Dr Strangelove - How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is one of the all time great war films exactly because it is so unlike anything else in the genre. It's much closer to a Marx Brothers film than it is to The Dirty Dozen or Saving Private Ryan. This is exactly why it was so controversial, and why it stands as a shockingly sincere and honest statement on the nature of war.
The film is funny because the subject matter is funny. Terrifying, yes, but funny. The notion of nuclear war is so ridiculous and absurd that you can't help but laugh at the logical inconsistencies that would lead to such scenarios. In fact, Kubrick tried to write the film as a drama, only to find that that was nearly impossible. The subject of the jokes are the insecure men who send brave soldiers off to die for the sake of their egos.
The movie has an important statement to make, yet it never comes across as preachy. It's a sincerely, honestly funny film. The jokes are amusing on a base level of simply being good humor, but they also draw attention to the stupidity of nuclear war.
When Kubrick dealt with similar subject matter in Full Metal Jacket, he managed to make a movie that was just as funny without it being so overt. There are no direct jokes in that film, but the movie stands as a comic masterpiece nevertheless. By the mid eighties it would seem that Stanley Kubrick had come to think that you don't need jokes to make war seem absurd.
Peter Sellers in multiple roles is perhaps the heart of the film. In recent years, the idea of one actor playing several characters has become trite, and it's usually the sign of a bad comedy with a weak script and only enough of a budget to hire one skilled comic in hopes of salvaging bad material. Sellers, on the other hand, was the master of creating several comic characters and making them all feel like different people. There's no in-joke to Sellers playing so many characters, it's just that he was better suited than anybody to play all of them.
The centerpiece of these would have to be Doctor Strangelove himself. Strangelove is portrayed as a former Nazi, whose limp right hand will sometimes snap into a Nazi salute. It is through Strangelove that the link between nuclear armament and sexual dysfunction is made most clear and direct. When the bombs start to fall, his sexual thrill is made nearly tangible.
George C. Scott's performance as General Buck Turgidson is another highlight. It's odd to see such a wild performance from Scott, who is typically noted as a gruff master of understatement. Certainly, his trademark is to do with a grizzly whisper what most would do with a shout. Kubrick actually had to trick Scott into going so wild for this role by requesting over the top "practice" takes, and then using them in the actual movie. Slim Pickens as Major Kong was similarly fooled into giving a straight performance by being told that the film was a standard war film and not a comedy.
If you haven't seen it yet, this is one of those movies that you absolutely must see before you die. From the opening scenes to the apocalyptic finale, Dr. Strangelove is the only statement that needs to be made on the foolishness of nuclear war. - 40731
The film is funny because the subject matter is funny. Terrifying, yes, but funny. The notion of nuclear war is so ridiculous and absurd that you can't help but laugh at the logical inconsistencies that would lead to such scenarios. In fact, Kubrick tried to write the film as a drama, only to find that that was nearly impossible. The subject of the jokes are the insecure men who send brave soldiers off to die for the sake of their egos.
The movie has an important statement to make, yet it never comes across as preachy. It's a sincerely, honestly funny film. The jokes are amusing on a base level of simply being good humor, but they also draw attention to the stupidity of nuclear war.
When Kubrick dealt with similar subject matter in Full Metal Jacket, he managed to make a movie that was just as funny without it being so overt. There are no direct jokes in that film, but the movie stands as a comic masterpiece nevertheless. By the mid eighties it would seem that Stanley Kubrick had come to think that you don't need jokes to make war seem absurd.
Peter Sellers in multiple roles is perhaps the heart of the film. In recent years, the idea of one actor playing several characters has become trite, and it's usually the sign of a bad comedy with a weak script and only enough of a budget to hire one skilled comic in hopes of salvaging bad material. Sellers, on the other hand, was the master of creating several comic characters and making them all feel like different people. There's no in-joke to Sellers playing so many characters, it's just that he was better suited than anybody to play all of them.
The centerpiece of these would have to be Doctor Strangelove himself. Strangelove is portrayed as a former Nazi, whose limp right hand will sometimes snap into a Nazi salute. It is through Strangelove that the link between nuclear armament and sexual dysfunction is made most clear and direct. When the bombs start to fall, his sexual thrill is made nearly tangible.
George C. Scott's performance as General Buck Turgidson is another highlight. It's odd to see such a wild performance from Scott, who is typically noted as a gruff master of understatement. Certainly, his trademark is to do with a grizzly whisper what most would do with a shout. Kubrick actually had to trick Scott into going so wild for this role by requesting over the top "practice" takes, and then using them in the actual movie. Slim Pickens as Major Kong was similarly fooled into giving a straight performance by being told that the film was a standard war film and not a comedy.
If you haven't seen it yet, this is one of those movies that you absolutely must see before you die. From the opening scenes to the apocalyptic finale, Dr. Strangelove is the only statement that needs to be made on the foolishness of nuclear war. - 40731
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