This film set the standards for black comedy excellence! Pitch-PERFECT!!!!

Rating: 10/10 (20 August 2009)

What do you get when you mix the sheer genius of Stanley Kubrick, the appeal of the black comedy genre, the funny performance of Peter Sellers and a thrilling political plot? What you get is "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb", a film that's bound to be hailed forever as the best black comedy ever! When a crazy army general who keeps raving about how the Russians are "polluting our bodily fluids" orders a massive attack on Russia, his aid Captain Mandrake (Peter Sellers) tries to wiggle out of him the army code that will stop the invasion. Inside the Pentagon's secret War Room, the US president (Peter Sellers), with the aid of America's most powerful men, gets on the phone with the Russian president trying to calm down the heat while his own adviser, the ex-Nazi scientist Dr. Strangelove (Peter Sellers...again) convinces him that this attack will detonate a massive nuclear weapon that will annihilate all human life on Earth.
As you may be thinking, this is a far-fetched plot that screams of political intrigue and military action. A political thriller, if you will. Now mix in the fact that every character is seriously funny, that the dialogue is spiked with wit, irony and double-meaning, that every frame in the movie carries hilarious innuendo, that most of the twists and hilarious situations are a result of the fact that every military order and political negotiation is carried out through the phone...and you get an exciting, intelligent, immensely funny movie event that you'll remember forever.
Peter Sellers is hysterical in each of his three roles. As the witty, fast-talking but awkward British captain Mandrake, he is vaguely reminiscent of his role in the Pink Panther films. As the useless and so-serious-he's-funny US president, he adds a satirical tone to the film. And most importantly as the colourful and quirky Dr. Strangelove, he presents us with a character that's bound to be remembered in film history.
Stanley Kubrick is at the top of his form for this film. He's managed to make the movie about everything at the same time. A political satire, a criticism on war, a criticism on nuclear weapons, a searing portrayal on sex and its blinding recurrence in mens' minds, and altogether a hilarious, intelligent and thoroughly enjoyable film.
I know I'm not being fair to the film. It's so much greater than what I'm actually portraying it to be, but I can't indulge in explaining how much a masterpiece, a paramount in film history it really is without divulging a great number of spoilers. I'll just say that you should pay careful attention to every situation, to every frame, to every line of dialogue. You'll be blown away by the kind of genius this film is.
And there's a plus! This is the kind of film that lingers with you, that makes you think. And it's about so many topics that you'll find yourself thinking about and relating it to so many situations nowadays, giving the film a current relevance that is simply surprising for a film made in 1964.
Whatever your favourite film genre is, you'll have a wonderful good time with this one. See it NOW. Rating: 4 stars out of 4!!