Review of Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) by Cinemasins — 08 May 2015

When you consider the history of motion pictures, certain watershed films leap to mind -- productions which have left their mark on the craft. Without a doubt, one of those is Stanley Kubrik's 1964 masterpiece, Dr. Strangelove (or, as it's subtitled, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb). As political satire, few movies -- even those as incisive as the hilariously vicious 1992 release Bob Roberts -- come close to this level of accomplishment. In the case of Dr. Strangelove, the barbs and quips (both subtle and obvious) hold up as well today as they did thirty years ago.

When director Stanley Kubrick decided to adapt Peter George's thriller Red Alert for the screen, he recruited the author to help with the script. Instead of retaining the straight tone of the book, Kubrick wanted to try for a black comedy, and with the complicity of George and co-writer Terry Southern, Dr. Strangelove was born.

Originally, Kubrick envisioned Peter Sellers playing four unique roles. However, after filming three of them (President Merkin Muffley, RAF Group Captain Mandrake, and ex-Nazi scientist Dr. Strangelove), the actor broke his leg and was unable to complete the quartet. In his place, Slim Pickens was signed to portray Major "King" Kong. Other cast members include George C. Scott as General Buck Turgidson, Sterling Hayden as General Jack D. Ripper, and James Earl Jones (in his first film role) as Lieutenant Lothar Zogg.

As a story chronicling the potential countdown to humanity's end in a nuclear fireball, Dr. Strangelove is tightly-plotted and well-paced. As a black comedy, wielding a wit sharper than honed steel, the film is unparalleled. Kubrick's picture has so many targets that it's difficult to know where to begin. Certainly, the "balance of power" nuclear deterrent policy gets the most obvious jabs (although ardent supporters may not see this -- Dr. Strangelove's attacks are subtle enough that it's possible for an unsophisticated viewer to miss the point). Parodying the "missile gap" at the heart of the arms race, we are given the "doomsday gap" and the "mine shaft gap.".

Kubrick isn't especially kind to the military mentality, as personified by General Turgidson (elements of Scott's performance here foreshadow how he would approach the role of Patton in the 1970 movie that earned him an Oscar). Turgidson sees Soviet plots everywhere, flirts with a girlfriend in the midst of a national crisis, believes 10-20 million American casualties (tops!) are acceptable, and wishes the U.S. had some sort of doomsday machine to match the Russians' capabilities.

As the film races to its conclusion, situations become more bizarre, with a drunk Soviet Premier Kissoff whining over the phone to Muffley that the U.S. planes are flying too low and jamming his radar. Mandrake tries to put an emergency call through to the President, but the Pentagon won't accept the collect call, and he doesn't have exact change. And Dr. Strangelove, Hitler's best living ally, comes up with a plan to preserve the superior elements of humanity.

The genius of Dr. Strangelove is that it's possible to laugh -- and laugh hard -- while still recognizing the intelligence and insight behind the humor. The film is always saying something, and a viewer would have to be deaf and blind not to recognize the targets of the sarcasm. In fact, I'd worry about anyone who takes this movie too seriously. That, after all, isn't the kind of person Dr. Strangelove is aimed for; it's the kind this film takes aim at.