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Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Special Edition)

Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Special Edition)

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good for a chuckle
Review: Critics across America call this one of the funniest comedies of all time. It is funny, but I wouldn't say it's good for a belly laugh. Sure, there are some chuckles here and there, but this is purely tongue-in-cheek humor.
Example: Keenan Wynn's character tells (one of) Peter Sellers character(s) that he'll have to answer to the Coca Cola Company for shooting the lock off the Coke machine's change collector in order to pay for the phone call that may stop the nuclear holocaust. "That's private property!" he says. That's the flavor of the humor here. It's all very tongue-in-cheek, social commentary, like what you might find in a Dave Barry article or by some nut on the newspaper editorial page.
Peter Sellers is wonderful in three very different roles, and George C. Scott is a hoot. But, again, nothing hilarious here. It's good for a chuckle, though, and the DVD has plenty of features to keep the movie fans busy. This movie isn't for everyone. But then, what is?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Purity of essence of preservation of precious bodily fluids
Review: My favorite of all of Kubrick's movies and that is saying something. It works as a comedy, as an anti-war film and as a testament of cold war mentality. It also boasts career best comedic performances by Sterling Hayden, George C. Scott and Peter Sellers in what should have been an Oscar winning performance (or performances). Ranked #2 on my all-time favorite movie list

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: KUBRICK AT HIS BEST
Review: Nuclear apocalypse--funny? Who would ever have thought that such a topic could be so hilarious?
Stanley Kubrick, along with Coppola and Hitchcock, is probably my favorite director, simply because his films stand out amongst all others, and "Dr. Strangelove" is no exception. Peter Sellers is marvelous as RAF Captain Mandrake and the U.S. President, Merkin Muffley, but his performance as the ex-Nazi scientist Dr. Strangelove is one of the best in his career. George C. Scott is surprisingly funny as General Turgidson; Sterling Hayden is very, very, very scary as General Jack D. Ripper; Slim Pickens is off-the-wall as Major Kong.

I love dark comedies, but this tops them all!!!
********** out of **********

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Black Comedy: or I how I learned to love Stanley Kubrick
Review: Stanley Kubrick, for the past 5 years or so (ever since I first watched Strangelove), has been a personal idol of mine. And if the average person wants to know what the big deal is about Kubrick, the answer lies within this film.

While it's debateable whether this, 2001, or Clockwork is his greatest acheivement on film, I argue that Strangelove contains the most of what we know and love of Kubrick. His combination of satire, black comedy, and the use of unlikely situations to provoke serious thought (and in the meantime poke serious fun) of both society and mankind are all displayed in this one gem.

Set (and filmed) in Cold War Era atmosphere, Dr. Strangelove begins when General Ripper (Sterlin Hayden) orders a full scale nuclear attack of The Soviet Union as per a somewhat secretive engagement policy which was put in effect in case of a sneak attack on Washington. His reasoning, because the Communists are attempting to infiltrate America by stealing our "precious bodily fluids" (he later reveals that he came to this conclusion when failing at the physical act of lovemaking).

This sets about a series of episodes in which Slim Pickens (Major Kong) and his B-52 Bomber Crew attempt to evade "The Ruskies" and hit their target, another in which Colonel Mandrake (Peter Sellers) a British Military officer sets about to stop Ripper, and the last in which the Russians and Americans set about to stop the tragedy through the last possible lines of diplomacy in The War Room (no fighting allowed). It's in the War Room where most of the action takes place, staggering between brilliant performances by Sellers again as The U.S. President, George C. Scott as General Buck Turgidson, and yet Sellers again as the mysterious title character Dr. Strangelove.

If you have seen any highlight reels of the greatest scenes in film, then you are no doubt aware of the brilliant climax in this one, but I won't spoil it for you. Dr. Strangelove is considered by many (myself included) to be one of the greatest films ever made, and for that alone is worth your purchase.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: George W. Bush Lovvves The Bomb
Review: Now that the Soviet Union has crumbled, and the United States reigns as the single golbal super power, one would assume that Dr. Strangelove would have become obsolete. Not so.

The world is still in the same sorry state that plagued us all at the heighth of the cold war. The actors may be different, but the story remains the same. And Dr. Stangelove told the story better than most. Strangelove examines the insanity of Mutual Assured Destruction, the never ending arms race, and the impact both had on the global community.

Anyway, the work of Peter Sellers is excellent. He was one of the most versatile actors of the time. Not only did he play the part of the dark Nazi scientist, Dr. Strangelove, but also bumbling Commander Mandrake as well as the President. George C. Scott played the hawkish General Buck Turgeson, and did convincing job of itching for war with the "Ruskies"

In conclusion, the movie turns a humorless topic in to a extremly fun dark comedy. Well worth watching.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Timeless political irony
Review: Those who lived through the peak Cold War years, circa 1958 - 1970, will recognize much in this wickedly-acid satire. For those who did not, suffice it to say this film is an absolute work of genius.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Absolutely Brilliant, Yet Creepy Satire
Review: Splendidly acted and brilliantly directed, Dr. Strangelove is Kubrick's satiric masterpiece about the insanity of the Cold War Era and the silliness of the infamous military-industrial complex--i.e., militaristic war machine-- that seems hell-bent on destroying the world with its overblown paranoia and jingoism. After rumors of a supposed Doomsday Machine that the "Commie Rats" are developing, a general, Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden), tricks 34 U.S. Air Force bombers into nuking the U.S.S.R. without asking the President's permission (played by Peter Sellers in one of three roles). Not surprisingly, he's a little touched in the head, as he decides to bomb Russia not only because of this device, but because he's obsessed with the idea of preserving America's "precious bodily fluids." (It's a long story, folks.) Adding to the mess is Joint Chief of Staff, Turgidson (George C.Scott, in a brilliant performance), who's as paranoid as they come and wouldn't mind helping Ripper take out half of civilization to save America from the evil Russians. (One hilarious scene has Turgidson confronted with the possiblity of killing millions of people because of Ripper's stunt. "So what if we get our hair a little mussed?" he says.) Also mired in the madness is another military man, the veddy British Mandrake (Sellers) who works under Ripper and tries desperately to get the insane man to give him the code needed to turn the planes back, but alas to no avail. The star of the movie, however, is the weapons scientist, Dr. Strangelove (Sellers again), a very bizarre wheelchair-bound ex-Nazi with a "trick arm" that can't stop doing the Seig Heil salute. (For trivia buffs out there, this character may have been an allusion to the very real Wernher von Braun, the rocket scientist for Nazi Germany who was recruited by the U.S. after the war.) Also doing a wonderful turn is Slim Pickens, the tough-talking cowboy and man in charge of the only bomber that fails to get the recall from Washington; the scene in which he rides a falling nuke to its destination is a cinematic classic.

What makes Dr. Strangelove so brilliant is that is able to straddle that line between reality and absurdity without having each side cancel the other out. On one hand, the performances are so over the top that you not only laugh, you sigh with the relief that this is, after all, *just* a movie. (A weird cat like Dr. Strangelove could never exist in real life.) On the other hand, there's something about the way the film is directed where there's an eery and creepy feeling that something like this *could* happen-- not with these zany characters, of course, but with saner people in similar circumstances. In the end, no matter how crazy people like Turgidson and Ripper may act, the bottom line is that their underlying beliefs are shockingly similar to what a lot of U.S. military personnel in a position of power to push the button feel like. But then again, that was the point of the film-- on one hand to make people laugh, but on the other hand, to wake them up to the dangers of the Cold War and an entity like the military-industrial complex, that-- if not kept in check-- could one day feel itself powerful enough to perform certain reckless acts without consulting Congress or even the President himself. All in all, a terrific film, and a complete thumbs up from me.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Brilliant, yet funny
Review: Stanley Kubrick, the director of such masterpieces as A CLOCKWORK ORANGE or 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, brings a brilliantly funny black comedy about the cold war. About a crazed military officer who orders planes to wrongly bomb Russia, this film will be forever remember. MUST be seen for all classic film buffs

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A pro-war movie?
Review: Forget Catch-22, Slaughterhouse-Five, and all those others. Not a single movie has caught the paranoia, chaos, and comedy of war better than this, Kubrick's masterpiece, a movie that never ceases to be surprising or hilarious. How many other movies can conclude with the annihilation of mankind, and make it seem so amusing?

Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, and Slim Pickens do superb jobs as well. Without their comedic timing and unmistakably masterful acting, this movie would have been a waste. Somehow, as happens from time to time, every single element is on target, and the product has become a brilliant satiric statement of the silliness of war that will last until our doomsday.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Kubrick Classic.
Review: U.S. Air Force General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Heyden) goes entire and Utterly Crazy and Sends his Bomber Wing to Destory the U.S.S.R. He distrust that the Communists are Noted to Contaminate the Expensive Carnal Liquids of the American People. The U.S. President (Peter Sellers) meets with his Advisors, where the Soviet Ambassador tells him if the U.S.S.R. is hit by Nuclear Weapons, it will trigger a Doomsday Decive. Which will Annihilate all Plant and Animal Life on Earth. British Captain Lionel Mandrake (Also Sellers), the only person with access to the Demented General Ripper. U.S. President Merkin Muffley, whose Best Effort to Avert Disaster depend on Placating a High Soviet Permier and the former Nazi genious Dr. Strangelove (Also Sellers), who concludes that such a decive would not be a Cognizant Deterrent for Reasons which at this moment must be all too obvious. Will the Bombers be Stopped in Time or will General Jack D. Ripper succeed in destroying the world?

Directed by Stanley Kubrick (Lolita, 2001:A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange) filmed a well made Black Comedy, feature an Impressive Cast including-George C. Scott, Slim Pickens and James Earl Jones. This film is Unique and It's gets better, every year. Oscar Nominated for Best Actor:Peter Sellers, Best Picture and Best Director:Stanley Kubrick and Best Adapted Screenplay by Peter George, Stanley Kubrick and Terry Southern. DVD has an clear Pan & Scan format and an Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono Sound. A well made that become a Classic. The Newest Edition from Columbia Home Video DVD has Many Extras. Grade:B+.


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