7tavern: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

Sound (2)
3.3
Plot (2)
3.3
Cast (2)
3.5
Special Effects (2)
3.5
Length & Pace (2)
3.3
Cinematography (2)
3.5

Directors: Stanley Kubrick

Writers: Peter George (novel), Stanley Kubrick (screenplay) ...

Release: 29 January 1964 (USA)

Tagline: the hot-line suspense comedy

Plot: Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) is a delusional commander of a United States Air Force base who initiates a plan to attack the Soviet Union with nuclear weapons, hoping to thwart a Communist conspiracy to "sap and impurify" the "precious bodily fluids" of the American people with fluoridated water. Will the Generals be able to stop him from destroying the world or will General Jack D. Ripper succeed?

Cast: Peter Sellers - Group Captain Lionel Mandrake / President Merkin Muffley / Dr. Strangelove, George C. Scott - Gen. 'Buck' Turgidson, Sterling Hayden - Brig. Gen. Jack D. Ripper, Keenan Wynn - Col. 'Bat' Guano, Slim Pickens - Maj. T.J. 'King' Kong, Peter Bull - Russian Ambassador Alexi de Sadesky, James Earl Jones - Lt. Lothar Zogg, Tracy Reed - Miss Scott, Jack Creley - Mr. Staines, Frank Berry - Lt. H.R. Dietrich, Robert O'Neil - Adm. Randolph, Glenn Beck - Lt. W.D. Kivel (as Glen Beck), Roy Stephens - Frank, Shane Rimmer - Capt. G.A. 'Ace' Owens, Hal Galili - Burpelson AFB Defense Team member

Runtime: 93 min

Country: UK

Language: English

Company: Hawk Films

Links: IMDb Profile

Categories: Comedy

Main

Trailer

Squish
Reviews: 740
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2.5

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

"Dmitri?... Why do you think I'm calling you? Just to say hello?... *Of course* I like to speak to you!... *Of course* I like to say hello!... Not now, but anytime, Dmitri..."

Genre: Apocalyptic Drama Comedy

Starring: Peter Sellers (The Pink Panther • Casino Royale (1967)), George C. Scott (Patton • The Changeling)

Directed By: Stanley Kubrick (The Shining • Paths Of Glory)

Overview: When a general decides to go ahead and launch a full-scale nuclear assault, the men in charge scramble to undo the deed.

The first time I saw Dr. Strangelove I was just starting to think about film as 'film' rather than just going around watching movies, and knowing that Dr. Strangelove was a classic, important contribution to American cinema. I found it slow, I found it dry and I didn't find it all that funny.

Giving it a second chance was bound to happen, especially since it's in 1001 Movies and #26 on the AFI's Top 100. But what made it sooner than later for me was the venue.

The Diefenbunker

Yes, Canada's best bunker, and best kept secret while it was being built until a reporter saw a truck delivering a full load of toilets to an empty hill in the middle of nowhere. It's ok, the military asked politely and he didn't spill the story. That's Canadians for ya. Either way, Cold war comedy and bunkers certainly go hand-in-hand.

It's a comedy, but it's not funny. Ok, it's funny, but some dramas coined as Drama before Comedy have more laughs than Dr. Strangelove. What makes this different is the kind of funny that it is. The laughs aren't usually 'laugh out loud' funny, but funny in that "this is all too real and we were often on the brink of total annihilation and that's not funny" funny. Which is hilarious.

The idea of Peter Sellers playing three roles in this film was not Kubrick's idea. In fact the condition was forced by the studio to have Sellers play four parts including Major 'King' Kong, finally played by Slim Pickens. Yes, the multiple roles played by Peter Sellers did enhance the film.

Mr. President, I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed, but I do say no more than ten to twenty million killed, tops. Depending on the breaks. - General "Buck" Turgidson

Simply put, when one man kicks a full scale nuclear assault into high gear without authorization, the men in charge scramble to undo the deed. Of course, Russia reveals all too late that their 'mutually-assureddestruction doomsday device' would retaliate should they be attacked. The press conference declaring the existence of this device was, of course, planned for next Monday... Funny, see?

The only regrettable thing about Dr. Strangelove is that the end is one of those that everyone knows about before going in. As we were sitting there, in the bunker, waiting for the film to start, we overheard twice someone mention how great the ending where [SPOILER] happens is. As with Citizen Cane, if you don't know how it ends, rent it rather than seeing it at the theater, because someone's bound to blurt out how Darth Vader is Luke's father... I really hope you knew that already...

"You can't fight in here! This is the War Room!"

Performance: 9 Cinematography: 8 Script: 8 Plot: 9 Mood: 8

Overall Rating: 84% (Odd, But Lovable)

Aftertaste:

Above all things, I walked away with the knowledge that man is all too human: fallible, poor in foresight, selfish, sexually-driven, macho, insane, cowardly and blind. Having the biggest gun just makes you the funniest, but in the "that's-not-funny" kind of funny that's all too funny.

Also, if you ever get to see The Passion of Joan of Arc in a church with a choir and organist, a Cold-War film 70 feet underground in a bunker, or even Top Gun in a airport hangar, do it, it's all the better story for your friends.

Recommendations: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009), Requiem for a Dream, Dawn of the Dead

Last updated: 2010-05-16 03:59:33 by user07

2010-05-16 03:57:46

AlexDelarge
Reviews: 71
Points: 0 (Level 1)
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4.5

Dr. Strangelove: Bodily Fluids

“We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when
But I'm sure we'll meet again some sunny day
Keep smiling through, just the way you used to do
Till the blue skies chase the dark clouds far away”
Vera Lynn- We’ll Meet Again.

General Jack D. Ripper purifies his precious bodily fluids, his phallic machismo rejuvenated by the mushroom cloud of authority and total annihilation of sanity. Stanley Kubrick’s political and military satire flies dangerously close to reality, its ironic and sarcastic morality prescient in the Orwellian doublethink of our recent administration.

Kubrick attacks with absurd humor contrasted with apocalyptic repercussions, each character reflecting a dark archetype imbued with a corrupting power, the president representing the impotent fear ignorant of its own blackwhite laws. Sterling Hayden as the potent conductor of this final act is a madman who commits his bomber squadron to sneak attack the Soviet Union; only he knows the three letter command prefix to counteract this order. Kubrick films him from extreme low-angle, godlike and in total control of his insanity, speaking delusions earned egregia cum laude of McCarthyism.

Peter Sellers in three disparate roles is exceptional: as Capt. Mandrake, a British officer who nervously attempts to crack the code: as soft spoken President Merkin Muffley who cajoles the drunken Soviet premier: and the intense Ubermensch Dr. Strangelove who suggests a retreat to the deepest mineshafts, a ten-to-one female to male ratio acceptable for human survival.

George C. Scott as gum-chewing Air Force General Bucky Turgidson’s elastic performance is patriotic slapstick, his wingspan and shit-eating-grin belie his commanding voice and murderous intent.

Slim Pickens as Commander Kong is fueled by good ‘ole American ingenuity; he is able to fly that B52 so low he can fry chickens in the barnyard! Kong’s ecstatic yee-haw rodeo ride to oblivion is an iconic cinematic vision.

The Doomsday Device activated, the world ends amid nuclear holocaust with ironic use of Vera Lynn’s heavenly song We’ll Meet Again, the dark radioactive clouds chasing the blue skies far away. Final Grade: (A+)

(Read Less...)

Recommendations: The Birds, Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960), Funny Games

All reviews copyright Korova, Ltd. Visit Alex at his Home Theatre Blog, http://korovatheatrepresents.blogspot.com/

2010-02-27 22:17:46

Squish
Reviews: 740
Points: 0 (Level 1)
Reviewer

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

"Dmitri?... Why do you think I'm calling you? Just to say hello?... *Of course* I like to speak to you!... *Of course* I like to say hello!... Not now, but anytime, Dmitri..." Genre: Apocalyptic Drama Comedy Starring: Peter Sellers (The Pink Panther • Casino Royale (1967)), George C. Scott (Patton • The Changeling) Directed By: Stanley Kubrick (The Shining • Paths Of Glory ) Overview: When a general decides to go ahead and launch a full-scale nuclear assault, the men in charge scramble to undo the deed. The first time I saw Dr. Strangelove I was just starting to think about film as 'film' rather than just going around watching movies, and knowing that Dr. Strangelove was a classic, important contribution to American cinema. I found it slow, I found it dry and I didn't find it all that funny. Giving it a second chance was bound to happen, especially since it's in 1001 Movies and #26 on the AFI's Top 100 . But what made it sooner than later for me was...

(Read More...)

2010-05-16 03:57:46

AlexDelarge
Reviews: 71
Points: 0 (Level 1)
Reviewer

Dr. Strangelove: Bodily Fluids

(Read More...)

2010-02-27 22:17:46

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