Remaking the 1964 Sidney Lumet Cold War classic about a president who nukes New York in atonement for a rogue missile's decimation of Moscow was a challenge in itself. But to do it in one take and in letterboxed black and white was asking a lot of even this talented cast. It was 40 years since live TV drama went out of vogue and the odd gaff here explains why. Yet, director Stephen Frears achieves a judicious blend of suspense and philosophising, as the various hawks and doves seek to sway Richard Dreyfuss while George Clooney's plane gets ever closer to its target.

Cold War tensions climb to a fever pitch when a U.S. bomber is accidentally ordered to drop a nuclear warhead on Moscow.