Dr Strangelove Review

 

Dr Strangelove: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Stars: Peter Sellers, George C.Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens, Peter Bull, James Earl Jones & Tracy Reed.

Running Time: 95 mins

Release: 29 January 1964

At the height of the cold war, the paranoid & insane US Army General Jack Ripper (Hayden) believes that the Russians are poisoning the american populace through the water supply so he launches a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union through a back door mechanism without the knowledge or permission from his superiors. Only Ripper knows the code to shut down the attack and he's cut off all communications to protect his attack. Ripper's executive officer RAF Group Captain Lionel Mandrake (Sellers) who is being held prisoner by Ripper believes he knows the recall code to stop the attack, all he would have to do is contact the outside. He's the stiff British upper lip in the face of the absurdity and madness.

Meanwhile at the Pentagon, in the war room to be precise President Merkin Muffley (Sellers again) and the joint Chief of Staff, General Buck Turgidson (Scott) with other chief staff and the nuclear scientist and advisor who was a former Nazi scientist Dr Strangelove (Sellers) discuss measures to stop the attack or mitigate the attack into a full out nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Muffley brings in Soviet Ambassador Alexi de Sadesky (Bull) into the war room and Soviet Premier Dimitri Kisov on the hot line to inform him what's going on much to Turgidson's chagrin.

The Americans in the war room are shocked to learn the Soviets have an unannounced Doomsday Device which will detonate if any of their key targets are hit.

Meanwhile in the sky Major T.J “King” Kong (Pickens) on the of B-52 Bomber pilots has an agenda all of his own to deploy the bomb wherever he can over enemy soil if he fails to make the target.

As Peter Sellers, the comic legend plays three roles I will go into each of those individually.

I'll start off with Mandrake. Mandrake is a man and believes doing what is right; stopping Ripper's insane attack. I was really impressed how he kept his cool in the face of Ripper's insanity. He just goes along with it and is the epitome of the phrase 'Keep calm and carry on' which he does so wholeheartedly. Being honest I felt he was the only character that feels the real gravity of the situation at hand, the whole world is at stake whilst the Americans in the war room worry over the Nuclear Arms Race/War with the Russians. He is absolutely magnificent in all his scenes He's hilarious with how he handles people and the situation and he has a great accent.

As President Muffley he plays it absolutely straight and with absolute conviction as Muffley. He's really gloomy and neurotic. He's under a lot of stress in what to do with Ripper's attack.and to get ahead in the arms race and constantly worries how he'll look in the history books. Unlike most of the body that are in the war room, he does not share the same paranoia as his colleges as he calls in the Russians to know what they are doing much to their chagrin also his phone conversation with Dimitri which is one sided is perfect cinematic gold.

Saving the best to last Dr Strangelove. Sellers is absolutely insane as the good doctor and I loved every minute of his screen-time. Dr Strangelove is a former Nazi scientist who is now a senior head in Nuclear science in the US Government. He is trying to suppress his “darker' side I.e stop referring the President as Mein Fuhrer and stopping himself from doing the salute which is really funny to watch. As the events of the film transpires his darker side comes to the front as the possible outcomes narrow down his Nazi ideologies and behaviour come into play which surprisingly many of the people in the war room agree with !, also he has the greatest final line in a film i've ever heard “Mein Fuhrer !, I can walk !”. His facial expressions and delivery is faultless and that accent.

I was incredibly impressed with Sterling Hayden's performance as General Jack Ripper, he's utterly insane but is also believable. The idea that he has that the Soviet Union is poisoning the American water supply to make the public communist is absolutely preposterous and on that whim he goes to launch the attack !. He plays the part very well and with such conviction that he's got lost in the character. He has an amazing voice and he's such a great character.

Equally George C.Scott gives a brilliant performance as General Buck Turgidson. Like Ripper he's very paranoid but his finger is not on the trigger. He has some great lines in the film. To say anymore of his character would spoil it for you.

Keenan Wynn's plays Col. “Bat” Guano whom Mandrake meets in the film. He constantly accuses Mandrake of being a “prevert”.He has some absolutely fantastic lines in the film. The Coca Cola Machine comes to mind.

Slim Pickens has a ball of a time playing Major Kong the mad-cap pilot who's hellbent on dropping the bomb on the Soviet Union. He has a great southern accent and is in one of the most iconic shots of the film. He is one of the most absurd characters in this film.

Peter Bull who is a british actor play Soviet Ambassador Alexi de Sadesky, he does the accent very well and has some fantastic lines too. I am not going to spoil it for you what he does in the film but you can most likely guess.

James Earl Jones is in this film in a small role as Lt Lothar Zogg a fellow pilot on the B-52. You'll most likely recognise his voice from a iconic classic sci-fi character. I was surprised he was in this the only thing I have heard of him in was in Star Wars.

Tracy Reed plays Turgidson's mistresses Miss Scott who also happens to be his secretary. She has a very small role in the film and in all that time she's in a bikini. She's great and works really well in her one scene and the phone scene where Turgidson phones her in secret in the war room is brilliant. She's a very beautiful woman and was only 22 when she did this film but she's acted with Peter Sellers a few times during the 1960's she was in A Shot in The Dark which came out in the same year and Casino Royale in 1967 which is a spoof of Bond. Also she's seen in the playboy magazine that one of the pilots are looking through on the B-52.

Laurie Johnson did the soundtrack to this film and he's done a stellar job. I particularly love the opening theme which plays on the Blu-Ray Menu and is the main theme it's so classical and beautiful I could listen to it time and time again, he recorded soundtracks to some of the most iconic TV series of the time including The Avengers. Also the ending song is very ironic.

This film tackles really dark subject matter that being The Cold War and Nuclear Holocaust but in a darkly humorous way. Sex is also a theme in this film if you listen closely enough. It's a fantastic satire and captures the feeling of The Cold War at that time, If you don't know about the Cold War you should not watch this film. The comedy in this is of a particular taste. The characters are fantastic and well thought out and encapsulate the people they represent in a satirical way without being over the top. This film has some absolutely fantastic dialog and dry jokes of which many are quotable. I'm very impressed with this film in every single way the acting, script, shot and soundtrack.

I saw this film on Blu-Ray and it looks stunning for a 50 year old film and a fun little note Stanley Kubrick never left the UK for any of his films and this was filmed in Shepperton Studios and at Heathrow Airport !.

Overall I highly recommend this film and I personally think for when students study The Cold War they should watch this by default.