As funny and as sharp and as relevant as it was almost 40 years ago

Rating: Null/10 (9 June 2002)

When US General Jack D. Ripper orders wing attack plan R into operation he sets his plane on an irrecoverable bombing run into Russia. Powerless to stop them with the relevant three letter access code the President of America and his advisors plan to warn Russia as best they can to prevent as many of the planes reaching their targets as possible. However when the Russian Ambassador warns of the doomsday machine  a machine that will destroy all life on earth in response to a nuclear attack things become desperate. With one plane making a desperate run to it's target things look bleak.
Now well respected as a superb satire on the arms race this is one of my favourite Kubrick films. It is less cold than some of this later work and is genuinely funny without losing it's point. The story focuses on three main areas of the attack  the military base where one crazed man launches the attack, the war room at the pentagon and the plane making the bombing run. All these have comedy inherent in them  although thew war room is by far the best. The story is an satire on the futility and danger of the nuclear deterrent while also scattered with fantastic dialogue. It may not sound funny but trust me  it is.
The characters are all great and well done by the cast. Peter Sellers excels in each of his roles and shows his quality. As Mandrake he is funny in a very British way, as The President he has great one sided conversations with his Russian counterpart as well as great dialogue including the legendary `Gentlemen you can't fight in here  this is the war room'. However as Dr Strangelove he is hilarious  the character himself is a swipe at those who change political sides but maybe still hold onto their old ideologies. Sterling Hayden is great as General Ripper  he delivers his madness with a straight face throughout (or maybe no-one told him it was a comedy!). Slim Pickens is good and has the most famous scene from the film that has been copied in many things including Homer's fantasy in The Simpsons. However for me the standout is George C. Scott  not exactly a comedy actor he is frantic and over the top with his communist paranoia.
Overall this is a classic and deserves to be. It is sharp today as it was then and even more relevant. The comedy is still fresh and the dialogue is great  quite simply, when Scott implores the president to act quickly as `we must not have a mineshaft gap!' then you've arrived!