A different experience

Rating: 8/10 (24 July 2013)

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
English, 1964, 1 hr 33 min Genre: War, Sci-Fi, Comedy Direction: Stanley Kubrick Cast: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden IMDb: 8.6/10
Before going into the movie, a word about the director. Stanley Kubrick is regarded by many as one of the greatest film-makers of all time, in the league of Alfred Hitchkock. Kubrick's films covered a variety of genres, including war, crime, romantic and black comedies, horror, epic and science fiction. Kubrick was also noted for being a perfectionist, using painstaking care with scene staging and working closely with his actors. Normally, genres like war and comedy usually don't go hand in hand. But it seems this director was quite different. The story goes like this: a general of the US Army feels he should not wait and watch the growth of USSR. Hence he creates a hoax of Russian attack and as if to counter it, launches a nuclear attack on Russia without the President's knowledge. He informs everyone of the mission only after he launched it. The nuclear fighters could only be called back with a secret code known only to him. The US authorities' efforts to bring the deadly situation under control is shown in the movie. This is one of the movies that fall under dark humor. Many scenes, like a mistress calling a General while he is in a meeting with the President etc are standout examples. Almost all characters, save the president, are portrayed rather funny. Dr. Strangelove is a technically brilliant film considering the period it was made. I must say I did not understand certain actions of some characters. Overall it is a very good watch...The song in background at the end quite matches with the climax...