of the actors, and it's a pleasure to see James Earl Jones again.

Other films tackling the same subject (in no particular order):

Dr. Strangelove
Fail-Safe (the best of the bunch, IMHO - Henry Fonda makes a fantastic President, and Larry Hagman, as an interpreter, gives the performance of his career)
Crimson Tide
K-19 (these last two should be watched back-to-back for a thought-provoking juxtaposition of leadership/decision-making types)

to add to this... "Dr Stranglove" is an adaptation of "Fail-Safe," the speculative book that lead to the film of the same title. so, essentialy the "same movie," although Kubrick's films tend to be rather loosley adapted from the source material.