A great film.

Rating: 10/10 (9 July 1999)

Dr. Strangelove is a brilliant piece of social satire that was partially based on the Peter George's novel Red Alert. There was also a film that was produced amongst the same time titled Fail-Safe. This film was analogous to Dr. Strangelove but was a much more serious piece, although it is a good film. Both films portray the paranoia of the possibility of a nuclear attack. The message for both -- as long as there are nuclear weapons there is always the possibility of them being used. No fail-safe is safe enough. This film was especially scary coming off the nuclear missile crises of Cuba and Krushchev.
Stanley Kubrick was in his prime in the sixties. He directed this (1964) and 2001 (1968), both are amongst the top films ever made. Peter Sellers was in his prime too. He plays three roles (originally he was supposed to play the Slim Pickens role "King Kong" too) with such sagacious skill that you believe all three characterizations: President Muffley as the obsequious wimp, Dr. Strangelove as the strategic advisor who cannot control his hand, and Capt. Lional Mandrake as the only person with any sense.
Another reason I love this film so much is the sublime writing. Everything that happens in this film is possible. The comedy does not overshadow the seriousness. The dialogue is brilliant with metaphorical connotations (like the casts names) and word play -- "The auto-destruct mechanism destroyed itself". Hell, even the sets are beautifully constructed.
Originally, there was supposed to be a pie-fighting scene at the end. However, that would have been too contrived and distracting. Some critics say that the end war room scene does not work. I disagree though it could have been moved earlier before the wild-ride. Technically, they would have had a few minutes before the bombs dropped on them anyways.
Peter Sellers and Stanley Kubrick would make a few mediocre films and some brilliant films, Dr. Strangelove is definitely one of the great ones.