Absolutely Hilarious

Rating: 9/10 (11 December 2010)

The war comedy Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is directed by Stanley Kubrick and stars Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, and Sterling Hayden. The film takes place in planes over Russia, the war room, and in an American base.
Brigadier General Jack Ripper (Hayden) made the insane notion of dropping a nuclear weapon onto Russia during the Cold War. President Muffley (Sellers) must try and calm down the Russian President and make him understand that this attack was not planned by America just one crazy general. General Turgidson (Scott) tries to convince the President that maybe the attack isn't a terrible idea while spewing anti communist insults to the Russian Ambassador that is present in the war room. But the Russian Ambassador reveals that if Russia is attacked by a nuclear weapon a doomsday device will automatically go off destroying the entire world...
The screenplay by Peter George, Terry Southern, and Stanley Kubrick is one of the greatest comedic screenplays of all time. Probably my favorite scene of the film is when the President is on the phone with the Russian President for the first time. The back and forth between the two is comedic genius and is humor that everyone can enjoy. Another comedic part I thought was quite hilarious was the classic line when the President told General Turgidson when he was attacking the Russian Ambassador that there is no fighting in the war room. My only problem with the screenplay was that it took a while to get into the film, by that I mean the introduction to the film was not as strong as the middle and end of it. But besides that this film is absolutely hilarious.
Stanley Kubrick directed this classic comedy and he did so brilliantly. His last film was the controversial Lolita and he goes to what could have been an extremely controversial film about the cold war if it wasn't comedic gold. There are many iconic shots in this film, the first that comes to mind is the shot of the entire board room. It is a simple shot but it is beautifully composed. I have to say it is hard to find a shot in this film, or any Kubrick film really, that is not masterfully done. Besides the great shots he got great performances from his entire cast.
Peter Sellers played three roles in this film, the president, Dr. Strangelove, and Group Captain Lionel Mandrake. In all three of those roles he used his comedic talents to make this film as great as it is. Sellers worked with Kubrick previously in Lolita and in both films he was absolutely wonderful. Above I mentioned the president and the Russian president's phone conversation, well that could not have been so hilarious without Sellers's great voice and facial expressions. Then when he is Dr. Strangelove he again uses his voice talents to win over many laughs. Sellers proves with this film that he is one of the greatest comedic forces of all time.
George C. Scott was also fantastic as General Turgidson, delivering plenty of laughs as well. My favorite scene with Scott was when he was explaining what was happening to the president. How he tried to make himself look like he could save the situation was just uproariously funny. He is an extraordinary actor overall, one of my favorite films features him in the Best Picture winner Patton where he also wins an Oscar for Best Actor. I would say that in this film Scott does an equally well done job as Sellers, which is saying a lot for the both of them.
Sterling Hayden has worked with Kubrick before in The Killing and in this film he delivers a fine performance as the insane General Jack Ripper. He delivers many great lines about fluids that guarantees a couple of chuckles from the audience. Hayden works quite well off of Sellers as Group Captain Lionel Mandrake. I loved it when Hayden takes the machine gun and shoots it out the window out his fellow Americans.
Overall I give this film a 9/10, due to its great script, direction, and performances. I recommend this film to absolutely everyone, even those people that don't have an interest in film and just want to have a good time. This film features a great ending that is extremely hilarious as well. If you haven't seen this classic, go get it. Right now.