A Nutshell Review: Dr Strangelove or : How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

Rating: 10/10 (29 November 2005)

The first thing that strikes you from this 1964 classic, is the extremely long title! Directed by Stanley Kubrick (2001 Space Odessey, Eyes Wide Shut) and starring the talented Peter Sellers (the Pink Panther franchise), this film touches upon the use of nuclear weapons, or the lack of controls thereof.
In this nuclear age (and during its infancy at the time of the film's release), this question is always in the backburner: Who is given the authority to launch these weapons of mass destruction, and what controls are there to prevent the authority from being abused? The film begins with one crazed US general being able to order the B52s in the air (Cold War time, these bombers are always in the air to strike targets within 2 hours) to attack the Soviet Union with its nuclear bombs. The US President (Sellers) questions how this is so, and the very plausible reason being, if a sneak attack happens on US Soil and on the US Government, then there must exist a system for the lower echelons to launch retaliatory strikes. Which was what happened, except that the US was not under attack.
Sellers is excellent in his multiple roles as a British officer attached to the crazed US general, the US President himself, and Dr Strangelove, a Nazi scientist turned US Presidential adviser. Now that the US is seen as the aggressor, Sellers turns in a fine serious performance as the President, who has a lot of answering to do to his Soviet counterpart. However, tables are turned when the Soviets confirm the existence of their doomsday device, which on one hand sounds absurd, and on the other, raises the stakes for the world's survival.
What appeals in this movie is that, given its various serious theme, Kubrick manages to inject wicked humour into it effortlessly, like the sexual innuendos galore (the riding of the phallic shaped nuclear bomb, the talk of bodily fluids), yet keeping the audience fully aware of the gravity of the situation.
This is definitely one of my favourite movies of all time. And Seller's performance, need I rave more? The Code 1 DVD contains loads of features, but of most excellent value are the documentaries, one on Kubrick's claim to fame and his movies, and the other, close to an hour's worth of Dr Stangelove's making of details.