Amazing satire.

Rating: 10/10 (13 February 2011)

This is one of those films everyone knows and yet surprisingly few have actually seen, which is a huge shame, as its Kubrick's best and probably the best Cold War film ever made too.
I suppose any review of this must start with Peter Sellers. He plays God-only-knows how many roles, fantastically funny and often unrecognisable in all of them. This film truly is a masterclass from possibly the greatest comic actor of them all. However, his support is also excellent, with not a single weak link.
The plot is pure Cold War paranoid fantasy, and I'm sure anyone who has any vague knowledge of that era of the War will be in stitches at the stupidity of it all.
But I don't suppose any of this would matter if the film wasn't so brilliantly funny. The 'Purity of essences' and, of course, the infamous last line are among the best evidence of the cinema as a worthy and intellectual art form.
That last point is definitely worth noting, a I can't pretend the humour is accessible for all. It's not full of fart gags or sex jokes, as we've come to expect, and I assume some may be put off by the black-and-white camera-work and the hand drawn titles, although for me they added to the charm of the film.
So, all in all this is possibly the greatest comedy, or at least satire, ever made - but not for everyone.