Stanley Kubrick's Dr Strangelove - How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb stands as one of the all time great films about war because it is so much different from any other film on the subject. It has much more in common with the work of the Marx Brothers than it does with Saving Private Ryan or The Dirty Dozen. The black humor of the film is exactly why it was considered controversial upon release, and how it manages to be so sincere and honest on the subject of nuclear war.
The film is very funny because when you think about it, the very notion of war is absurd. Not to discredit the courage of those who have gone to defend their countries, the film focuses on the business of war, the administrative end, where politicians will send men to die for the sake of their own egos. In fact the notion of the bomb as phallic symbol is made literal with the iconic image of the film: Major Kong riding a nuclear bomb down to Earth while whirling a cowboy hat over his head.
The film is primarily a comedy, and it's a real comedy. The jokes aren't just meant to "make you think", they're really there to make you laugh, so while the movie definitely makes its point, it's certainly not the sort of humor that's "Not funny, but has something to say". The humor is, in fact, incredibly funny.
When Kubrick dealt with similar subject matter in Full Metal Jacket, he managed to make a movie that was just as funny without it being so overt. There are no direct jokes in that film, but the movie stands as a comic masterpiece nevertheless. By the mid eighties it would seem that Stanley Kubrick had come to think that you don't need jokes to make war seem absurd.
The heart of the cast is Peter Sellers, who plays several characters. In today's Hollywood, one comic actor in multiple roles is usually a sign of a terrible comedy, where they thought that five unfunny characters could be made funny if they were all played by the same guy wearing a variety of fat suits and women's dresses. Sellers, on the other hand, was just the most capable actor of playing all of these wild characters.
The primary performance here is of course Dr. Strangelove himself, the crazy former Nazi who sits in a wheelchair and whose "alien hand" will throw up a Nazi salute at the worst possible moments. It is through Strangelove that we most clearly see the link between nuclear weapons and sexual dysfunction, with Strangelove showing a tangible sense of sexual thrill at the possibility of a nuclear winter.
George C. Scott turns in an incredible performance as General Buck Turgidson. The character is much wilder, more manic than anything Scott has done. He's usually seen as this master of gruff understatement, saying more with a growly whisper than most actors say with a big speech. Kubrick actually had to trick him into going so over the top by promising that these would be "practice takes" where he could take the scene farther than it needed to go to get the kinks out! Similarly, Slim Pickens was tricked into playing it straight as Major Kong by being told it was a dramatic war film.
If you haven't seen it yet, this is one of those movies that you absolutely must see before you die. From the opening scenes to the apocalyptic finale, Dr. Strangelove is the only statement that needs to be made on the foolishness of nuclear war. - 40726
The film is very funny because when you think about it, the very notion of war is absurd. Not to discredit the courage of those who have gone to defend their countries, the film focuses on the business of war, the administrative end, where politicians will send men to die for the sake of their own egos. In fact the notion of the bomb as phallic symbol is made literal with the iconic image of the film: Major Kong riding a nuclear bomb down to Earth while whirling a cowboy hat over his head.
The film is primarily a comedy, and it's a real comedy. The jokes aren't just meant to "make you think", they're really there to make you laugh, so while the movie definitely makes its point, it's certainly not the sort of humor that's "Not funny, but has something to say". The humor is, in fact, incredibly funny.
When Kubrick dealt with similar subject matter in Full Metal Jacket, he managed to make a movie that was just as funny without it being so overt. There are no direct jokes in that film, but the movie stands as a comic masterpiece nevertheless. By the mid eighties it would seem that Stanley Kubrick had come to think that you don't need jokes to make war seem absurd.
The heart of the cast is Peter Sellers, who plays several characters. In today's Hollywood, one comic actor in multiple roles is usually a sign of a terrible comedy, where they thought that five unfunny characters could be made funny if they were all played by the same guy wearing a variety of fat suits and women's dresses. Sellers, on the other hand, was just the most capable actor of playing all of these wild characters.
The primary performance here is of course Dr. Strangelove himself, the crazy former Nazi who sits in a wheelchair and whose "alien hand" will throw up a Nazi salute at the worst possible moments. It is through Strangelove that we most clearly see the link between nuclear weapons and sexual dysfunction, with Strangelove showing a tangible sense of sexual thrill at the possibility of a nuclear winter.
George C. Scott turns in an incredible performance as General Buck Turgidson. The character is much wilder, more manic than anything Scott has done. He's usually seen as this master of gruff understatement, saying more with a growly whisper than most actors say with a big speech. Kubrick actually had to trick him into going so over the top by promising that these would be "practice takes" where he could take the scene farther than it needed to go to get the kinks out! Similarly, Slim Pickens was tricked into playing it straight as Major Kong by being told it was a dramatic war film.
If you haven't seen it yet, this is one of those movies that you absolutely must see before you die. From the opening scenes to the apocalyptic finale, Dr. Strangelove is the only statement that needs to be made on the foolishness of nuclear war. - 40726
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This is also one of my wife's favorites as well film. Movie Site At least if you have found one, you can guarantee that matters can only improve! If ever there was a band to listen to in a darkened room, Pink Floyd would be my choice every time.
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