Movies Like Fail Safe (2000)

Fail Safe is a 2000 drama, tv movie, thriller film from Stephen Frears with a MovieMagicScore of 6.9/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The Sum of All Fears and Iron Eagle II.

Drama TV Movie Thriller

The Sum of All Fears

2002

When the president of Russia suddenly dies, a man whose politics are virtually unknown succeeds him. The change in political leaders sparks paranoia among American CIA officials, so CIA director Bill Cabot recruits a young analyst to supply insight and advice on the situation. Then the unthinkable happens: a nuclear bomb explodes in a U.S. city, and America is quick to blame the Russians.

6.4

MagicScore

Iron Eagle II

1988

Chappy Sinclair is called to gather together a mixed Soviet/U.S. strike force that will perform a surgical strike on a massively defended nuclear missile site in the Middle East. Chappy finds that getting the Soviet and U.S. Pilots to cooperate is only the most minor of his problems as he discovers someone in the Pentagon is actively sabotaging his mission.

4.5

MagicScore

The Atomic Cafe

1982

A disturbing collection of 1940s and 1950s United States government-issued propaganda films designed to reassure Americans that the atomic bomb was not a threat to their safety.

7.3

MagicScore

Fail Safe

1964

Because of a technical defect an American bomber team mistakenly orders the destruction of Moscow. The President of the United States has but little time to prevent an atomic catastrophe from occurring.

7.8

MagicScore

Thirteen Days

2000

The story of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962—the nuclear standoff with the USSR sparked by the discovery by the Americans of missile bases established on the Soviet-allied island of Cuba.

7.0

MagicScore

Oppenheimer

2023

The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.

8.0

MagicScore

Red Joan

2018

London, England, May 2000. The peaceful life of elderly Joan Stanley is suddenly disrupted when she is arrested by the British Intelligence Service and accused of providing information to communist Russia during the forties.

6.6

MagicScore

Panic in Year Zero!

1962

While on a fishing trip, Harry Baldwin and his family hear an explosion and realize that Los Angeles has been leveled by a nuclear attack. Looters and killers are everywhere. Escaping to the hills with his family, he sets about the business of surviving in a world where, he knows, the old ideals of humanity will be the first casualties.

6.2

MagicScore

Colossus: The Forbin Project

1970

The U.S. has handed over control of its nuclear defense system to the Colossus supercomputer designed by scientist Dr. Charles Forbin. It soon becomes clear, that the now-sentient Colossus is far more intelligent than its creator realized—with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.

6.9

MagicScore

#10

Tetris

2023

In 1988, American video game salesman Henk Rogers discovers the video game Tetris. When he sets out to bring the game to the world, he enters a dangerous web of lies and corruption behind the Iron Curtain.

7.7

MagicScore

#11

The Day After

1983

In the mid-1980s, the U.S. is poised on the brink of nuclear war. This shadow looms over the residents of a small town in Kansas as they continue their daily lives. Dr. Russell Oakes maintains his busy schedule at the hospital, Denise Dahlberg prepares for her upcoming wedding, and Stephen Klein is deep in his graduate studies. When the unthinkable happens and the bombs come down, the town's residents are thrust into the horrors of nuclear winter.

6.8

MagicScore

#12

The Starfighters

1964

A young Air Force lieutenant falls in love with fighter planes while his father, a Congressman and war hero, yearns for him to fly heavy bombers.

1.5

MagicScore

#13

The War Game

1966

A docudrama depicting a hypothetical nuclear attack on Britain. After backing the film's development, the BBC refused to air it, publicly stating "the effect of the film has been judged by the BBC to be too horrifying for the medium of broadcasting." It debuted in theaters in 1966 and went on to great acclaim, but remained unseen on British television until 1985.

7.7

MagicScore

#14

Ladybug Ladybug

1963

The teachers and students of a countryside elementary school are thrown into a panic when an air raid siren goes off, warning them of a imminent nuclear attack.

6.7

MagicScore

#15

Watchmen

2009

In a gritty and alternate 1985, the glory days of costumed vigilantes have been brought to a close by a government crackdown. But after one of the masked veterans is brutally murdered, an investigation into the killer is initiated. The reunited heroes set out to prevent their own destruction, but in doing so they uncover a sinister plot that puts all of humanity in grave danger.

7.3

MagicScore

#16

The Man Who Saved the World

2014

The Man Who Saved the World is a feature documentary film about Stanislav Petrov, a former lieutenant colonel of the Soviet Air Defence Forces.

6.8

MagicScore

#17

Duck and Cover

1952

An instructional short aimed at school-aged children of the early 1950s that combines animation and live-action footage with voice-over narration to explain what to do to increase their chances of surviving the blast from an atomic bomb.

6.0

MagicScore

#18

Path to War

2003

A powerful drama of soaring ambition and shattered dreams that takes a provocative insider's look at the way the USA goes to war—as seen from inside the LBJ White House leading up to and during the Vietnam War.

6.7

MagicScore

#19

To End All War: Oppenheimer & the Atomic Bomb

2023

Explore how one man's relentless drive and invention of the atomic bomb changed the nature of war forever, led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and unleashed mass hysteria.

7.7

MagicScore

#20

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

1964

After the insane General Jack D. Ripper initiates a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union, a war room full of politicians, generals and a Russian diplomat all frantically try to stop it.

8.1

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Fail Safe?

The top films similar to Fail Safe by MovieMagicScore are The Sum of All Fears (6.4), Iron Eagle II (4.5), The Atomic Cafe (7.3). Each shares drama/tv movie/thriller themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Fail Safe worth watching?

Fail Safe holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.9/10 from 84 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Fail Safe?

Fail Safe (2000) is a drama, tv movie, thriller film directed by Stephen Frears, starring Walter Cronkite, Richard Dreyfuss, Noah Wyle.

Where can I find more recommendations like Fail Safe?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like The Sum of All Fears Movies like Iron Eagle II Movies like The Atomic Cafe Movies like Fail Safe Movies like Thirteen Days Movies like Oppenheimer

About movies like Fail Safe

This ranked list pairs Fail Safe (2000), a drama and tv movie and thriller film from Stephen Frears, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Walter Cronkite take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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