An apocalyptic comedy !!!

Rating: 7/10 (17 May 2017)

In 'Paths of Glory', Kubrick attacked the military hierarchy system and the concept of war and blind patriotism from a moralistic standpoint. In 'Dr. Strangelove' he does somewhat the same thing in the form of satire. He managed to generate humour out of a disturbing scenario of a mentally unstable army officer starting a nuclear war without the knowledge of his superiors. Although personally I love 'Paths of Glory' much more than 'Dr. Strangelove', however this is the film where the quintessential Kubrickian style of direction and storytelling was born. One can notice the black comedy, the formal visual style(like camera placement, lighting and editing) and a distinctively deliberate coldness in 'Dr. Strangelove' that would become a staple in pretty much all of Kubrick's subsequent films irrespective of the genre.
There are a lot of laugh out loud moments here. The satirical tone infused by Kubrick is overt and unavoidable. Pretty much every conversation scene is rich with sharp dialogue and scathing criticism. However I'd be lying if I say the film stayed with me and lingered in my thoughts for too long. I understand what the film is doing and I admire the technical precision involved, but 'Dr. Strangelove' didn't blow me away like most of Kubrick's later films do. The film tends to meander a bit with unnecessarily extended scenes where we spend time inside the fighter planes during which I genuinely found my interest waning due to the overabundance of technical verbal exchanges. I also think the film's ending should have been stronger.
Acting wise I have to mention Peter Sellers, George C. Scott and Sterling Hayden. Sellers(in multiple roles) and Scott provide the eccentric and over-the-top comedy, while Hayden is the deeply intimidating psychopath.
I do like 'Dr. Strangelove', but not as much as some of Kubrick's other works