"Dmitri, we have a little problem..."

Rating: 9/10 (5 March 2012)

If you intend on learning to love the bomb, meet the Generals Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) and 'Buck' Turgidson (George C. "Patton" Scott), then add Peter Sellers multiplied by three - and of course Stanley Kubrick. The year is 1964, and the war out there is pretty cold: Welcome to the end of the world! Let's jump right in and go for condition red, that's a jolly good idea for a start, don't you think? Make yourself at home in the war room, where a poster makes it perfectly clear that "peace is our profession"! Here, take some gum! You might have guessed it already: If you want your humor black and apocalyptic, you've found the right movie. The doomsday machine is waiting for its cue, as some madmen got something up their sleeve. Well, admittedly, there's a wee bit of inconvenience with that whole affair, because somehow the legendary red button actually already got pushed, and it's only a matter of time until... But don't you worry - the two presidents are talking it out! However, should the world - against all odds - still stand after everything is said and done someone might get in trouble with the Coca-Cola company. Alternatively, look in your survival kit to find three lipsticks and some pairs of nylon stockings. That should help! Apparently there's no genre Kubrick couldn't do. Be it sci-fi, horror, war movie, epic, historical drama or political satire with this one - Kubrick's perfectionism leaves no doubt that he's master of his domain. And in the case of "Dr. Strangelove" he was also on the pulse of his time, or quite ahead of it if you will. As even decades later it's still OK to get goosebumps when Vera Miles' gets to finally sing "We'll meet again"...