Pushing Buttons... Or How To Prepare For Doomsday

Director Stanley Kubrick's dark satire about nuclear war between the United States and Russia. Made in 1964, at a time when the cold war was at its peak, DR. STRANGELOVE remains one of my favorite films, made by the visionary filmmaker. Convinced that the Russians launched an attack on our country's resources, General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) orders a nuclear strike. His aide, Captain Lionel Mandrake (Peter Sellers in the first of three roles in the film), is sure this is a mistake and tries to recall the proper code to abort the mission. At the same time, President Merkin Muffley (Sellers) tries to contact his russian counterpart, so that he offer apologies for the error. Enter Dr. Strangelove (Sellers), an advisor to the President, warns that the enemy has a doomsday machine that means the end of all mankind. Sellers is very funny in all three of his roles. Kubrick and his unique way of movie making only enhance the story and performances The film may not be everyone's cup of tea, as far as comedies are concerned...but I think it's a winner on all counts.

The special edition is a vastly improved DVD over the movie only version. The documentary on Kubrick and his lesser known works highlight the extras. There's another featurette focusing on the making of Strangelove. The "split screen" interviews with Sellers and actor George C. Scott are rather funny in the way they that they were conducted. The rest of the extras include an advertising gallery, talent profiles, production notes, and theatrical trailers

If you like dark comedies (even if they are about the end of the world) then this is worth it. If you like films by Kubrick, you probably already own this disc, and know just how good it is...

GREAT BONUS DOCUMENTARY ON THIS SPECIAL EDITION

"DR. STRANGELOVE" (SPECIAL EDITION)

When the late Stanley Kubrick finished directing "Lolita" he said he read about 50 books on thermonuclear war and with his producing partner James Harris paid $3,500 dollars for the rights to Peter George's novel "Red Alert." Immediately, Harris and Kubrick began developing a screenplay for their next production they called "The Edge of Doom."

In late night creative sessions, Kubrick and Harris got silly, wondering what kind of food the President and his advisors would order while dealing with an accidental nuclear attack on Russia. Harris went off to be a director and Kubrick worked with the late Terry Southern. The new title announced was "Two Hours To Doom."

After two months with Southern, Kubrick found the tone and story he felt best expressed his very serious concerns for an eminent nuclear holocaust.

This brilliant, dark farce with its numerous haunting images has become a part of our collective experience. Although released in 1964 at the height of Cold War fears, the madness of nuclear war for whatever cause has never been better portrayed. Nor more relevant.

Peter Sellers inhabits three distinct characters in a performance that is unmatched anywhere. Incredibly, some of his most memorable lines, like the fey phone apology to the Soviet Premiere for the accidental nuclear strike, were improvised.

George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wyn and the extraordinary Slim Pickens (in a part that was originally to have been played by Sellers until he fell 15 feet out of the B-52 set and hurt himself!) are all operating at the peak of their remarkable powers and under the direction of a perfectly focused Kubrick.

"Dr. Strangelove" has been available before, individually and as part of a Kubrick DVD collection.

This new digitally mastered audio and video transfer seems even sharper and the incredibly black and white cinematography is pristine.

Superior bonus material includes a terrific new documentary on Kubrick as well as an "Inside The making of Dr. Strangelove" and more. (UK, Columbia Pictures, Black & White, Full Theatrical Print, 104 Minutes, Rated PG, 1964)

Oh for the days of the Cold War!

Every ideology that seems terribly important to one generation usually ends up seeming idiotic and even disturbingly naive to the following generation.

Think about it. The ideologies of the 18th century - dying for one's prince, duke or loot - seemed insane during the Napoleonic Wars, when nationalism became THE primary motivating factor.

"Pure" nationalism - like the extreme gung-ho attitudes at the beginning of World War I - seemed rather distasteful to the Allied forces in World War II, who fought to liberate peoples from Fascism.

The idea that Fascism would always endure, and was seriously in danger of taking over the world, seemed laughable during the Cold War.

How does the Cold War look to us today? The McCarthy era; Americans truly believing the USSR and the Communists were veritable Antichrists; truly believing that DESTROYING ALL LIFE ON THE PLANET was a feasible prediction about life in the near future; that the world was, always had been, and always would be, characterised by a fight between Communists and Capitalists.

*Sigh*

Dr Strangelove (or: how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb) is actually MORE funny - and disturbing - in some ways now than it was before. Admittedly I can sort of understand the immense impact of this film - could ANY politial satire have been more timely - but the fact that the "better red than dead" ideology nowadays seems as ridiculous as fighting for your Duke, means that this film can be seen in a new light.

People actually believed that is was better to be dead than Red? (Yes they did). People actually believed fluoridation of water was a communist conspiracy??? (Yes, they did). The Russians actually contemplated building a Doomsday device? (Yes they did!!! Josef Stalin actually started research on such a device, which would have EXTERMINATED ALL LIFE ON THE PLANET for the sake of a politial dispute between Communist and capitalist that today seems absolutely laughable!)

The passing of the Cold War era means that this movie is seriously disturbing. To a new generation, the all-annihilating power of the superpowers of the 1960s appears to have been based on disputes that appear petty in the extreme. Truly this movie makes us wonder what future generations will think of our fixation on modern ideologies; in an era that began three years ago with the late unpleasantness - and which is already making Francis Fukuyama's ideas, from the happy days of the 1990s, seem obsolete. He claimed that history was over; that free market ideology was the ULTIMATE ideology that would finally bring about an end to all future historical events by making us all live in peace.
That is SO 1995...

History is not over. Each generation seriously believes its own era is the ultimate era - that their own era is THE era whose disputes TRULY matter.

Well, history changes, as Strangelove shows us. I seriously hope that this movie makes us moderns think a little further before considering annihilating the world again! At least over something like fluoridation of water...