Rating: 
Summary: f'd up
Review: this movie was f'd up it had its funny parts and also some wierd parts. i dont know what makes it so great but its a classic it just feels right but in a wierd way
Rating:
Summary: Cold War black comedy still has bite in the Bush age
Review: While the previous version of Strangelove on DVD looked terrific it really was lacking in extras. That would put it on a par with the Kubrick films released by Warner Brothers (where Warner elected to remove the only extra on the 2001 DVD previously seen on the MGM version and provided few to no extras on all the other films). To be fair, that was Kubrick's wish before he died. He wasn't interested in digging up a lot to put on the DVDs. He felt the films should speak for themselves. Then again, that's why there are film historians to make sure this stuff is put.A deft satire about nuclear war, the paranoia of the Communist era US and precious bodily fluids, Strangelove benefits from Kubrick's distant style as a film director. With the exception of The Marx Brothers' Duck Soup, there wasn't any political satires quite as sharp as Strangelove. Kubrick had purchased the novel Red Alert (by Peter George) in hopes of turning it into a serious look at the risk of nuclear weapons. As he prepared the final screenplay he realized that the absurdity of the situation was actually funny. Kubrick hired comic novelist Terry Southern to work with him on the final script and a comic classic was born. The entire cast is perfect. Peter Sellers brings to life three separate characters all with their individual quirks and so different that it's hard to believe that they are being played by the a same actor. Unfortunately, as Sellers career progressed he never did have the staying hand that a director like Kubrick could provide. He gave many memorable performances before and after but his best performances were for Kubrick ( with the exception of Hal Ashby's Being There). It's well known that George C. Scott didn't care for much of his final performance in Strangelove; he felt that Kubrick always went for the take that was over the top. He was right. It worked perfectly. Every other actor is in top form and the deadpan Sterling Hayden nearly steals his scenes with Sellers. The transfer is very, very good. The extras are appropriate given this film's classic status. Included are a documentary and featurette on the making of the film. The interviews with James Earl Jones (this was his first film)and other surviving crew members are enlightening and often quite funny. There's also photos in the documentary of the fabled pie fight conclusion (sadly, the footage for this sequence no longer exists). The documentary covers everything from the inception of the project to the marketing after it was released. We also get an advertising gallery, the cutting edge theatrical trailers and production notes on the making of the film. Oh, and the inclusion of the original split-screen interviews (provided to television stations as a pre-packaged interview with the actors answering questions that would be mouthed by local critics later)is great. Scott's is particularly interesting and funny. Step into the world of Strangelove and discover a past as serious as it was absurd.
Rating:
Summary: "Don't forget to say your prayers..."
Review: I'll admit that the first time I saw DR. STRANGELOVE, I thought it was merely good. An enjoyable film, but not one of the greatest films of all time, or so I believed. But I liked enough of it to give it a second chance. And then I gave it a third chance. And a fourth. I've probably seen this film six or seven times now, and each viewing brings something new to my appreciation. From individual ad-libs by Peter Sellers to the complete absurdity of the whole situation, there is just too much hilarity to recount in one review. Each of the actors appears to be having an absolute blast reciting their subversively funny lines. Special mention must go to Peter Sellers playing three characters, and managing to make them all unique and individually funny. Group-Captain Mandrake, the straight-laced British Air Force officer trying to prevent a disaster. The U.S. President trying to limit the fallout (no pun intended) of that disaster. And, of course, Dr. Strangelove himself, the ex-Nazi scientist whipped into such a frenzy in anticipation of the disaster that he delivers cinema one of its most recognizable lines. (The fact that Dr. Strangelove's unique voice was apparently based on some actual person is almost as frightening as anything in the movie; I cannot imagine any real-life human being sounding like this Third Reich Muppet.) Director Stanley Kubrick coaxes some wonderful performances out of the rest of the cast too. George C. Scott is wickedly fun as the over-the-top General who isn't quite sure of what all the fuss is about. Sterling Hayden is an utter riot as the cigar-smoking, paranoid General firing shots through his office window to protect his precious bodily fluids from the evil Communists. And who can forget Slim Pickens, whose final scene is perhaps one of the most surreal and hilarious in film history. Much of the humor comes from the wonderful juxtaposition of the horrific with the mundane. The discussions over exactly how many million will be wiped out, and the efforts of the US to get the Soviet Premier on the telephone are both diabolically absurd, and probably closer to the truth than anyone realized. This special edition DVD is quite good value for what it offers. First of all, the film itself looks to be in excellent condition. Yes, the aspect ratio changes throughout, but that's the way Kubrick intended it. The sound is also crisp; the echoes of footsteps in the War Room and Major Kong's yelping both come through equally clear. The DVD also contains a few mini-documentaries. "The Art of Stanley Kubrick" highlights Kubrick's film career leading up to the filming of DR. STRANGELOVE. Hardcore Kubrick fans will probably already know most of what is discussed, but I found it to be a very informative look at the parts of Kubrick's filmography that I was least familiar with. "Inside The Making Of Dr. Strangelove" combines many interviews with still-living members of the cast and crew as they recall their memories of working on this film. Some of the more famous anecdotes are recalled (such as Slim Pickens' line of having "a pretty good time in Dallas" being changed to "Vegas" because of the assassination of JFK) as well as some more obscure bits of trivia that I hadn't heard before (the fact that many of the crew upon first seeing Slim Pickens thought he had arrived in costume, when in fact he was just dressing as he normally did). DR. STRANGELOVE is a truly great and hilarious movie. Thankfully, this DVD release is worthy of one of Kubrick's best films. If you already love this film, this disc is worth picking up immediately. If you've never seen it before, I suggest at least a rental is in order.
Rating: 
Summary: Mein Fuhrer....I Mean, Mr. President
Review: "Dr. Strangelove" had to have seemed strange indeed to 1964 audiences. This came out in the same year as colorful, old-fashioned Hollywood fare like "My Fair Lady" and "Mary Poppins." Yet "Strangelove" is far from old-fashioned or even colorful. Kubrick's film is stark and cold with a documentary-like air to it. It's also riotously funny. Peter Sellers is a film treasure. This film is a an orgy for Sellers fans, since he plays no less than three different characters, stretching his chameleon-like acting abilities to the limit. The funniest of his three characters is the dead-pan president of the United States, and the film's funniest scene involves him trying to gently break to the Russian premiere that we are about to launch a nuclear attack on his country. His portrayal of the title character is also inspired, and the image of Sellers in that wheelchair wrestling his black-gloved hand into submission with that crazy shock of hair and crazier glint in his eyes is unforgettable. The film also sports a great supporting cast, most notably George C. Scott as Buck Turgison, who discreetly takes calls from his bikini-clad girlfriend during war room briefings, Sterling Hayden as General Jack D. Ripper, who wields his cigar like a dangerous weapon, and Slim Pickens, as the pilot of the plane that is about to end civilization as we know it. My only complaint with the film is its somewhat sluggish editing, especially in the scenes showing the fleet of bombers on its way to their Russian targets. At times, the movie actually drags slightly, even though it's only 90 minutes long. But this is a minor quibble about a film that has rightly earned a spot in the cultural conscience of America. It will never be irrelevant as long as the ability to wage nuclear war exists, and it doesn't look like that problem will be going away any time soon.
Rating:
Summary: A Unique and Hilarious Social Commentary
Review: Kubrick produced, directed, and co-authored the screen play of this film, one which has lost none of its bite after almost 40 years. In that same year, Sidney Lumet's Fail Safe was also released. Both pose the same question "What if someone accidentally launched an air strike armed with thermonuclear weapons...and it could not be recalled?" However, they offer quite different answers. Credit Stanley Kramer's On the Beach (1959) with alerting the world to a possibility which seemed a probability when the Cuban Missile Crisis developed in October of 1962. In sharp contrast with Fail Safe which remains earnest but now seems somewhat stale and certainly dated, those who see Dr. Strangelove still savor the genius of Peter Sellers as he plays three major characters (President Merkin Muffley, Dr. Strangelove, and Group Captain Lionel Mandrake), joined by a surprisingly hilarious George C. Scott (General Buck Turgison) and Sterling Hayden (as psychotic General Jack D. Ripper, self-appointed defender of his nation's precious body fluids). They and other cast members create one memorable comic moment after another. The film concludes as Slim Pickens' Major T.J. ("King") Kong prepares to engage in what he calls "Nuclear combat! Toe to toe with the Russkies!" Few other film comedies have held up this well, especially after almost four decades. One final point. I am so appreciative of the DVD format which, of course, offers clearer sound and image but also of supplementary mnaterial such as the featurette: "The Art of Stanley Kubrick: From Short Films to Strangelove" and the documentary: "Inside the Making of Dr. Strangelove."
Rating:
Summary: We'll meet again....one sunny day!
Review: This Cold War black comedy holds up today because of the madness of war, but also in its exploration of people who make the decisions to go to war, be it the generals or the politicians who have that duty, to paraphrase General Jack D. Ripper's remark on what French premier Georges Clemenceau said regarding war. Indeed, the president in this movie rightfully says "I will not go down in history as the greatest mass murderer since Adolf Hitler!" And when it comes to nuclear war, with planes of the SAC on 24 hour standby, all within 200 miles of their designated targets, ready to go when a certain code is issued, and that is a code to a secret plan for all B-52's to deliver their payload, each bomb which contains "16 times the total force of all bombs and shells used in World War II" the responsibility of generals and politicians cannot be more understressed. And what if some crazy general named Jack D. Ripper orders the 843rd air division to execute Plan R, R for Robert? His executive officer, an RAF officer named Captain Lionel Mandrake, member of the Office Exchange Program, tries to dissuade him to no avail. There's way too much precious dialogue, but the president's phone conversation with the Soviet premier is a classic: "... Fine, I can hear you now, Dmitri ... Clear and plain and coming through fine ... I'm coming through fine, too, eh? ... Good, then ... well, then, as you say, we're both coming through fine ... Good. ... Well, it's good that you're fine and ... and I'm fine ... I agree with you, it's great to be fine ..." And that's only part of it." The president, bald, bespectacled, and intellectual-looking, is clearly based on Adlai Stevenson, runner-up in the 1952 and 1956 presidential election. SAC General Buck Turgidson says on a nuclear retaliation against the Soviets, "Now, truth is not always a pleasant thing. But it is necessary now to make a choice, to choose between two admittedly regrettable, but nevertheless 'distinguishable', postwar environments: one where you got twenty million people killed, and the other where you got a hundred and fifty million people killed. ... I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed. But I do say no more than ten to twenty million killed, tops. Uh, depending on the breaks." Major "King" Kong, leader of the B-52 crew, has a funny speech to the crew when he realizes that they are at "nuclear combat toe to toe with the Russkies," but also in listing the contents of the survival kit. Think of what was happening when this movie was released in 1964. Kennedy had been assassinated the year before. Khrushchev had been ousted by hardliner Brezhnev. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution had been passed. Yet unjustified communist paranoia was rampant, as evidenced in Ripper's statement: "I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids." Peter Sellers has yet another movie in which he plays three roles--the first was The Mouse That Roared. He is Mandrake, the president, and the title character. George C. Scott has one of his greatest roles as SAC general Buck Turgidson. Sterling Hayden really delivers as the insane Jack D. Ripper. And this was James Earl Jones's debut movie. Funny names abound. The Soviet premier is called Kissoff, the president is Merkin Muffley, think Jack D. Ripper with Jack The Ripper, and Major Kong's nickname is "King" so go figure. Oh, while Merkin sounds like American, look up "merkin" in a dictionary for a real laugh. And the exaggerated opening credits, with the small first name and large last name in a real thin font, the phallic resemblance of the fuel plane fuelling the B-52, is yet another comic touch. One of Kubrick's best movies, sticking with an anti-war theme laced with his usual mean-spirited cynicism. And remember, "We'll meet again, one sunny day, till the blue skies wipe the dark clouds away."
Rating:
Summary: Still funny
Review: I'm still not sure why people equate Kubrick's personal behavior with being a great film director. Any one of his movies could have been easily made by any other director. Another boring film director that comes to mind that people get amazed by is Robert Wise. Anyway... Dr. Strangelove is a funny movie still. Just enjoy it for what it is, and not because of who directed it. Don't try to over-analyze this film because Kubrick's name is in the credits. Now if only someone would colorize this film.
Rating: 
Summary: High on wit, Low on an interesting plot... 3.5 stars
Review: Stanley Kubrick's first major movie, Dr. Strangelove, is a black comedy pertaining to the ongoing Cold War between the USA and the USSR. Like a lot of war movies, the plot tends to drag a bit, occasionally cuasing the viewer to lose interest by going into many details about war codes, political/military terminolgoy, etc, but the film compensates for it by using a lot of sarcasm and wit, though it goes by pretty fast, so if you don't catch it, it will pass you by. It's the type of humor you either understand completely, like I do, or it flies by over your head without a trace. Kubrick would produce much better films during his career, but Dr. Strangelove is a good movie.
Rating:
Summary: One of Kubrick's Only Good Films
Review: Clever writing, excellent acting, and for once decent direction from Kubrick makes this film a classic, and a must-see by all those looking for the perfect black comedy.
Rating:
Summary: Not like you'll change your mind...
Review: Remember this is about the SPECIAL ED. DVD-
I've seen Dr. Strangelove quite a few times, and the special edition is ok, but just like all the other "special edition" dvds that are out there. There is one semi-cool easter egg in it: on the main screen, if you press down until the globe is highlighted, and press enter, a screen lowers and does a quick montage of everytime "Plan R" is mentioned.
As for the movie itself? Who can't love George C. Scott as General Buck Turgidson? Quite a bit different from Patton. That's the kind of General I want running things! Get the secretary, then head off to the War Room!;)
There are great characters in this movie. There's not time spent wallowing in each characters mind, but you can actually get a small idea on what multiple people are all about, which is pretty rare in movies that are "fun" to watch. Yes, it's black and white, but leave your annoying preconceptions at the door.
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