Best movie ever made

Rating: 10/10 (1 May 2013)

This is an absolutely brilliant movie. It may well be the best movie ever made. I first saw it in 1964. Dozens of its vivid scenes stuck with me over years. I saw it again just now in 2013. It was even better than I remembered it. It tackles the ultimate serious subject with perfect deadpan humour.
The first time I saw it, I was tied up in the plot, and my frustration with all these idiots refusing to behave sensibly to save their skins. The second time I focused more on the human foibles it poked fun of, people reflexively concerning themselves with looking good, or seeking a petty advantage, even if the face of nuclear war. I carefully watched every gesture and eyebrow twitch, all as controlled as a renaissance painting.
The first time, the scene that haunted me most was Colonel Bat Guano refusing to shoot a coke machine. The second time it was Mandrake trying to humour the out-of-his gourd Brigadier General Jack Ripper, and Dr. Strangelove selling his plan to live in mineshafts.
The plot is brilliant. Everything crazy thing that happens comes with an airtight, plausible explanation. The technical mumbo jumbo and the "advanced" 1950s technology stands up very well. I was only jarred once by an erroneous explanation of half-life.
This time I noticed a young James Earl Jones playing Lothar Zogg, one of the bomber crew. I did not notice him the first time because he had not yet become famous.
The first time a saw it I remember thinking Gen. 'Buck' Turgidson (George C. Scott) and Major 'King' Kong (Slim Pickens) were quite elderly. This time they looked dewy-faced and even sexy.