Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Special Edition)

Media:	DVD
Directed by:	Stanley Kubrick
Starring:	Peter Sellers, George C. Scott
Release date:	27 February, 2001
List price:	~~$19.94~~
Our price:	$13.46 that is 32% off!

Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Special Edition)

Average rating: Stars

Cold-war lampoonary at its finest!

This review is for the 40th Anniversary Special Edition released by Columbia/Tristar in 2004.

The movie "Dr. Strangelove, or How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" is a cold-war black comedy that satirizes the nuclear arms race between superpower governments. The basic story line takes place in the early 1960's where a psychologically unstable U.S. Air Force Brigadier General named Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) orders a surprise nuclear attack on Russia from a NATO base in England. The attack is to be made by deploying a series of squadrons of B-52 bombers which are ordered to drop nuclear missiles on strategic locals within Russia. When Washington finds out about this unprovoked attack, an emergency meeting is held in the Pentagon's War Room where restrained hysteria and pandemonium begin.

British actor Peter Sellers plays three characters in this movie: Royal Air Force Captain Lionel Mandrake, U. S. President Merkin Muffley and German physicist Dr. Strangelove. The Mandrake and Muffley roles are strictly deadpan comedy, while the Strangelove character uses a lot of physical comedy and overtly humorous rants regarding nuclear annihilation. I found Sellers especially impressive in the role as the U.S. president, due to his authentic-sounding American accent.

Arguably the strongest performance in the movie belongs to George C. Scott in his portrayal as U.S. General 'Buck' Turgidson. His animated body movement and overly emotional facial expressions steal the show. Another notable performance is by the tobacco-chewing cowboy actor Slim Pickens who plays B-52 pilot Major T.J. 'King' Kong. Pickens' exiting scene in the movie is visually one of the greatest in the history of filmmaking. The humor in this movie is constant but subtle. My only critical comment about the movie is that I feel the final scene in the war room was extraneous and too over the top. But still, this is a superb film.

As for the DVD, since this was a "special edition" package, one would expect a fully restored version, but this wasn't the case. There isn't much film deterioration, but you'll see an occasional spec of film wear here and there. All in all, its a very sharp black and white transfer. The sound is very satisfactory.

There are plenty of special features contained in this package including brief cold war documentaries by Roger Ebert, Bob Woodward, Robert McNamara and Spike Lee. Most of the observations were overstating the obvious, but it was interesting to observe as best as I can recall that no one admitted that the arms race is what ultimately defeated communism in Russia in the 1980's. I did feel that Spike Lee's comments were particularly inane however. Another documentary included a more in depth examination of the cold war era by former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. There was also a too-brief feature of the career of Peter Sellers. Another bonus feature which was by far the best, was the making of the film Dr. Strangelove. In this we learn many things including the fact that Peter Sellers was originally cast as the B-52 pilot but was later replaced by Slim Pickens. In addition we learn that the final scene in the movie was a pie fight, but was left on the editing room floor. We also learn that a special screening was scheduled for November 22, 1963, the day that JFK was assassinated, so the film was postponed and edited slightly to remove a comment by Pickens where he mentions, "....a guy could have a good time in Dallas....". The word "Dallas" was changed to "Las Vegas". There is also a nice biographical feature on director Stanley Kubrick. My overall assessment of the package is that it was significantly overpriced for quality of material, and again, not to have a fully restored movie for $28 is a travesty in my opinion.

Movie: A+

DVD Quality: A-

Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Special Edition) - Peter Sellers, George C. Scott

Isn't funny at all

This movie is lame. There isn't one good laugh in it. It is tiresome. The only good thing about it is that it warns us against right wing lunatics who might start a nuclear war because they are crazy. Fine. It is politically correct. But that doesn't mean that the movie is any good, and it isn't. I have hated almost every Stanley Kubrick film I have ever seen. His work is terrible. The best of the sorry lot is Barry Lyndon, which is too long, too slow paced, has no characters who aren't annoying and despicable, but is worth three stars, which is more than I can say for the rest of his garbage.

Peter Sellers, George C. Scott - Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Special Edition)

black and white

If I know the film recorded black and white styl, I didn't bay it.