Classic dark comedy

Rating: 10/10 (29 March 2008)

This movie is one of my favourite films and a perfect example on how to make a dark comedy. The plot of the film was two American generals decide to attack the Soviet Union in a pre-emptive nuclear strike. This attacks start a major crisis in the American and Soviet governments, the U.S. president and most of the join chiefs did not want to start a war and matters take on more urgency when the Soviet ambassador tell the Americans that the Soviets had just made a doomsday device that would destroy the world if the Soviet Union was attacked. The film was originally meant to be a serious movie, but Stanley Kubrick felt with the way the film developed it would work better as dark comedy. The film starts very seriously but the comedy develops throughout the film, using some brilliant lines, good sight gags and great performances and some jokes such as the name Jack D. Ripper. Peter Sellers was great as the American President, Captain Mandrake, an RAF officer who was on loan to the USAF and Dr. Strangelove, a German nuclear scientist who was working for America. He was meant to play the B-52 bomber pilot as well, but he was going through a divorce at the time, so could only do THREE roles. The film has be referred and parodied in many comedy programmes, especially the Simpsons. Some of my person favourite bits in the film are the telephone conversations between the US President and the Soviet Premier, Dr. Strangelove talking the President and the Join Chiefs at the end of the film. This is excellent viewing and really funny. Kubrick was a master of his trade.