Dr. Strangelove, 1964 (Dir. Stanley Kubrick)
Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove (Or: How I Stopped Worrying and Loved the Bomb), is a masterpiece of darkly humorous chaos and an unforgettable classic. Whether you lived during The Cold War period or not, if you allow the film to envelop you, it will dig deep and stay with you in all its anarchistic glory.
The story is realistic in the sense that miscommunication and the unpredictability of human nature could lead to precarious situations. The films approach and dialogue, however, are of the surreal variety. Kubrick and co-writers Terry Southern and Peter George, find the perfect tone of comedy in the midst of international turmoil. They could’ve made it more slapstick, and nearly concluded the final film in outrageous absurdity with a conclusive food fight, but that would’ve been all wrong. The film’s real strength is in the fact that the characters are believable, even while they make us laugh, there’s conviction in their bleak circumstances.
The performances are comic gold. Whether its George C. Scott’s manic General “Buck” Turgidson, Peter Sellers’ trifecta of inspired madness as Capt. Mandrake, President Muffley and the mysterious Dr. Strangelove or Sterling Hayden’s glorious turn as the loony General Jack Ripper that set all the chaos in motion-the film is a study in comedic acting perfection. Sellers effectively distiguishes all three of his characters, each with specific quirks and mannerisms. The way he sells Capt Mandrake's desperation in getting the code from Gen. Ripper in their awkward and uncomfortable exchange is something to behold. Hayden's Gen. Ripper is one of the great, if not overlooked, villains in film history. His misguided, arbitrary mission to "preserve our precious bodily fluids" is equal parts hilarious and alarming. Hayden's delivery of his discovery is inspired comedic splendor. And of course, George Scott is the zany backbone of the picture. His performance as Gen. Turgidson is one of the finest comedic performances that I've ever seen. Scott does more with his face than most actors do with their entire body. I could watch Scott in this role for days, it's effortless and precise, at the same time the most intense and unpred-ictable of the movie.
Kubrick has a distinct and successful body of work. Of his pieces, no two are alike, yet he has the "makers' mark". Which is to say his films, as a collective whole, can be identified as his own. It's debatable to which is Kubrick's definitive film. Some say his masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey is his essential piece, some say Strangelove; others lean towards Paths of Glory or A Clockwork Orange or perhaps his horror epic The Shining. The point is that an argument can be made for each of his films. I love and appreciate his films thoroughly. Dr. Strangelove's dark humor makes me laugh, it's craft makes me smile with the understanding that in Kubrick we get the best of what cinema has to offer.
