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Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
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Dr. Strangelove, or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb (1964) - Directed by Stanley Kubrick
"I wish we had one of them doomsday machines."
I love Stanley Kubrick. Ever since I first watched 2001: A Space Odessey, I've been interested in his style and flair. I've already seen seven of his movies: 2001, Full Metal Jacket, Spartacus, Paths of Glory, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, and Dr. Strangelove which I watched last night right before going to sleep. And with each of his movies, I've had something I could take away with me. For Dr. Strangelove, what I took was it's unique look at anti-war, which will be the leading point of the review.
You see, where many anti-war movies show off the terrible attitudes soldiers of differing sides have towards each other, like in Platoon, or tackle the negative effects on economy, like Grave of the Fireflies, or even both like in The Human Condition, Dr. Strangelove discusses the asurdities of war in an occasionally absurd way: comedy. It takes someone with a deranged mind to come up with conspiracies and act on them with gruesome, malicious intent, which leads the film into it's plot.
Pink Panther star Peter Sellers plays a strong but well-mannered British soldier imprisoned by an insane American soldier who wants to annihilate Russia, an American persident with a strong mind but a nervous persona, and a seemingly-demented and paralyzed ex-Nazi strategist Dr. Strangelove, who seemingly doesn't get enough screen time until you realize Peter Sellers himself gets half the screen time, like Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor. Each character is played by Sellers exceptionally as they all fight against the nuclear assault in their own way.
Peter Sellers is not the only star of the show. Every major character gives it their all as the humorous sides of their personalities slowly grabs a stronger hold on the characters, thus showing off the asurdity of their strategies and warfare and how easily one screw up can lead to something drastic. As I myself am an anti-war man (I am fairly conservative, but unquestionably anti-war), I can definitely relate to any relate to any man who sees the absurdity in the characters, whether it be a war-driven mind, an overly peaceful mind, a racist mind, etc.
And if the characters don't bring enough heart and soul to the movie, the production value in my opinion should. It was incredible. Exceptionaly direction from Kubrick and realistic scenery and dialogue brought a realistic side to this otherwise absurd comedy driven by comedically flawed minds and overly strong or weak wills.
Dr. Strangelove is a mid-60's classic that stands out among other war movies for being the kind of movie that covers depressing topics in a way we can pay attention to almost professionally without shedding a tear due to the characters being largely unprofessional. A personal favorite of mine, this war-movie fanboy would rush to see it again for the way it handles the idea of a doomsday and the avoidance their-of. If the people behind it can't be professional, we can. Kubrick is a genius.
"I wish we had one of them doomsday machines."
I love Stanley Kubrick. Ever since I first watched 2001: A Space Odessey, I've been interested in his style and flair. I've already seen seven of his movies: 2001, Full Metal Jacket, Spartacus, Paths of Glory, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, and Dr. Strangelove which I watched last night right before going to sleep. And with each of his movies, I've had something I could take away with me. For Dr. Strangelove, what I took was it's unique look at anti-war, which will be the leading point of the review.
You see, where many anti-war movies show off the terrible attitudes soldiers of differing sides have towards each other, like in Platoon, or tackle the negative effects on economy, like Grave of the Fireflies, or even both like in The Human Condition, Dr. Strangelove discusses the asurdities of war in an occasionally absurd way: comedy. It takes someone with a deranged mind to come up with conspiracies and act on them with gruesome, malicious intent, which leads the film into it's plot.
Pink Panther star Peter Sellers plays a strong but well-mannered British soldier imprisoned by an insane American soldier who wants to annihilate Russia, an American persident with a strong mind but a nervous persona, and a seemingly-demented and paralyzed ex-Nazi strategist Dr. Strangelove, who seemingly doesn't get enough screen time until you realize Peter Sellers himself gets half the screen time, like Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor. Each character is played by Sellers exceptionally as they all fight against the nuclear assault in their own way.
Peter Sellers is not the only star of the show. Every major character gives it their all as the humorous sides of their personalities slowly grabs a stronger hold on the characters, thus showing off the asurdity of their strategies and warfare and how easily one screw up can lead to something drastic. As I myself am an anti-war man (I am fairly conservative, but unquestionably anti-war), I can definitely relate to any relate to any man who sees the absurdity in the characters, whether it be a war-driven mind, an overly peaceful mind, a racist mind, etc.
And if the characters don't bring enough heart and soul to the movie, the production value in my opinion should. It was incredible. Exceptionaly direction from Kubrick and realistic scenery and dialogue brought a realistic side to this otherwise absurd comedy driven by comedically flawed minds and overly strong or weak wills.
Dr. Strangelove is a mid-60's classic that stands out among other war movies for being the kind of movie that covers depressing topics in a way we can pay attention to almost professionally without shedding a tear due to the characters being largely unprofessional. A personal favorite of mine, this war-movie fanboy would rush to see it again for the way it handles the idea of a doomsday and the avoidance their-of. If the people behind it can't be professional, we can. Kubrick is a genius.