Does he have a chance?! HELL YE-e-s-s.... (gulp)

Rating: Null/10 (6 May 2003)

This line from Gen. Turgidson perfectly captures the essence of this sublime, absurd, horrific Doomsday tale from Kubrick and screenwriter Terry Southern. Turgidson's answer to the President's inquiry -- can the remaining B-52 piloted by Maj. Kong reach their primary target in the Soviet Union? -- betrays an ingrained gung-ho optimism which then fades to horror when he considers the consequences of Kong's successful mission. To wit, the Soviet Doomsday Machine! Such lines are plentiful in "Dr. Strangelove". So full of satire, sidesplitting parody and irony that each scene stands on its own while sustaining the plot with its unique haywire logic. My favorite sequence is the phone call between the President Muffley (Sellers) and Soviet Premier Kissoff (gotta love the allegory!) as he explains the situation. It's a pitch-perfect satire on the whole Cold War mentality: "I'm sorry too, Alexei... don't say you're more sorry than me ... I can be just as sorry as you, Alexei, I'm just calling to tell you something terrible has happened, did you think I was just calling to say hello? Of COURSE I like talking to you ... of COURSE I like to say hello ..." Perhaps the greatest mark of this b&w film is that despite the end of the Soviet Union and the Cold War, "Dr. Strangelove" does not diminish with age. A film that defies age and categorization. In short, a masterpiece.