A truthful and funny parody.

Rating: 10/10 (24 May 2002)

Most people like me who are reaching their mid-thirties are likely to have watched thousands, or maybe even tens of thousands of movies. Unlike my parents, we are part of a generation brought up on television. That being the case with so many fine movies around it is difficult for me to pinpoint one as an absolute favourite. But this film would certainly have a good shot.
Peter Sellers and George C Scott probably give the performances of their rich careers. After having now watched the movie 30 or 40 times I still find myself laughing at the deadpan and stiff English Officer Group Captain Lionel Mandrake. Sellers as the President is entirely believable and as the German scientist Strangelove both funny and frightening. Scott is hilarious as the paranoid war-mongering General. The scene where the President asks him "have they got a chance?" will live in my memory forever. Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens, Stirling Hayden and the lovely Tracey Reed are all simply excellent in support even though Wynn and Reed only have cameos. The fact that some of the jokes are obvious and telegraphed and that it sometimes descends into slapstick, only adds to the effect.
It is funny and a parody but it quite accurately portrays a number of serious points. 1, The paranoia of politicians and the military. 2, The fear that technology was starting to rule men rather than the other way around. 3, The well known, but not talked about much reliance that the American military placed upon recruited former German scientists.
Whilst the film is a parody and meant as a comedy I believe it hurt the American political and military establishment so much that they banned it in the States for a while. Fail-Safe, that other excellent nuclear accident film was released around the same time and suffered by comparison to Strangelove.
The film is a salutary reminder that at almost anytime our future and safety could possibly be in the hands of people who are unstable, or machines that are far from reliable.