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Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
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Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
Such a prestigious film deserves a huge photo!..I love that war room set! And Kubrick shot it from so many different angles that it was hard deciding which photo I wanted to use. I almost just went with a photo of Tracy Reed, I mean who doesn't love a photo of a pretty girl in a bikini
Though it's funny that she's in General 'Bucks' (George C. Scott) bedroom at 3am and is laying in bed wearing high heels and a bikini. I guess General Buck likes em that way
But what exactly was he doing in the bathroom when Brig.General Ripper calls? I guess we'll never know and that's what makes the movie so cleverly funny, it's all of these hidden comic situations that are so subtle that you have to think about them to get them. Like the scene where Keenan Wynn finds General Ripper shot dead in the bathroom...while shaving. While shaving? Ha, Did that have something to do with conserving precious bodily fluids?
Kubrick is undeniably one of the great directors. Most all of his movies show spectacular-ism, coupled with restraint...which then results in a beautiful crafted film that never force feeds emotions onto us. I could go on and on about the sets and filming techniques that Kubrick employs, the word 'superb' is hardly adequate for the level that Kubrick takes his films to.
Kudos to the army base battle scene. I'm talking about the choice of a hand held (16mm?) camera that's used at near ground level to simulate actual war footage. The results is a noticeably grainy stock that looks like early Vietnam war documentary film. For Kubrick to do that back in 1964 was pure genius.
And kudos to the interior of the B-52 bombers. Hot damn, those cockpits and bomb controls looked real to me. Of course most of us have never seen the inside of a B-52 but I can image they'd look a lot like what we seen on the screen. The entire film is amazing in the visuals.
And a huge shout out to some very fine performances. Everyone seems to single out Sterling Harden as the war and fluid obsessed Brig Gen Ripper...and he owned that role too! But my favorite was Peter Sellers as the President and as Capt. Mandrake.
The other stand out for me (and every actor was good in this) is George C. Scott. Loved how the film started off with this crusty General who's more interested in his secretary than an important call from a superior officer, ha!
Though it's funny that she's in General 'Bucks' (George C. Scott) bedroom at 3am and is laying in bed wearing high heels and a bikini. I guess General Buck likes em that way But what exactly was he doing in the bathroom when Brig.General Ripper calls? I guess we'll never know and that's what makes the movie so cleverly funny, it's all of these hidden comic situations that are so subtle that you have to think about them to get them. Like the scene where Keenan Wynn finds General Ripper shot dead in the bathroom...while shaving. While shaving? Ha, Did that have something to do with conserving precious bodily fluids?Kubrick is undeniably one of the great directors. Most all of his movies show spectacular-ism, coupled with restraint...which then results in a beautiful crafted film that never force feeds emotions onto us. I could go on and on about the sets and filming techniques that Kubrick employs, the word 'superb' is hardly adequate for the level that Kubrick takes his films to.
Kudos to the army base battle scene. I'm talking about the choice of a hand held (16mm?) camera that's used at near ground level to simulate actual war footage. The results is a noticeably grainy stock that looks like early Vietnam war documentary film. For Kubrick to do that back in 1964 was pure genius.
And kudos to the interior of the B-52 bombers. Hot damn, those cockpits and bomb controls looked real to me. Of course most of us have never seen the inside of a B-52 but I can image they'd look a lot like what we seen on the screen. The entire film is amazing in the visuals.
And a huge shout out to some very fine performances. Everyone seems to single out Sterling Harden as the war and fluid obsessed Brig Gen Ripper...and he owned that role too! But my favorite was Peter Sellers as the President and as Capt. Mandrake.
The other stand out for me (and every actor was good in this) is George C. Scott. Loved how the film started off with this crusty General who's more interested in his secretary than an important call from a superior officer, ha!
Oh, damn forgot to say how much I loved the opening title sequences with the B-52 refueling in air and that font, how cool was that!
And the end sequence with all the atomic blast, while that haunting song played, gosh that was so melancholy and such a good choice for the end of the world.
And the end sequence with all the atomic blast, while that haunting song played, gosh that was so melancholy and such a good choice for the end of the world.
I could write a few thousand words on this movie But I'll wrap it up, I promise!.....Freakin amazing film This was my second watch. The first time was many years ago and I liked it then. This time around my opinion has climbed even higher. Who knows how high it could go with a third watch.
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But I'll wrap it up, I promise!.....Freakin amazing film This was my second watch. The first time was many years ago and I liked it then. This time around my opinion has climbed even higher. Who knows how high it could go with a third watch.+