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3. Dr.Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
I don't care what others say. Dr.Strangelove is the best satire and anti-war film ever made. And it is the best thing Kubrick has ever done.
Unlike most comedies which get boring after a re-watches because you already know all the jokes and the punchlines that are going to happen, Dr. Strangelove is a rare masterpiece that keeps getting better and better on each re-watch. It isn't the typical comedy where are the jokes are revealed right in front of the audience, rather it's actually sort of up to the audience to personally interpret what the whole movie means. Not a very friendly comedy for sure, but it's the main reason of the film's brilliance.
The table at the fictitious war room is where the film takes place the most. A short film trivia before I get into this and the next paragraph; Stanley Kubrick had the table look like and colored like a poker table, even though the film is in black and white and there is no reason for a war room to have such a table. So what does this mean?
The satire Dr.Strangelove is trying to execute- is the idiotic inner appearances hidden inside normally but brought to life at the edge of humanity. What Kubrick is implying is that the ones we call leaders are bluffing with our lives, glancing at one another hoping for anyone but themselves to solve the whole thing because simply they don't have the ability their supposed to have. Well, they might have the skills, but under the chance of extinction they become cowards and idiots- which is brilliantly comically shown.
Also even in dangerous situations where the two nations are supposed to work with each other and fix the problem- they're fighting like children, saying the childish classic "He did it, and I didn't!". The two countries trying to foolishly rip each other apart and make sure the other side doesn't get the upper hand are lead to famous and hilarious scenes, best of them all the 'Dmitri phone call' scene. If you can't laugh at that, you have a slight problem to be honest.
This film isn't about the war happening outside- like all great war films, it's about the war happening inside, And the really great part is that the tragedy of the inner war is spelled out in a comical way- which is more effective. Of course, satire doesn't always have to be funny to be effective- but in Dr.Strangelove's case it's pure gold. If you didn't like this film at first, give it another go. You may find something new.
I don't care what others say. Dr.Strangelove is the best satire and anti-war film ever made. And it is the best thing Kubrick has ever done.
Unlike most comedies which get boring after a re-watches because you already know all the jokes and the punchlines that are going to happen, Dr. Strangelove is a rare masterpiece that keeps getting better and better on each re-watch. It isn't the typical comedy where are the jokes are revealed right in front of the audience, rather it's actually sort of up to the audience to personally interpret what the whole movie means. Not a very friendly comedy for sure, but it's the main reason of the film's brilliance.
The table at the fictitious war room is where the film takes place the most. A short film trivia before I get into this and the next paragraph; Stanley Kubrick had the table look like and colored like a poker table, even though the film is in black and white and there is no reason for a war room to have such a table. So what does this mean?
The satire Dr.Strangelove is trying to execute- is the idiotic inner appearances hidden inside normally but brought to life at the edge of humanity. What Kubrick is implying is that the ones we call leaders are bluffing with our lives, glancing at one another hoping for anyone but themselves to solve the whole thing because simply they don't have the ability their supposed to have. Well, they might have the skills, but under the chance of extinction they become cowards and idiots- which is brilliantly comically shown.
Also even in dangerous situations where the two nations are supposed to work with each other and fix the problem- they're fighting like children, saying the childish classic "He did it, and I didn't!". The two countries trying to foolishly rip each other apart and make sure the other side doesn't get the upper hand are lead to famous and hilarious scenes, best of them all the 'Dmitri phone call' scene. If you can't laugh at that, you have a slight problem to be honest.
This film isn't about the war happening outside- like all great war films, it's about the war happening inside, And the really great part is that the tragedy of the inner war is spelled out in a comical way- which is more effective. Of course, satire doesn't always have to be funny to be effective- but in Dr.Strangelove's case it's pure gold. If you didn't like this film at first, give it another go. You may find something new.