Stanley Kubrick's Dr Strangelove - How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb stands as one of the all time great films about war because it is so much different from any other film on the subject. It has much more in common with the work of the Marx Brothers than it does with Saving Private Ryan or The Dirty Dozen. The black humor of the film is exactly why it was considered controversial upon release, and how it manages to be so sincere and honest on the subject of nuclear war.
The film is very funny because when you think about it, the very notion of war is absurd. Not to discredit the courage of those who have gone to defend their countries, the film focuses on the business of war, the administrative end, where politicians will send men to die for the sake of their own egos. In fact the notion of the bomb as phallic symbol is made literal with the iconic image of the film: Major Kong riding a nuclear bomb down to Earth while whirling a cowboy hat over his head.
The movie has something to say, but it never feels preachy. It is sincerely, honestly funny. The statement it makes is simply through the fact that it's so unabashedly funny, that, on the eve of nuclear winter, we're hearing jokes like "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here, this is a WAR room!"
Interestingly, when Kubrick dealt with similar material some years later with Full Metal Jacket, the humor wasn't quite so overt. It would seem that, by the mid eighties, Kubrick had realized that you don't need to add Marx Brothers style jokes to make war funny, that the absurdity of armed conflict is ridiculous enough with or without any overt humor. Still, Full Metal Jacket stands as an incredibly funny movie, even if it feels much darker in tone (yet ironically, isn't quite as dark in terms of story content).
The heart of the cast is Peter Sellers, who plays several characters. In today's Hollywood, one comic actor in multiple roles is usually a sign of a terrible comedy, where they thought that five unfunny characters could be made funny if they were all played by the same guy wearing a variety of fat suits and women's dresses. Sellers, on the other hand, was just the most capable actor of playing all of these wild characters.
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. - 40723
The film is very funny because when you think about it, the very notion of war is absurd. Not to discredit the courage of those who have gone to defend their countries, the film focuses on the business of war, the administrative end, where politicians will send men to die for the sake of their own egos. In fact the notion of the bomb as phallic symbol is made literal with the iconic image of the film: Major Kong riding a nuclear bomb down to Earth while whirling a cowboy hat over his head.
The movie has something to say, but it never feels preachy. It is sincerely, honestly funny. The statement it makes is simply through the fact that it's so unabashedly funny, that, on the eve of nuclear winter, we're hearing jokes like "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here, this is a WAR room!"
Interestingly, when Kubrick dealt with similar material some years later with Full Metal Jacket, the humor wasn't quite so overt. It would seem that, by the mid eighties, Kubrick had realized that you don't need to add Marx Brothers style jokes to make war funny, that the absurdity of armed conflict is ridiculous enough with or without any overt humor. Still, Full Metal Jacket stands as an incredibly funny movie, even if it feels much darker in tone (yet ironically, isn't quite as dark in terms of story content).
The heart of the cast is Peter Sellers, who plays several characters. In today's Hollywood, one comic actor in multiple roles is usually a sign of a terrible comedy, where they thought that five unfunny characters could be made funny if they were all played by the same guy wearing a variety of fat suits and women's dresses. Sellers, on the other hand, was just the most capable actor of playing all of these wild characters.
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. - 40723
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