Rating: 
Summary: **LEARN TO LOVE THE BOMB!**
Review: The names of the characters in this movie, right off the bat, will have you cracking up: General Jack D. Ripper, Dr. Strangelove, Bat Guano...it's so funny! THIS IS PETER SELLERS BEST FILM! He plays 3 central characters- Strangelove, Mandrake, and the President. Who would have thought that George C. Scott could be comical? The chemistry between him and the Russian ambassador is hilarious! The guys in the fighter planes are a crack up, espcially Kong- "shoot, a fellah could have a pretty good night in Vegas with all this stuff!" Dr. Strangelove has to be just about one of the funniest characters I've ever seen. If fact, I love this movie so much, I am going to legally change my last name to Strangelove when I turn 18! My favorite part has to be the end...the bombs go off as the world blows up with a happy song playing in the background.. We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when, but I know we'll meet again some sunny day!
Rating:
Summary: fusionsm@aol.com
Review: probably my all time favorite movie. note that the presidents name - muffley murkey- references female genitalia, george c. scott's character - general buck turgidson - refers to a swolen male, and when slim pickens say "a guy could have a good time in vegas" the word vegas was re-dubbed from dallas as president kennedy was killed at the time the movie came out. it's reported that sellers did adlib some of the final scenes in the war room, and watch the russian who couldn't keep a straight face during that scene.
Rating: 
Summary: 5 stars for the movie; 1 star for the DVD
Review: What can be said about this film that hasnt already been said before? From the opening titles (with the bizarre lettering and the images of airplanes coupling) to the inevitable ending, its a masterpiece. The real fault in this product is the DVD itself. The details above claim varying screen ratios at different points in the film; its all 4:3 size. The transfer is atrocious; you can see every speck of dust and pin hole present in the celluloid version. And I dont care if Kubrick authorized minimal screen menus or not - the generic Columbia/Tristar menu and total lack of extras makes this feel like a cookie cutter product. With all that said, though, its still one of the best movies ever and well worth your time to watch.
Rating:
Summary: Ultimate Spoof on "Cold War"
Review: Dr. Strangelove" is a sad commentary created in the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Kennedy Asassination. Peter Sellers finest work, along with George C. Scotts classic performance gives just the right touch of the un-real to this all too real possibility. The black ending is taken far beyond the typical sentimental vision of the apocalypse to remind the audience,in spite of the brilliant storyline and humor, the world was,in fact,on the verge of extinction. This is a movie that has stood the test of time with flying colors, must see.
Rating:
Summary: One of the All Time Best
Review: With so many reviews before me, I can't say I'll add anything here to its praises, except to say that it is, for me, one of the all time best ever. To say that it's funny or not funny is really to miss the point. It's comedy, yes, but this is a real chiller with a touch of real insanity too. No boring scenes in this one, no pointless dialogue. Kind of like when your brain surgeon says "Oops!" And if anyone says they haven't seen this movie, they have at least seen parts of it, Major Kong's ride to oblivion on the bronco bomb being the most famous. And I can't imagine anyone not having seen Dr. Strangelove's bad hand try to strangle him. Most people have, in fact, seen parts of this movie, they just don't know it. This is a movie that's right up there with the best of the best, worthy of every praise they give it. I'd give it more stars if I could.
Rating:
Summary: Where is the widescreen option for this movie?
Review: The box says that this was done in aspect ratio and certain parts were done in widescreen...yet I watched the entire movie twice and noticed that it's filmed in straight full screen to fit the TV. Great movie with classic lines...but I am disappointed that this movie was not in widescreen on DVD. Any help would be great.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic and Brilliant Satire
Review: Stanley Kubrick's acclaimed dark comedy about nuclear holocaust is among the greatest film satires ever produced. To truly appreciate this film it is necessary to remember its historical context. It was produced right after President Kennedy was assassinated and just two years after the Cuban Missile Crisis. The whole world was gripped with a profound paranoia about nuclear annihilation. Average Americans were spending their life savings to build bomb shelters in their basements. A strong anti nuke sentiment was building in the U.S. and anti-nuke protests abounded. This film was one of two anti-nuke movies made in 1964. The other was "Fail Safe" starring Henry Fonda and Walter Matthau which was a heavy handed drama that depicted an accidental breakdown of the Fail Safe system that resulted in a nuclear attack on Russia. "Fail Safe" conveyed its anti war message through a realistic dramatization of an accidental war that frightened the most cavalier of viewers. "Strangelove" accomplished its purpose through brilliant satire, turning strident generals and politicians into absurd caricatures. The dire nature of the topic at a time when real fear was at its height produced a catharsis that made this film even funnier when it was first released than it is today. Kubrick's direction was nothing short of genius. The film is laced with so many subtle innuendoes and ironies; one could see it twenty times and still not find them all. For instance, most of the names had sexual connotations. Strangelove (perversion), Mandrake (a root to used to promote conception), Merkin (slang for female genitalia) Muffley (same), Buck (stud) Turgidson (distended with swelling). The battle to take over the air force complex took place with a sign that said, "Peace Is Our Profession" in the background. Then there is President Muffley's great line, "You can't fight in here, this is the War Room!" The entire ensemble gave superlative performances. Peter Sellers was marvelous playing three parts. As the President, he was deadpan and serious while delivering one hilarious line after another. As Mandrake, he was the gentlemanly Brit trying nervously to reason with a madman. Finally, his best performance was as Dr. Strangelove, a crippled immigrant German scientist who kept inadvertently calling the President, "Mein Fuhrer". This was Sellers at his zaniest, and it was some of the best physical comedy I've ever seen. George C. Scott was perfect as the gung ho war hawk. He brayed, strutted, and played the butt kicking military man to the hilt and beyond. This part was a harbinger of his most famous role as Patton, where he played essentially the same character without the tongue in cheek embellishments. And who can forget Slim Pickens, who is shown on the cover of the video box riding the nuke to ground zero in one of the funniest and most famous scenes in the history of film. This is one of the most creative, witty and effective lampoons ever done. It makes its point effectively by poking fun at people who take themselves all too seriously, and by making us laugh at that of which we are most afraid. I rated it a perfect 10. "AAAAAHooooo!"
Rating:
Summary: We'll meet again....
Review: This movie is absolutely brilliant. Its the best thing that Kubrick ever did and the best movie ever made... possibly the best movie that ever will be made. Darkly funny, it was co-written by Terry Southern if thats any indication. Not to mention a young Kubrick that would settle for nothing less than perfection, and with his razor sharp mind and eye, perfection is exactly what he got. Strangelove has absolutely wonderful acting all around, everyone is right on the mark, every scene is perfect. Sellers plays three rolls and was also suppose to play Slim Pickins roll too but he refused and rumor has it that he even broke his leg so that he wouldn't have to. (the string in my is gone you see). When Kubrick made this movie he was actually very afraid himself of nuclear war and as the title suggests, he was able to get over it by making a huge joke out of it all. (or at least that's what one of his biographies says). Also its interesting that Kubrick first started writing this as a serious movie and then turned it into a comedy. The year Strangelove came out another movie, Fail Safe starring Henry Fonda and VERY similar to Strangelove only serious was also released. But somehow joking about the whole thing was so much more appealing. Anyway if you haven't seen this movie you are really missing out. Buy it now because you will never get sick of it. I've seen it dozens of times and its still funny. I'll never get over Sellers bizarre character in the wheel chair with the evil hand. And the ending to this movie can not be beat. period. I wont say in case you haven't seen it, but its the best ending to a movie EVER.
Rating:
Summary: An all time classic!
Review: The title character of this movie (played by Peter Sellers) is at least loosely based on the brilliant mathematician John von Neumann of Princeton university. von Neumann was one of the pioneers of early computers (among other things). He was also decidedly anti-Soviet Union & many times advocated the US delivering a first strike against her (at that time, it was believed that the US could win a nuclear exchange with "acceptable" losses). Sellers also plays 2 other parts in the movie. One is a British exchange officer who is serving at a US Air Force Base. His other part is as the president of the United States. (It should be noted that these are about the lone 2 characters who actually show any sense in this whole movie). The credits also feature George C. Scott as a hell-for-leather general and a very young James Earl Jones as a bombadeer. "Dr. Strangelove" is a wonderful, delightful, fun movie that deals with one of the most horrifying events imaginable; a mad Air Force general independently ordering his bombers to strike Russia. Meanwhile, the politicians and senior military staff muddles around, worrying about such thing as the calibre of bomb shelters that the US has vs. the Soviet Union (not realizing the whole time that it makes no difference who has better bomb shelters - everyone will die, anyway). A great film of the end-of-the-world variety!
Rating:
Summary: They're really Out There
Review: The General Rippers, Buck Turgidson, Incompetent drunken Russians, and President Muffley's. Although I can't vouch for the Presidents (I've never met a US President in person), the military and other types really do exist--and Kubrick's dark comedy captured their outlooks with uncanny accuracy and skill. My suspicion is that the closest we may come to STRANGELOVE's feckless "Murton Muffley" may be incoming President, George W. Bush. There really are officers who brag about how "their boys" (skilled pilots) can 'cook chickens with jet exhaust', and would probably say "not a chance " if asked whether a foreign power could shoot down a renegade jet. While the levels of security and control on the use of nuclear weapons are far more sophisticated and less subject ot error than they were in teh early 1960's, the mentalities of the people "in the biz" are often not. While I've never met anyone with quite General Jack D. Ripper's level of obsession with bodily fluids, and purity thereof, ther are plenty of "I only drink distilled water" and other types who come unnervingly close (and make you wonder silently--is this guy figuring out how to launch a nuclear attack against someone, someday?). One thing that has always struck me about this movie, is the physical resemblance between "Dr. Strangelove", and real life German emigree, Dr. Henry Kissinger (look at a picture of Kissinger from the early-mid 1960's to see the close resemblance). This is no doubt pure coincidence (since ther is no evidence that either S. Kubrick or P. Sellers --the actor-- knew or were aware of Kissinger at the time this film was made), nonetheless, it has provided conspiracy theorists with lots of fodder, since Kissinger is both a David Rockefeller protoge, and one of the architects of contermporary US foreign & military policies. Also, Kubrick acknowledged that Slim Pickens' line "a fellow could have a great weekend in Vegas..." was originally "A fellow could have a great weekend in Dallas..." (and in fact, if you watch his lips, it's clear he said "Dallas". The line was changed because of the (then recent) Kennedy assassination. Icidentally, Kubrick told Pickens to play Captain Kong as a "straight" role, not a comic one, and it is considered Slim Pickens' finest acting job. For a darkly humorous, but dead-accurate, look inside of "the Cold War mentality", Dr. Strangelove is highly recommended. As a great piece of cinema, showing promise of what was to come from Kubrick ('2001', and 'Clockwork Orange'), also recommeded highly. And as a showcase for Peter Sellers, it's stellar. George C. Scott went on to play General George C. Patton, largely on the strength of his performenace here; Sterling Hayden never played a major role in a movie again -- perhaps a loss to American cinema. One Great movie.
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