George Clooney stars as a U.S. fighter pilot mistakenly commanded to start a nuclear war with Russia. Now he must be stopped--at any cost--to avert Armageddon in the chillingly realistic movie. Colonel Jack Grady (Clooney) commands a fighter squadron ordered to destroy Moscow with nuclear warheads as a result of a glitch in a military computer. With the help of a translator named Buck (Noah Wyle), the President of the United States (Oscar winner Richard Dreyfuss) must join forces with the Russians to end the deadly threat. If all other efforts fail, the President promises to send one of his most important generals, Warren Black (Harvey Keitel), on a mission that could millions--including both the President's and general's families. This riveting drama, originally broadcast live, shows civilization dangerously close to annihilation despite measures deemed FAIL SAFE. Based on the best-selling 1962 novel by Eugene Harvey & Burdick Wheeler.