Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Written by: Stanley Kubrick and Peter George & Terry Southern, loosely based on "Red Alert" by Peter George
Year: 1964
Genre: Black comedy/satire
My rating: 5 out of 5


An international disaster begins when psychotic USAF Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden), commander of Burpelson Air Force Base, orders the 34 nuclear-armed B-52 planes stationed around the Soviet Union initiate Plan R, in an effort to protect Americans' "precious bodily fluids" from communist attacks, such as the diabolical water fluoridation. Plan R indicates that the U.S. has been fired upon by the USSR, and calls for the planes to cut off incoming signals unless they are preceded by the recall code, and bomb their targets in Soviet Russia. The movie follows three groups of characters during the crisis. In the first, Royal Air Force Group Captain Lionel Mandrake (Peter Sellers) tries desperately to get the recall code from the crazed General Ripper, who has put Burpelson on lockdown. In the second, the gloves are off (and the cowboy hat on) for the crew of one of the B-52s as they prepare for Plan R, piloted by Major T. J. "King" Kong (Slim Pickens). The third, and funniest, follows a discussion in the War Room, with arguments from U.S. President Merkin Muffley (Peter Sellers), General Buck Turgidson (George C. Scott), Soviet Ambassador Alexei DeSadeski (Peter Bull), and handicapped ex-Nazi scientist Dr. Strangelove (Peter Sellers, again). President Muffley puts in a call to Soviet Premier Dmitri Kisov to give him the information needed to shoot down the B-52s, and learns shockingly that the Soviets have designed a Doomsday Device that will detonate if Russia is bombed, and send the earth into 93 years of nuclear fallout.

At the Academy Awards, "Dr. Strangelove" was nominated for all the right things: Best Actor (Peter Sellers, all three roles in one nomination), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture. The latter three are all spectacular of course, particularly the screenplay, which Kubrick brilliantly turned into a satire from the original thriller novel. What really holds the movie together, though, is clearly the great Peter Sellers. In his most popular performance(s) (excluding, I suppose, the "Pink Panther" series), he masterfully portrays three wildly different characters and gets huge laughs from all three. Captain Mandrake represents his wonderfully dry humor. President Muffley provides possibly the film's most memorable line ("Gentlemen, you can't fight in here, this is the War Room!"), and his phone calls to Premier Kisov, of which we only hear Muffley's end (an excellent decision on the filmmakers' part), are among the funniest scenes in any movie. As Dr. Strangelove, who wasn't in the book but was added to the movie, Sellers improvised many of the film's best moments (such as his apparent apraxia, which causes his gloved right hand to act uncontrollably). With apologies for all the parentheses, I will end by saying that "Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb" is one of the most hilarious, both topically and otherwise, and overall well-made satires of all time.


Structure/Form:
What does the title mean in relation the film as a whole?
"Dr. Strangelove" has since become a term for someone who advocates initiating nuclear warfare.

How are the opening credits presented?
In the funniest way opening credits have ever been presented.

What specific scene constitutes the film's climax? How does this scene resolve the central issue of the film?
That's hard to say, because the central issue isn't really resolved the way we would expect.

Does the film leave any disunities at the end? If so, what does it suggest?
Yes, but it's necessary.

Why does the film conclude on this particular image?
For comedic purposes.


Theme:
How does this film relate to the issues presented or developed? What questions are evoked by the film? Does the film present a clear point of view on an issue? How?
The film consistently satirizes the Cold War.


Mise en Scene:
Ripper sits in his office while Mandrake tries to get out through the locked door.

Dominant: Where is our eye attracted first? Why?
Mandrake, where the action is.

Lighting key: High key? Low key? High contrast? Some combination of these?
There's a contrast of dark in most of the room and a bright light above Ripper's desk.

Shot and camera distance: What type of shot? How far away is the camera from the action?
The camera sits in the corner opposite Mandrake and watches him over Ripper's shoulder.

Angle: Are we (and the camera) looking up or down on the subject? Or is the camera eye level?
Eye level.

Subsidiary contrasts: What are the main eye-stops after taking in the dominant?
Mainly, Ripper's cigar smoke.

Density: How much visual information is packed into the image?
Not a whole lot.

Framing: Tight or loose? Do the characters have no room to move around, or can they move freely without impediments?
There's a lot of space between them, but their individual areas look a bit tight.