What do you get when you cross breed a genius director, a who's who of Hollywood hot shots, and the chest pounding anxiety of the constant threat of nuclear obliteration during the high point of the Cold War? You could end up with one of two things--propaganda or satire. Dr. Strangelove goes the way of the latter and is one of the greatest satires of all time. At the point of this films release, the entire United States was at the brink of a mental breakdown. Bomb shelters, canned foods, rations and gas masks were still in high demand. McCarthyism was not so long gone as many Americans sought out in their every day lives, searching for the commie and godless scum around them. Entertainment was changing and booming into new territory all around the world. In the midst of the chaos, a young Stanley Kubrick sat back and observed, as most great chess players do.. planning his next move. That move was Dr. Strangelove. Checkmate...
Dr. Strangelove concerns a US General Jack Ripper (Sterling Hayden) who goes rogue and decides to order a Nuclear strike on the Soviet Union without the proper orders from his superiors in the US government. Needless to say this induces a chain reaction of finger pointing, head scratching, and hilarious dialogue that sends this film right into the madhouse which, ironically is the actual mood of America at that time. In this film, Kubrick captures the absurdity of our Nuclear defensive and offensive capabilities when left in the hands of only a few powerful men.
A good portion of Dr. Strangelove takes place in the war room at the Department of Defense. In this room is where President Merkin Muffley (just one of three characters played by Peter Sellers) meets with his joint chiefs of staff, one of whom is a very charismatic General 'Buck' Turgidson (George C Scott) and another is Dr. Strangelove (Peter Sellers) himself, an ex Nazi scientist turned scientific advisor to the president. Once they realize theres an order given to a random B-52 bomber to drop a nuke in Russian territory, they scramble to either recall or destroy the bomber at any cost. What they don't realize is that the bomber is piloted by a very ambitious Major 'King' Kong (Slim Pickens) who once is given orders to strike, does everything in his power to keep the mission successful to preserve the American way!
The premise of Dr. Strangelove when seen on paper seems to be very bleak by design but fortunately, with the charismatic direction by a young and already proven talented director such as Stanley Kubrick at the helm, the ship sailed and by the end scene, in what some would say is one of the most iconic end scenes in any film satire or not. Seeing a man ride an atomic bomb like a bull waving his cowboy hat all the way down is a shot that will stick in my head for the rest of my life.
I'm telling you folks, get this film, watch this film, it will suck you right in if you know what great film looks like. Or wait a while like I did. Time is the reason alone that I got half the jokes and slang.
5/5
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