Member review

To create a comedy about the ease in which humans can bring about doomsday is an incredibly brave decision even in this day and age, yet alone amidst the height of the Cold War. "Dr Strangelove or: How I Learnt to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" was released a mere two years after the Cuban Missile Crisis; no wonder then that this insight into the true insanity of the Cold War made audiences so uneasy at the time. The storyline is that a renegade General within the American ranks orders a nuclear strike against Russia, which cannot be ordered back due to a clause that grants Generals the right to launch a nuclear strike without the Presidents consent if they feel the threat of strike from Russia is imminent. While the President and his associates try desperately to contact the Bombers to cancel the attack, they learn that the Russians have created a Doomsday machine that will launch nuclear missiles all over the world if a single nuclear missile strikes Russia, granting them the ultimate deterrent. Unfortunately they failed to inform the world about the machine in time. It is a true testament to the genius of Stanley Kubrick (and of course all those associated with the project) that this film is completely insane and arguably goofy in its characters and storyline, yet is so disturbingly believable. As a comedy it contains some of the best lines in film history ("Gentlemen you can't fight in here, this is the war room!") each coming at an incredibly fast pace. However the true comedic genius comes from each characters acceptance of this horrific scenario as the norm, as well as being only concerned in their relative outcome compared to their enemy. Peter Seller's performances as Dr Strangelove (a Nazi scientist now working for the USA), Captain Mandrake and President Muffley are what really steal the show in terms of acting. each performance is so beautifully suited to each role, especially in the case of Dr Strangelove, who adds a brilliant sense of surrealism and absurdity to the back drop of nuclear destruction. Stanley Kubrick definitely adds his own beautiful style in the direction of this film. Each scene is perfectly crafted in its lighting and camera perspective, granting this film a visual flare that is rarely seen in comedies. "Dr Strangelove" is perhaps one of the most important comedies ever made, in fact probably one of the most important films ever made. In essence this is the perfect dark comedy. No other film will make you laugh and shudder at the same time quite like this.