The most horrific comedy film ever produced

Rating: 10/10 (28 March 2010)

I remember the first time I saw a Stanley Kubrick film was 2001: A Space Odyssey. I was completely at a loss of words from the pure style of the film and it was instantly my favorite film.
Stanley Kubrick also became instantly my favorite director because his style was so genius. However, I felt it odd that he be my favorite director if I'd only seen one of his films so I hunted down some of his other ones. Then, I saw Dr. Strangelove.
The film is a black comedy where a man named General Ripper decides to send off a multitude of air-crafts to bomb Russia and kill them once and for all. These ships are unable to be recalled unless one has a special radio code to call them back with. General Ripper cuts off all communication with his base and throws the U.S. into a nightmare which they desperately try to avoid.
The thing that really hits home about this film is that everything that happens during its course is possible, especially during the Cold War, during which the film was fabricated. The entire time you're laughing your ass off, you are suddenly being interrupted by how extremely terrifying the situation is. Nothing could possibly hit home harder.
This film is brilliant on so many levels. One of its most notable aspects to me is how it so seamlessly the film blends absolute horror and absolute comedy. In fact, the film was so effective in its dramatic elements that I barely even recognized that it was a comedy at first. I mean, I knew that it was supposed to be a funny film but even today, everything in that film hit right at home and terrified me. When I saw it again, I felt like I was going to explode with delight and laughter. The gags are some of the most memorable of all film and for their time were extremely daring. Although, every time I watch it, there's still something about the pure situation that the story goes through that disturbs me.
The gags, as I've said before, are purely brilliant. Perhaps the most brilliant is the running gag of General Ripper (Sterling Hayden) and his obsessive quest to burn down the "commies" to stop their evil conspiracy to polute "our precious bodily fluids." This man is so insane that you can not possibly take him seriously. He is a parody of the standard politician who somehow manages to tie together completely unrelated things and form some kind of disturbed conspiracy, leading to pure idiocy and collapse. In all actuality, he reminds me of Glenn Beck in several ways or at least what Glenn Beck would've been like during the Cold War.
Another brilliant gag comes from the president trying to appease the Russian president while explaining to him that they've accidentally sent several ships to destroy their country. Not only that, the Russian president is completely hammered and unable to make reasonable judgments. The entire conversation proceeds like a train wreck from hell and is probably one of the most brilliantly written scenes of all cinema.
There are so many incredibly funny moments in this film that I could not possibly list them all and part of what makes this film what it is is Peter Seller's excellent performance, or performances.
Peter plays three people in this film; The President of the United States Merkin Muffly, General Ripper's group captain Lionel Mandrake and the hilarious Nazi Scientist Dr. Strangelove, from which the film derives its title. Every single one of his roles are funny for different reason. His president of the united states is just great as a mediator but a completely unsuccessful leader, him as Lionel Mandrake, the nervous officer who understands the complete absurdity of General Ripper but is unable to escape from it due to a lack of will and his memorable Dr. Strangelove is a ridiculous parody of the nazi scientists we paired up with during those times. Without him the film would've just been another comedy.
George C. Scott also does a terrific job as a disturbed Military General whose only goal is to cover themselves up so they aren't hated by the entire world ("I'm saying only 10-20million killed, tops!"). Most every performance in this film is of grade-a quality.
Dr. Strangelove is brilliantly written, directed and acted on all levels and is one of the best comedies ever made. It is also an extremely intelligent satire on politics and the several political issues of the time which, to an extent, still mirrors the political issues of today. I highly recommend this film.