Dr. Strangelove [Blu-ray] [1964] [Region Free] [2010]

DR. STRANGELOVE is a black and white movie about "The Bomb." The movie stars George C. Scott, Peter Sellers, and Slim Pickens. For those not familiar with Slim Pickens, countless Americans have been thrilled by his comedic charm in Spielberg's epic movie, 1941.George C. Scott plays General Turgidson, who is played in an exaggerated cartoonish manner. Sterling Hayden plays General Jack Ripper, who plays an unpleasant paranoid character, who likes to talk about "precious bodily fluids." General Jack Ripper eventually shoots himself in his quarters. Keenan Wynn plays Colonel Bat Guano, and in this movie, he resembles the principal in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. His "big scene" in this movie is to shoot a hole in a Coca Cola machine in order to get change for a pay telephone, and out of the hole comes a gush of soda that douses Colonel Bat Guano (in the same humiliating manner as the humiliation showered upon the principal in Ferris Bueller's Day Off). The Coca Cola scene occurs at 73 minutes.Dr. Strangelove begins with an image of a remote island poking above the clouds, with the narration, "For more than a year, ominous rumors had been privately circulating among high level western leaders, that the Soviet Union had been at work on what was the ultimage weapon, a doomsday device. Intelligence sources traced the site of the top-secret Russian project . . . to the perpetually fog-shrouded wasteland below the Arctic peaks of the Zerkoff Islands . . . "SEXY FUELING SCENE. Then, at the 75-second time point, begins footage showing the fueling by a tanker jet to a bomber. Some of the footage shows a side view of the two jets, which are connected to each other by the fueling tube. Some of the footage was shot where the camera was pointing out the rear fueling door of the tanker jet, and in this shot, the viewer is shown how the fueling pipe thrusts in and out and in and out of the receiving device of the bomber. The music is romantic Montovani music. After a couple of minutes of this amusing sexual innuendo, the plot starts.We see an airforce base with radar antenna rotating, and a bomber taking off. Then we see a general conversing with Peter Sellars. "The base is being put on condition red . . . I'm afraid this is not an exercise . . . I'm afraid this is a shooting war," says the general. The general is General Jack Ripper.At the 6-minute time point comes visually appealing footage of bombers flying over snowy mountain peaks. At 6 min, 30 sec, we see Slim Pickens in the pilot's seat in the cockpit of a bomber reading Playboy Magazine. At 8 min, his crew consults a codebook, and Slim Pickens and his crew discuss "Plan R." Slim Pickens converses with another crewman, saying: "Did you say using Attack Plan R? . . . how many times have I told you that I don't want no horsing around on the airplane . . . well I've been to one world's fair, one picnic, and a rodeo, and that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard coming over a set of earphones . . . you sure you got today's code? . . . there's just gotta be something wrong." Slim Pickens looks at the control panel which reads: FGD135. Then, he looks in the codebook, and notices that FGD135 matches up with Attack Plan R. At 9 min, 45 sec, we see fellow crewman James Earl Jones (as we know, he later played the voice of Darth Vader). At 10 min begins a steady drumbeat and trumpet playing, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home." (This is on the soundtrack whenever we are shown the inside of Slim Pickens' jet bomber.) Slim Pickens says, "Well boys, I guess this is it. Nuclear combat, toe-to-toe with the Ruskies . . . look boys, I ain't much a hand at giving speeches . . . I have a fair idea of the personal emotions you might be thinking." (At this point, Slim Pickens has put on his cowboy hat, and he speaks into a microphone.)BIKINI SCENE. Then, at 12 min, we are in General Turgeson's suite (played by George C. Scott) and the viewer is treated to many views of his secretary in a bikini. The two of them talk about Plan R. For three entire minutes, the viewer is treated to images of the slender secretary in a bikini. At 16 min, the scene returns to Peter Sellars in the computer room at an air force base, that is, at the same air force base where General Jack Ripper works.BODILY FLUIDS. This movie has a few references to "precious bodily fluids." The first of these references occurs at 24 minutes in a talk in General Ripper's office by the general to Peter Sellars. At 46 min, General Ripper says this to Peter Sellars, "fresh pure water to replenish our precious bodily fluids." This takes place in a discussion about fluoridation being a Communist plot. At 56 minutes, the dialogue goes, "foreign substances introduced into our precious bodily fluids . . . that's the way a Commie works." At 60 min, Peter Sellars remarks that there was never anything wrong with his "bodily fluids."SURVIVAL KIT. At 35 min, the scene changes from the tense situation in the war room, to the comedic situation in the bomber piloted by Slim Pickens. Comedy comes from the perusual of the items in the survival kit. The items include, vitamin pills, morphine pills, sleeping pills, Russian phrase book, Russian rubles, prophylactics, nylon stockings, etc. The sound track features a harmonica and snare drum. Slim Pickens remarks, "Shoot! A fella could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with that stuff!!!"At 51 minutes, the character of Dr. Strangelove make his entrance, and the discussion is about the Doomesday Machine. Here, Dr. Strangelove (played by Sellers) speaks to the President of the United States (played by Sellers). At 61 minutes, General Ripper kills himself in the bathroom, thus bringing to a halt his chit-chat session with Peter Sellers. The scene then changes, and we are with Slim Pickens in his bomber. The problem is that a Russian missile approaches, and it damages the bomber. At this point, Peter Sellers needs to call the President of the United States, but he does not have change for the pay telephone, and the viewer is treated to the Coca Cola scene (described above). At 68 minutes, Slim Pickens continues to fly his damaged bomber and he says: "If we was flying any lower we'd need sleigh bells on this thing."At 82 minutes, James Earl Jones notices a problem with the bomb bay doors. They won't open. So Slim Pickens decides to go down to the bomb bay to open them manually. Slim Pickens orders James Earl Jones to "fire the explosive bolts" but this does not work. And so, as the snare drums continue, and as the horns play "Johnny Comes Marching Home," Slim Pickens plays his very, very, famous "Yee-hawwww" scene by riding one of the nuclear bombs out of the bomb bay door, where it eventually explodes. Then, we hear the sone, "We'll Meet Again." The real reason I bought this movie was to see if it was the recording by The Byrds or the recording by Vera Lynn. I was disappointed to learn that it was Vera Lynn's recording, not the recording by The Byrds. Oh well.

This is a classic film. A must see if you enjoy oddball stories and especially satire. And especially satires of goofball politicians and goofy international relations. Peter Sellers' performance is legendary. Sterling Hayden in a much different role is excellent. George C. Scott is marvelous! Thank you Stanley Kubrick!

Some films have a timeless quality intrinsically inherent with the story, allowing for them to maintain a certain amount of relevance, despite the subject matter, or when they were made. This aspect holds true for many of Stanley Kubrick's films, in my opinion, and is true with this film, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.Directed by Kubrick, written by Kubrick and Terry Southern (Easy Rider), based on the serious novel Red Alert aka Two Hours to Doom by Peter George, and starring Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, and Sterling Hayden, Dr. Strangelove deals in a highly farcical and satirical manner the subject of nuclear proliferation, and proposed responses devised by men of power to perceived threats, whether they be based on reality, or founded from paranoia.The film starts off with Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper (Hayden), commander of Burpelson Air Force Base, initiating Attack Plan R to his group, a plan created to allow someone other than the president to launch a nuclear counterattack in the event the enemy has managed to disrupt the normal chain of command, thereby preserving our response abilities despite significant loss of leadership. Only problem is, there has been no offensive put forth by enemies of America, and it turns out this issuance was completely unprovoked and the result of one who has basically lost his mind. Group Captain Lionel Mandrake (Seller, in one of three roles), a British officer participating in a officer exchange program, and, subsequently Rippers 2nd in command, realizes this, and must act before the B-52 bombers reach their destinations within the Soviet Union and deliver their atomic payloads, in turn setting off a new doomsday device conceived by the Soviets due to the fact that they were unable to keep up the United States in terms of arms proliferation, which, if activated, would cover the planet in a radioactive cloud for 100 years, destroying all life on Earth. Pretty heavy stuff, huh? One wouldn't think there'd be much humor to be found in a situation like this, but then one would be wrong...The humor comes in the form of the absolute ludicrosity (it's not a word, as I just made it up) of the situation grown from the intense level of paranoia developed between democratic and communist powers after WWII and how, once things are set into motion, how safeguards meant to protect us basically work against that goal. It's really pretty funny to see what a mutated beast has been born of these fears, both perceived and real. Hayden Sterling is wonderful as the psychotic general with visions of communists infiltrating the very core of our democratic being, with his thoughts on 'precious bodily fluids', and conspiracies by the red menace to undermine and sap our strength. Peter Sellers is perhaps the standout in the film, playing three separate parts with such ability that I often unable to distinguish the actor from the characters within the film, seeing not an actor playing three separate parts, but only seeing three distinct characters in the British officer Mandrake, President Merkin Muffley "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room", and finally ex-German scientist Dr. Strangelove "Of course, the whole point of a Doomsday Machine is lost if you keep it a secret! Why didn't you tell the world?", advisor to the President. One thing each of the characters does have in common is the Seller's comedic genius. His most memorable roles were those involving the bumbling Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther movies, but his skills shine through in his portrayal of three completely separate personalities, one straight-laced (Mandrake), another sort of bewildered but trying to maintain a sense of control (President Muffley), and a third hilariously over the top (Dr. Strangelove). Finally, there's George C. Scott's performance as the scheming, opportunistic, plotting and conniving, but all in the name of patriotism, General 'Buck' Turdigson "Mr. President, I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed. But I do say no more than ten to twenty million killed, tops. Uh, depending on the breaks". He completely reminds me of his lead role from the film Patton (1970), but in a very perverted, devolved manner. Great support roles include Slim Pickens Major T.J. 'King' Kong as the pilot of one of the B-52's, James Earl Jones as one of his crewmembers, and Colonel 'Bat' Guano as the leader of the force assigned to take control of Burpelson Air Force Base, and recover the recall codes from base commander General Ripper.All in all, Kubrick has just an amazing style for relating a story to the audience. From his use of different formats of film to evoke a particular mood or convey a sense of feeling, i.e. the documentary style use for the actual fighting footage at the air force base, to the choice of music to enhance the tone set in the various scenes. It all works perfectly to create mock realism in spite of the comedic nature, presenting the essence of a black comedy.The picture looks wonderful in this full screen format, and you will see that change from time to time as Kubrick used various aspect ratios in the film. As far as special features, there are quite a few of them, including a theatrical trailer, a featurette titled 'The Art of Stanley Kubrick: From Short Films to Strangelove', a documentary titled 'The Making of Dr. Strangelove', original split screen interviews with actors Scott and Sellers (this was done by having the actors answer pre-determined questions, and then local interviewers could be added in later asking said questions, making it look like they were interviewing the actors), promotional advertising gallery, and talent files. Some have called this 'The Greatest Black Comedy of All Time', and I would have little difficulty in arguing that...Cookieman108

Good

Only good for weighing heavy things

That's what I thought.One of the best movies ever produced. Even more relevant today than when it came out. This movie is on my top 10 list. Up there with Ben Hur, Gladiator and Spartacus, but on a totally different wavelength.This movie should be in your collection.

I have long been torn between this and 2001: A Space Odyssey as vying for the title of Kubrick's best movie. Having watched the former again, I would have to call it a draw.Dr Strangelove brilliantly dissects the insanity of "Mutually Assured Destruction" , the Cold War policy that led to the ability to wipe out the human race many times over. Sadly, nothing has been learnt from it. Nuclear arsenals remain. Perhaps this film should be mandatory viewing for political leaders who have control of such things.Peter Sellars gives some of the best film performances of his career as an RAF officer, then deranged Nazi scientific adviser to his portrayal of a US president.The film looks very good in this 1080p version.

This is a cold War Classic masterpiece. I guess most have seen this Stanley Kubrick film, but if you have not it will be a few pounds well spent. Filmed in black and white it has a great cast. Peter Sellers plays three parts, the US President, a RAF Group Captain and a mad German Scientist. He is ably supported by the USAF General played by George C. Scott and Stirling Hayden who plays the mad General who sets off a nuclear strike on the USSR. Slim Pickens plays the USAF pilot flying the B52 that potentially ends the world. I won't spoil it if you have not seen it, but the ending, wow!

Actually, I would have rated this film a star four stars, but the extra star was for the fascinating extras. They were just as interesting as the film itself, if not more so. It is a one off film, with sterling performances from everyone, especially the President, who did not overdo his American accent. Of course, the special effects are primitive by today's standards, but the message is still the same. The fact that it is black and white adds to its atmosphere, and it delivers a chilling view of what might happen in a state of confusion. It is very amusing, in parts, but nevertheless the message is put across, with some stereotypical gung ho attitudes shown by many of the Americans. The pace is rather slow, but it certainly was ahead of its time, and as it turned out, a similar situation nearly happened in real life.

Once upon a time in the cold war, there was something calledMAD (Mutual-Assured-Destruction), which meant whoeverstarted WW3, the other side would react in kind, thus destroyingeach other... yes... quite mad... I know, but this was a everydayreality living in the cold war. and being a child of thecold war, I remember the fear of Nuclear War,.Although the cold war is over, we still face the threat of a nuclearwar, but it is not something we overtally worry about, but backin the 1960s, it was a possibility, and that is why this film is sogood, as It really taps into the fear of those times.I can't say anything more about this movie. Yes, there area couple of flaws in it, but so does any masterpiece, andthis is a classic. I love Sterling Hayden, and can watch himin any thing. George C Scott is great too, and Ken Adam'sset designs are brilliant...You must watch this film at least once in your life.

Brilliant acting by Peter Sellers in three different roles, President, RAF adjutant and insane scientific adviser. (Interesting that, originally, Sellers was going to play a 4th role - that of the B52 pilot - very well played in the end by 'Slim' Pickens). George C Scott plays an excellent parody of his previous roles - all to good effect. From start to finish the film is full of dark references in ironic humour (probably only best understood by those of us who remember those times - the height of the cold war). Tremendously humorous throughout.