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Summary: Kubrick Takes on the Cold War
Review: Dr. Strangelove is at the top of of the (very short) list of political parodies in the world of cinema. With the help of some fine performances from Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, and Slim Pickens, among others, Kubrick skewers a wide range of targets - the absurdity of the nuclear world, with its Mutually Assured Destruction and Missile Gaps, the irony of the contribution of German scientists to America's military might, the paranoia that surrounded the Red Scare - they're all here. It is Sellers' wonderfully understated Mandrake (the embodiment of the "special relationship" between America and Britain - see Christopher Hitchens, among others) who carries the day, and the film. Kubrick seems to have a way with soft-spoken English chaps who take their time getting to where they are going (think of the bartender in the Shining, and much of the early bits of 2001), but who speak volumes nonetheless. A little dated, perhaps, but the humor (and the underlying politics) still rings true.
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Summary: Great but not perfect
Review: The Dr. Strangelove DVD is very good as most of Kubrick's DVDs are bare bones. This one has two new documentaries that are informative, though at times a little rushed. It would also have been nice if the longer one was broken into chapters for easier access. The movie looks great. I guess my only complaint is that it would have been nice to see some deleted scenes or alternate takes as extras, but since Kubrick was notorious for not giving access to material he didn't approve of, I wasn't holding my breath. Though I will say that this is one movie that definately would have benifited with a feature-length commentary.
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Summary: Sellers at his best!
Review: This movie, along with "Being There", are my favorite movies! Peter Sellers was a master actor! The extras on the disk are worth it too.
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Summary: Satirical funfest!!
Review: This was a much better film than "Fail Safe", a film made the same year in 1964 that took the issue of a nuclear crisis seriously. I thought Kubrick's use of humor to highlight the absurdity of nuclear war was quite effective. It was rather challenging to make fun of a nuclear crisis. But at the end of the film, you realize that it absolutely can happen if there are a few kooks who are running the show. Well Recommended!!
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Summary: Blasting Off into Greatness
Review: Mad General Jack D. Ripper of the Strategic Air Command, concerned about the purity of his "precious bodily fluids," launches a pre-emptive attack on the Soviet Union with his bomber wing, based at Burpelson Air Force Base. His executive officer Captain Mandrake, President Merkin Muffly, and the Premier of the Soviet Union Kissoff, all try to rein in the bomber team currently headed toward its target in Russia, before the dreaded Doomsday Device is set off, ending all life on Earth. But why is ex-Nazi scientist Dr. Strangelove smiling so much? One could go on about the tight plotting and even belivability of the situation depicted in the film (the opening disclaimer notwithstanding) and the unforgettable images of Major Kong riding the bomb, but the real star of the show in Dr. Strangelove, is, without a doubt, Peter Sellers. He plays three roles in this film: Captain Mandrake, the President, and Dr. Strangelove, and in each of those three largely improvised performances he comes up with unforgettably hilarious lines. (The comedic monologue as he speaks to the Premier is especially funny--never have multiple apologies been so true!) The obvious phallic references throughout are both funny and satirical; Kubrick's slams on the military mindset and the military-industrial-sexual complex were dead on for that time period, when the world was regularly on the brink of destruction. Somehow, brilliantly, he found a way to make people laugh at the sheer horror and absurdity of the situation. Though this is a laugh-out-loud comedy, the subtext of the film is very dark indeed, suggesting that given the chance, human beings will destroy themselves and take the whole world with them for the sake of ideology and "purity of essence." This film also marks the beginning of Kubrick's idiosyncratic use of music; the world's destruction is set to the score of Vera Lynn's "We'll Meet Again," and the lush, serene string music that accompanies the beginning of the film is incredibly ironic . . . . Though we are not quite as afraid of nuclear annihilation by the Russians now, the film remains incredibly watchable and compelling, and an eternal indictment against the gungho/hawkish element that seems to be itching to attack anyone, at any opportunity, regardless of the consequences.
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Summary: ...it's true the human element seems to have failed us here
Review: As previous reviews have aptly noted, it is difficult to review Dr. Strangelove simply because its merits are so readily apparent upon viewing. Filmed in the mid-1960s in eeriely-fitting black and white, this is a film that cannot be fully appreciated without reference to the nuclear paranoia and deep-freeze of the Cold War at that time. The film delights in, in equal turns, setting up and then ridiculing all the posturing and assumptions of the age. Others have attempted to generate farce out of the idea of "gap" fear (the Ruskies might have a 10 megaton warhead strapped to a donkey, we have a donkey gap) or MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction results in a military paralysis on both sides that is the operational equivalent of real peace), but Dr. Strangelove remains the finest. The film is a beautiful and both grim/hilarious time capsule from a period where the outcome of the Cold War looked very much like it was going to be fallout (Cuban missile crisis, kruschev's "We will bury you"). While the effectiveness of those plans of matching the Soviet's every move and putting a nuclear ICBM in every silo may or may not have worked in ending the Cold War, it may just as easily have been calming down enough to stop pointing everything at one another. Dr. Strangelove heckles them all, depicting a series of events, instigated by an insane U.S. base commander, that spiral rapidly out of control despite everyone's comical efforts at controlling them. From Colonel Mandrake's discovery of a small transistor radio bleating out the most inane 60s pseudo-jazz elevator music (intentionally chosen, I am sure) to indicate that the U.S. is not actually under attack, to the President's hilariously colloquial conversations with the drunken Soviet Prime Minister ("Of course I like you! ..Don't say that, Dimitri") to knobby-jawed Buck Turgidson's constant fears of a post-apocalyptic "mine space gap" that might allow the Soviets to, after mutual 90 year periods underground, return to the surface with more people and take over, every aspect of the cold war nuclear arms race is held up to ridicule. The titular character, Dr. Strangelove, a wheel-chair bound German scientist now employed by the Americans, serves as a metaphor for war, a sort of personified doomsday clock. The closer the countries get to war, the healthier and more robust he seems to become, despite repeated attempts by his metallic right arm to strangle him. Dr. Strangelove, in the course of his wise counseling of the President in this time of crisis, reveals he actually carries a radioactive half-life materials guide, accidentally adopts a Nazi salute, and shouts "Mein Fuhrer! I can walk!" as the bombs finally start to fall. His most damning commentary, however, comes in the form of his explanation of how the U.S. might perserve a nucleus of society underground to rebuild after the explosions, explaining with a knowing leer that of course the political honchos must be saved to govern society and, naturally, many buxom and fertile women of high attractiveness must be brought down as well in a ratio of, oh, 10 to 1. This is entertainingly similar to U.S. government plans that arose back then and are still in effect that, in the event of nuclear attack, all high ranking members of the government, including all of Congress and the Senate, and their families, must be whisked away to protective bunkers while the country they represent gets blasted to pieces. Not too hard to figure out who passed the laws for that, eh? Alluring if you're the one heading into the bunker filled with supermodels, not so much fun if you're not. And with both countries following that procedure, the only ones to survive would, obviously, be those that caused it and that would simply fall back into their respective postures again afterwards. As a side note, a telling sign of Dr. Strangelove's continuing relevance is the amazing number of references to it found in The Simpsons, which you will recognize easily.
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Summary: how i learned to stop holding out and watched this fim
Review: Dr. Strangelove is certaintly a cinematic masterpiece. The humor is both slapstick and dry (sometimes very dry) and the acting is excellent. Like all films, this one isnt perfect, I personally prefer 2001 to this, and occasionally the film lumbers. But still, thats all compensated for by brilliant acting by everyone, the interesting and frightening beggining and end and some friggin hilarious moments- the president talking on the phone with the prime minister of russia, arguing that he always says good morning when he calls is hysterial and the last scene, where dr. strangelove is rambling on about his ideas for humanity while trying not to slaute hitler is also one of the funniest ever commited to film. I'd definitely recommend, though you may have to be a certain age to really appreciate this film. Rated pg, contains mild profanity and some violent images
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Summary: Greatest Black Comedy of our time.
Review: There isn't a whole lot I can say about Dr. Strangelove. It was a movie that was released far before my day and whose message was more powerful for my parents generation than for mine. Despite that generation divide, this movie contains an important message beneath the comedy and the message that is becoming increasingly relevant in these turbulent times. Peter Sellers steals the movie...what a tragedy his untimely death was.
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Summary: Truth is often spoken in jest.
Review: Dr. Strangelove is a funny look at our society during the early cold war years. It is a reminder for those of us that remeber the Cuban missle crisis; and a history lesson for younger folks. You can at least learn to laugh at the bomb.
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Summary: The finest film of the 1960s
Review: The blackest of comedies that miraculously manages to not sacrifice satire for the sake of propaganda, and make even nuclear war funny. An absurdist's dream film that put Kubrick firmly on the map and gave much-deserved international recognition to Peter Sellers for his outstanding work in three separate roles. The first time I saw this was in my college video library. Lots of old top-loading VCRs that seemed bigger than xerox machines, crummy, uncomfortable furniture, lousy headphones. And I was laughing hysterically (in a library, mind you) for nearly the entire film, right to the Vera Miles song at the end that accompanied stunning shots of actual atomic explosions. One of the strengths of this film, unlike most from this era, is that it's Cold War-themed story does not seem outdated. Kubrick leaves most of the politics on the sidelines to focus on the absurdity, and to let the satire ring brilliantly. Yes it's a left-leaning film, but it's also very damn funny and never self-rightous--it's much more intelligent than that. Kubrick's merciless portrayal of the military could be offensive to those who refuse to understand what satire actually is. But, if you really have a sense of humor about the madness of war and politics--regardless of what side of the divide you're on--I'm sure this will rank among your favorites. Guaranteed to replenish your vital bodily fluids...
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