Movie of the Week #10


Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb
1964, Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Wow…I feel I have a rather daunting task at hand. What to say about this masterpiece? Well, I’ll begin with just that. It’s a masterpiece. This is satire at its finest. Hilarious, disturbing, and expertly made.

This was Kubrick’s second masterpiece, in my opinion (his first being Paths of Glory), and he really does prove that he is one of (if not the) most masterful filmmaker(s) of all time. This film is a marvel of cinema. From its outrageous moments of over-the-top humor (“You’re gonna have to answer to the Coca-Cola company.”) to its staggering feats of subtlety (General Jack D. Ripper’s (yeah, that’s hilarious enough in itself) oh-so understated homosexuality.), Dr. Strangelove just might be the greatest comedy of all time.

I mean, how could someone not love a movie with Peter Sellers in three different roles? A movie with George C. Scott acting like a ten-year-old boy going on about low-flying jets burning chickens? A movie with the quote “You can’t fight in here; this is the war room!”? A movie with Sterling Hayden raving about bodily fluids? A movie with Slim Pickens riding a nuclear bomb like a bull?

All right, I guess that’s it. I apologize for delivering the worst write-up ever written by anyone. It wasn’t an easy task. Discuss away.

Previous Movies of the Week:

#1: Gladiator
#2: The Passion of the Christ
#3: Cool Hand Luke
#4: Fight Club
#5: American Beauty
#6: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
#7: GoodFellas
#8: Boogie Nights
#9: American Psycho

Spartacus was clearly a masterpiece, and might actually be Kubrick's most well-known film.

This one, however, is obviously genius. It's also the most dependent on actors of any Kubrick movie from this era. Peter Sellers delivers huge in this movie. The absolute emasculation of the President and the Soviet Premier is probably my favorite aspect. Its use of cliches is done very deftly, and goes a long way in getting the message to the viewer.

Great movie, Peter Sellers steals the show playing I think three different parts, which is something that really suprised when I first found out. Sellers best character out of the three is the former Nazi, Dr. Strangelove, from repeatedly calling the President Min Fier to his spasdic movements, just a great job.

Great choice

Strongly disagree on that one. Easily my least favorite Kubrick film, and it tends to be somewhat looked down upon by most Kubrick fans. Kubrick himself said he felt like a "hired hand".

"You can't fight in here, this is the war room!!!"

Thanks to my edumacation, I got to see this on the big screen. Phenomenal.

Douglas and Kubrick reportedly had a big conflict over the direction of the movie.

Douglas respected Kubrick's talents, but ultimately loathed him as a person, hence the description "world-class shit."

Either way, it's crap when compared to Dr. Strangelove, 2001, A Clockwork Orange, etc.

One of the greatest movies ever, comedy or otherwise!! Thats all.

i saw this a while back and i didn't really get it. i think i might have laughed once during the whole thing. maybe the reason was because it was for a class in college and i just wasn't concentrating. i probably need to see this thing again and give it my full attention.

If this movie doesn't grab your attention then it may not be for you. Definitely try it again anyway.

bodily fluids!

This is among my top five, maybe top two. It's sick and twisted and absurd and biting and frightening and everything that a great comedy should be. It has some absolutely masterful acting by perfectly cast actors. Peter Sellers is of course brilliant, but George C. Scott, and Sterling Hayden are just as good in their nutzoid roles.

We could fill a thread just with the great one-liners from this film.


Ripper: Mandrake. Mandrake, have you never wondered why I drink only distilled water, or rain water, and only pure grain alcohol?

Mandrake: Well it did occur to me, Jack, yes.

Fantastic film. Probably the funniest I've ever seen.

Last week I saw its non-satirical twin from the same year -- Sidney Lumet's Fail-Safe -- with just about the same storyline, but with an emphasis on the drama that makes it a fundamentally different experience despite the plot parallells. The cinematography is a feast for the eyes, and Fonda and Matthau are perfect, so there's every reason to see it (even though it has an awful DVD cover).

I don't see why any of this matters. Personally, I couldn't care less what Kubrick fans think of the movie as a whole. I highly doubt there is any line from any Kubrick film that has been repeated as often as "I am Spartacus." I also doubt any other movie of his has been replayed as often either, especially within the mainstream. Maybe The Shining and FMJ.

But anyway, there's also Paths of Glory (an undoubted masterpiece) that came before. Plus, Strangelove is probably the most cultish of Kubrick's films. It's nowhere near as widely regarded as The Shining and Full Metal Jacket. The same goes for both 2001 and A Clockwork Orange.

It's terrific and uproariously funny, probably the funniest movie Kubrick made. But it was far from his first masterpiece, and isn't close to being his most well-known.

i have yet to see this one

I don't see why anything in that post matters. Who cares if it's widely known?

In case you missed it, that was said in my first response, which you disagreed so vehemently with. Now, you were also arguing with my saying it is a masterpiece. Your strongest evidence against this is, apparently, that you and some other Kubrick fans don't like it and Kubrick felt like a hired hand. Well, newsflash, but most directors of most films are hired hands. More than a few actors have felt like a lot worse than hired hands on Kubrick's sets, does that mean their performances weren't masterful? Steven King hated The Shining, was it not masterful? Anthony Burgess had major issues with Clockwork, was it not masterful?

What films with the staying power of Spartacus aren't masterpieces? The climactic battle scene remains a standard other scenes like it are held to, testifying to its technical brilliance.

But, more on topic, and to answer your question, it's absolutely an important consideration if a film is widely known and regarded almost fifty years after it was made. To think otherwise is absurd. Stanley Kubrick wasn't some insular, independent director making movies for his own enjoyment and fulfillment. He wanted his movies to be seen. He wanted them to be liked, and he wanted them to make a ton of money. Therefore, public response to his films was necessarily an important part of his filmmaking. Taking audience reaction out of the equation is not even possible in such discussions.

All right, if it makes you feel better, you go ahead and call it a masterpiece. I still disagree. I find it to be conventional and irritatingly slowly-paced. It had some great moments (the "I am Spartacus." scene, the battle, and the ending), but overall it just didn't seem particularly engaging.

Bottom line, I just don't care for it.

And I still have to disagree. I don't give a fuck about what audiences thought of it, how widely known it is, or whether or not the masses remember it fifty years later. That means less than nothing to me.

I think what's really important about Spartacus are two things:

1) It's NOT Dr. Strangelove, which is the topic of this thread.

2) Its OPS and other Sabermetric numbers are far inferior to those of Dr. Strangelove.