Rating: 
Summary: Yee-hah!
Review: "Dr Strangelove" is billed as a classic for a reason: it's flat-out one of the most intelligent and hilarious movies I've ever seen. While the movie works as a satire of Cold-War paranoia and the level of American military preparedness, its true brilliance lies in its vividly drawn characters and endless supply of memorable dialogue. Who can forget the mad General Jack D. Ripper (love that name), the rogue general obsessed with safeguarding the purity of America's bodily fluids? Or Colonel Mandrake, the picture of English gentility, attempting to reason with raving Ripper? Or Dr. Strangelove, constantly having to remember that the American president is not the Fuhrer? Best of all, however, is the indelible image of George C. Scott as the ultimate hawk, General Buck Turgetson. Whether telling the president that an all-out nuclear attack on Russia would result in "five, ten million casualties, tops" for America, or defending the defense protocols that may bring about world destruction, or raving that we "cannot allow a mineshaft gap!", General Turgetson is one of the most consistently hilarious characters in movie history, a caricature of the gung-ho attitude that so often leads to wars. By dealing in a lighthearted manner with an issue as serious as nuclear war, Stanley Kubrick created an incisive, memorable and always hilarious masterwork. Easily one of the top movies I've seen.
Rating:
Summary: A black comic masterpiece. A vast monumental farce.
Review: ...Kubrik masterminded Dr. Strangelove, loosely basing the movie upon the book "Red Alert" (the book is a completely serious Cold War nuclear war scenario, but Strangelove is a complete and total farce). "Strangelove" came out a year or two after the Cuban October missile crisis, a year after US President John Kennedy was assassinated as well as 2 other contemporaneous films, the brilliant and paranoid "The Manchurian Candidate" and the serious treatment of the same book, "Fail Safe."Kubrik originally set out to do a serious treatment of the book. But Kubrik found as he tried to develop the screenplay that he kept running into scenes that he ended up writing as satire. Recognizing the challenge, Kubrik enlisted the talents of one of the best comedic screenwriters in Hollywood, Terry Southern, to do the screenplay. Casting the film was part genius and part hit-and-miss happy accident. ... Somehow Slim Pickens' name came up and Pickens accepted the role of the B-52 bomber pilot. Even more ironic yet, Slim Pickens was more conservative than Dan Blocker, but Pickens never caught on during the film's production that Dr. Strangelove was a comedy, much less a satire and a farce unsympathetic to the official propaganda of the cold war. In of itself, it was a comic master stroke telling Pickens play the role seriously. Pickens was apparently no great wit, so Kubrik was able to keep Pickens completely unaware that Pickens was actually playing in a comedy, not a serious war movie (one can only assume that the humor of the situation was not lost on the other cast members, including James Earl Jones who played Capt. Kong's bombardier.. "Don't tell Slim this is all a big joke, we have to let him think this is a real war movie." ). Other than Peter Sellers' roles, George C. Scott (later in "Patton") and Sterling Hayden delivered memorable performances. Both were obviously instructed to play their roles "over the top." Kubrik instructed Scott to overact the role of the cigar-smoking, gut-slapping, martini-drinking & womanizing General Buck Turgidson (get it? Turgid-son?). In the scene in the war room where Turgidson exuberantly proclaims the spectacle of a B-52 bomber evading radar by hedge-hopping, Kubrik instructed George C. Scott to deliberately overact the part. Kubrik had Scott re-take the scene several times, asking Scott to make it even more over-the-top than before. On the last take of that scene, Scott practically performed it as a burlesque parody, which was of course, the final take that Kubrik actually used. Sterling Hayden delivered a brilliant performance as the psychotic Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper, the Air Force general who unilaterally orders the nuclear strike against the USSR. The confusion of Cold War paranoia, paranoid psychosis and false sexual power in Hayden's scenes is the blackest of black satire. Totally over the top, ludicrous and frightenlingly possible (what if one of your top military brass really went insane and over-rode all the safe-guards against nuclear war?). The insane babblings of General Ripper set the film's direction and act as its centerpiece, delivering both Kubrik's satire of anti-communist propaganda and the air of impossible odds for the rest of the film's characters to overcome that they might somehow avert doomsday. Peter Seller's performances as the President, the British officer and Dr. Strangelove (a left-over Nazi scientist) are memorable, Sellers delivers the title role as the deranged wheelchair-bound Nazi scientist who suffers from involuntary palsied "Seig Hiels!" in his right arm. Again sex is the real underlying motive to yet another character and the opportunities for a sexually prodigious post-apocalyptic eugenic world brings the deranged Strangelove to a frenzied outburst of libidinal energy: "Mein Fuhrer! I can vwalk!" But as much as I enjoy Sellers' roles, they seem overshadowed by the rest of the film's characters. P>It comes probably of no surprise that the U.S. Air Force refused to assist Kubrik in shooting the movie. Having to choice, Kubrik had to resort to mocking up the B-52 flying scenes and bomber interior cabin scenes as best he could (the bomber interior was apparently such a good replica of the real thing that the FBI launched an investigation into who gave Kubrik such a detailed layout of a B-52's flight deck). Appropriately, the exterior B-52 flying scenes hold a comic flaw if you look closely enough: In one scene, as the damaged bomber hedge-hops across the Siberian taiga (northern boreal forest), you can see that the underlying shadow of the plane is actually that of a four-engine propellor aircraft and doesn't match the profile of the overlaid B-52 model. Suffice it to say, when the movie came out, it was not universally received or even widely understood. It was drummed by political commentators and movie reviewers who found it to be tasteless and sophomoric. The studio was very concerned about the potential a negative backlash from its release (consider that in the same year, the Manchurian Candidate was withdrawn from theaters after Kennedy was assassinated). An internal memo described Dr. Strangelove as "a huge, sick malefic joke" and questioned the wisdom of even releasing the movie at all. After all, the movie starts off with B-52's and tanker planes copulating during mid-flight refuelings, displays Air Force "Peace is Our Profession" billboards in the midst of a fire fight between the US Army and Air Force security, depicts two Air Force generals as complete sex-obsessed baffoons, one a psychotic and the other a braying ass, delivers a deranged Nazi scientist and finally a cowboy pilot bucking the biggest phallic bronco of his career (never mind blowing up the world). I can think of few other films whose film makers so defied convention and created a story that really turned conventional wisdom on its head. Dr. Strangelove keeps coming at you as one outrageous scene after another, interspersed with segments of complete straight-faced dead-pan, piling them all on until the fateful end. When Pickins died in 1983, CBS news anchor Dan Rather delivered the obituary replete with the out take of Pickins riding the bomb (Perhaps DeForest Kelley topped that and made good on his threat to have "He's dead, Jim" engraved on his tombstone....). There are some things you just can't live down: Being the face that gets a great closing falling scene that leads to the end of all life on Earth happens to be one of those things. Poor Slim, he's probably suffering in a purgatory of a Liberal Methodist heaven. In closing, I have to agree with that long-forgotten studio executive who wrote in the memo: Dr. Strangelove *IS* a huge, sick malefic joke. But it is one of the finest huge, sick malefic jokes ever created, and stands as a film masterpiece. Those who extoll the virtues of this fil
Rating: 
Summary: NOT THAT FUNNY AT ALL
Review: Despite Peter Sellers in three roles this is all pretty laugh-free as a comedy. Great sets, good dialogue (interesting but not humourous at all). I never heard that Pickens thought he was in a drama all the time he was filming. Doubtul when he's filming the sequeance when he's on the bomb falling out of the plane he still thought he was in a drama.
Rating:
Summary: "Gentleman you can't fight in here! This is the war room!"
Review: Dr. Strangelove
Or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb
I knew I would love this 1964 film from the beginning. As the opening Addams Family-esque credits by Pablo Ferro rolled over blatant love scenes between planes and phallic missiles and meadow lark love scene music trickled to my ears, I knew I was in for a treat.
General Jack D. Ripper (seriously) informs his British-Exchange officer Mandrake (the great Peter Sellers of Insp. Jacques Clousea fame, who plays several roles) that we will be going to "Plan R" in a shooting war against the Russians in order to preserve their precious bodily fluids... A cowboy hat-clad bomber pilot and his crew (which includes a young James Earl Jones' screen debut) set off to bomb the hell out of the russkies while the American government tries desperately to stop them.
It is chock full of strange and funny details such as a binder with the title "World Targets in Megadeaths" or the bombers' survival kits including lipstick and nylons or the Russia Premier being named Kiss-off. Some of my favorite scenes of the film are the conversations between Kissoff and President Muffley- where Peter Sellers really has a chance to shine.
Kubrick did a lot of research before beginning to adapt Peter George's 1958 novel "Red Alert". Originally he intended it to be a serious film on nuclear devastation called "Edge of Doom", but later changed it to a satire to better voice his concerns. The result is the black and white classic full of stellar performances and quirky moments that rules the cult film section.
I really recommend watching the special features on the DVD.
The "interviews" with Scott and Sellers give a great look at Seller's remarkable ability to slide into different regional accents.
The "Making of" featurette is also very informative and provides a great look at the cast.
"You just start your countdown and old Bucky will be back before you can say Blast-Off!"
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Movie Satire's of All-Time
Review: During the height of the Cold War and following the 1963 Cuban Missle Crisis, Stanley Kubrick released this classic black comedy. As the producer/writer/director, Kubrick was nominated for three of the film's four Oscar nominations in 1964. Peter Sellers played three very different characters within the movie and received a well earned best actor nomination as well. The fact that "Dr. Strangelove" won no Oscars was due more to the "My Fair Lady" musical juggernaut of that year than anything else.
Ironically, the movie "Fail-Safe" (with Henry Fonda) was also released in the same year. The plots of both films have the United States accidently launching a pre-emptive nuclear attack by the USAF upon Russia. I recommend that the viewer watch the "Fail-Safe" drama first before seeing the satirical "Dr. Strangelove."
This B/W movie paints both a broad brush in its comedy (Colonel Jack D. Ripper is Sterling Hayden's role) and a narrow brush in its comedy (Peter Sellers modeled his Nazi scientist, Dr. Strangelove, upon NASA's Warner von Braun and his American president upon past Democratic presidential candidate and UN ambassador Adlai Stevenson). There are many classic set pieces within the film and occasionally "Dr. Strangelove" goes way over the top -- but that is also part of its charm.
Rating:
Summary: Oh for the days of the Cold War!
Review: Every ideology that seems terribly important to one generation usually ends up seeming idiotic and even disturbingly naive to the following generation. Think about it. The ideologies of the 18th century - dying for one's prince, duke or loot - seemed insane during the Napoleonic Wars, when nationalism became THE primary motivating factor. "Pure" nationalism - like the extreme gung-ho attitudes at the beginning of World War I - seemed rather distasteful to the Allied forces in World War II, who fought to liberate peoples from Fascism. The idea that Fascism would always endure, and was seriously in danger of taking over the world, seemed laughable during the Cold War. How does the Cold War look to us today? The McCarthy era; Americans truly believing the USSR and the Communists were veritable Antichrists; truly believing that DESTROYING ALL LIFE ON THE PLANET was a feasible prediction about life in the near future; that the world was, always had been, and always would be, characterised by a fight between Communists and Capitalists. *Sigh* Dr Strangelove (or: how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb) is actually MORE funny - and disturbing - in some ways now than it was before. Admittedly I can sort of understand the immense impact of this film - could ANY politial satire have been more timely - but the fact that the "better red than dead" ideology nowadays seems as ridiculous as fighting for your Duke, means that this film can be seen in a new light. People actually believed that is was better to be dead than Red? (Yes they did). People actually believed fluoridation of water was a communist conspiracy??? (Yes, they did). The Russians actually contemplated building a Doomsday device? (Yes they did!!! Josef Stalin actually started research on such a device, which would have EXTERMINATED ALL LIFE ON THE PLANET for the sake of a politial dispute between Communist and capitalist that today seems absolutely laughable!) The passing of the Cold War era means that this movie is seriously disturbing. To a new generation, the all-annihilating power of the superpowers of the 1960s appears to have been based on disputes that appear petty in the extreme. Truly this movie makes us wonder what future generations will think of our fixation on modern ideologies; in an era that began three years ago with the late unpleasantness - and which is already making Francis Fukuyama's ideas, from the happy days of the 1990s, seem obsolete. He claimed that history was over; that free market ideology was the ULTIMATE ideology that would finally bring about an end to all future historical events by making us all live in peace.
That is SO 1995... History is not over. Each generation seriously believes its own era is the ultimate era - that their own era is THE era whose disputes TRULY matter. Well, history changes, as Strangelove shows us. I seriously hope that this movie makes us moderns think a little further before considering annihilating the world again! At least over something like fluoridation of water...
Rating:
Summary: quite possibly the best movie ever made
Review: I am a huge fan of Stanley Kubrick--there are very few directors who rank up there with him. This is Kubrick's best movie, and I'd definitely put it in the top five ever made. It's a dark satire, with stellar performances by George C. Scott, Slim Pickens, and Sterling Hayden. And Peter Sellers' performance in all three of his roles is one of the best I've seen. It's shot in black & white, and very beautiful. And of course in a Kubrick film, everything means something. Unfortunately it isn't a widescreen edition, and there is no commentary, but those are the only faults I can find. There's a short documentary on Kubrick's shorts and early films. There's a pretty good documentary on the Making of Dr. Strangelove. The animated menu is done simply and brillaintly. It has the original theatrical trailor for the film, which was pretty cutting edge. Also there is the trailer for Fail Safe, and for some reason they threw in the trailer for Anatomy of a Murder, though I don't really see why. Even the case it comes in is elegantly designed. This is a dvd you definitely want to get, and a movie that should be watched over and over. Definitely in the top five ever made (along with Citizen Kane, Casablanca, North by Northwest, and Fight Club).
Rating:
Summary: They're Sapping My Precious Bodily Fluids!
Review: I had seen 'Dr. Strangelove' several times prior to purchasing the Special Edition DVD, but have never enjoyed it as much. The film is the standout satire from the 1960's and is still a viable cautionary tale of human foibles. Many other reviewers have gone into great detail summarizing the plot, so I will only mention that it concerns a crazy General (Sterling Hayden) who sends his bombers to Russia in an attempt to destroy the Communists, and the pandemonium that ensues. The film is unbelievably tightly edited and is probably Kubrick's greatest work. The single largest contribution to the success of the film is the superior casting, led by Peter Sellers in a virtuoso performance as Lionel Mandrake, an honorable British military officer, as the US President, and as the ex-Nazi Dr. Strangelove, the half crazy scientific advisor to the President in his most over the top performance ever. Supporting Sellers are Sterling Hayden, who plays the best dark lunatic ever on film, and the brilliant George C. Scott, playing a juvenile General Buck Turgidson proving without doubt that he was capable of comedic roles. My favorite of the smaller roles has to be that of the rather dense Colonel 'Bat' Guano, played so effectively by Keenan Wynn. Also contributing to the realism of the film were the brilliant sets which, though not based in reality, are very effective at conveying the time period and mood. While I think the film is the best satire made in the 1960s, and possibly in film history, and doubtless deserves of the five stars that I have given it for succeeding in telling the cautionary tale that Kubrick intended, Kubrick did take some liberties in the name of satire to reinforce his decidedly leftist point of view about military leadership. Having said that, Murphy's Law is always lurking, so I am not directly criticizing Kubrick's premise as much as I am the fundamental disregard that he had for the stability and maturity of American military personnel (it has now been 41 years since this film was released now and the precautions taken by the US government and military have thus far worked admirably.) My point is not to berate Kubrick, it is to partially address and assuage some complaints which have suggested that this film shows the ineptitude of the military: if this film was a documentary, I would already be in New Zealand. That is the point that is so often missed, this movie is a brilliant black satire about what Kubrick was personally afraid of: it is fiction, just like 'Fail Safe', released later was a more realistic fictional account of accidental nuclear weapons release. I am not implying that a release of nuclear weapons couldn't happen (although I would be more suspect of a rogue state like North Korea or a terrorist organization today), what I am saying that reality is somewhat contrary to the satirical vision Kubrick portrays here. The DVD has several excellent extras, including a documentary of Kubrick, and a wonderful documentary on the making of 'Dr. Strangelove', which revealed some fascinating details about the film. Most interesting to me was that Peter Sellers was originally supposed to play a fourth role, that of Major Kong, but after breaking his leg during filming, which rendered him unable to get around the B-52 set, Slim Pickens was brought in. I wish it had included some raw footage that had been shot of Sellers as Kong. There are also some odd split-screen interviews, and typical features like biographies, trailers (a must see!), and subtitles. This movie is one of the greatest films ever made, and I can't endorse it highly enough to anyone with an eye to black comedy and satire. As for me, I am off for a nice drink of distilled grain alcohol and rainwater.
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Movie Ever Made
Review: I have seen "Dr. Strangelove" over 100 times which proves either I need to get a life or I have very good taste. I hope it's the latter. This is, quite simply, the most complete and the most brilliant film ever made. There is not one boring, poorly acted or superfluous scene in the entire movie. The performances are simply outstanding. Peter Sellers in his three roles is, as always, superlative. But George C. Scott, not generally noted for comedy, proves he is a comedic actor of the highest order. Slim Pickens gives an absolutely hilarious performance as Major Kong. Watch how he takes his cowboy hat out of the safe, and his accent when he delivers the classic line, "A fella could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff!" Keenan Weenan delivers an absolutely dead-on performance as Bat Guano ("if that really is your name...") and Kubrick somehow managed to drag a riveting performance out of Sterling Hayden, not normally known as any great shakes in the acting department. This film is gorgeously directed, paced and is literally perfect. Watch particularly the lengthy scenes in the war room, with Sellers as President Muffley delivering his lines in a flat midwestern American accent to Dimitri, the fun-loving Russian premiere. If you have never seen "Dr. Strangelove," you're in for a cinematic experience you'll never forget. You can watch it dozens of times and still laugh, still appreciate the outstanding performances and marvel at this perfect motion picture.
Rating:
Summary: A classic comedy on DVD
Review: It all starts when a military officer afraid that water has been infected, by Communists, to attack our "bodily fluids," calls for a nuclear strike, preventing any contact with the bombers unless the recall code is known, which only he knows. His aide Captain Mandrake try's to talk him out of the plan, and give him the recall code. In the War Room the president is furious, and is on the phone trying to help the Russians prepare for what is happening. Soon he learns the Russians have a Doomsday device that will kill all human and animal life, if activated by the bomb. Time is running out, and things don't look too good, as Dr. Strangelove counsels them. This was directed by the acclaimed Stanley Kubrick, and stars Peter Sellers in three roles. This film was nominated for Best Picture, and Best Actor. The film is in black and white, which was the best choice, due to many darkly lit scenes. This film is considered a classic in the comedy genre, and it deserves it, because every scene contains laughs. Its ironic comedy, satire, making fun of all the paranoid war crazy politicians of the cold war. A lot of the humor is also subtle, so when you watch think about the little silly use of words. So many of the characters and scenes are memorable. The transfer is good, but sometimes grains do pop up, but mostly the black and white pictures looks crisp and clean. This disc also has 2 documentaries and interviews with the stars. As well, some humorous trailers are included. I recommend this highly, just don't take the serious subject matter too serious. 5 stars.
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