Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb [PG]

Convinced that the Communists are polluting America’s “precious bodily fluids”, a crazed General orders a surprise nuclear air strike on the USSR. His aide, British Captain Mandrake, desperately tries to work out the code to recall the planes. Meanwhile, in the War Room, the President is trying to explain to the drunken Premier of this silly mistake, while his adviser, Dr. Strangelove, confirms the existence of the Doomsday Machine: a secret Soviet device that is guaranteed to obliterate human existence once and for all. 

From producer/director Stanley Kubrick who brought us other masterpieces such as Lolita, A Clockwork Orange, and The Shining, comes this wonderful black and white political satire that’s filled with comedy, action, misunderstanding, and blunders. 

Convinced that the Communists are polluting America’s “precious bodily fluids”, a crazed General orders a surprise nuclear air strike on the USSR. His aide, British Captain Mandrake, desperately tries to get him to come to his senses and, when that fails, tries to work out the three-letter code that will recall the planes. Meanwhile, in the War Room, the President is trying to explain this silly mistake to a drunken Russian Premier whilst his adviser, Dr. Strangelove, confirms the existence of the Doomsday Machine: a secret Soviet retaliatory device that will obliterate human existence once and for all. 

Aside from the fact that this film is in black and white, which is always ever so classy, it also boasts memorable moments and performances. Two of the most recognised and sampled scenes in cinema history made their beginning in Dr. Strangelove. These scenes are when Slim Pickens is riding the falling bomb and yee-hawing all the way down and when Dr. Strangelove’s mechanical arm takes on a life of its own and he cannot stop it from doing the Nazi salute or throttling him. 

The humour of the film comes in the form of misinterpreted signals and simple mistakes. The whole thing is set into motion on a whim and then standard procedures prevent the attacking planes from being contacted and recalled. From there, things go from bad to worse when the Commies retaliate and one plane, badly damaged, changes its target. It’s all a delightful mess of sharp twists and turns, which leads to a somewhat unforeseeable outcome. 

Peter Sellers stars as President Merkin Muffley, R.A.F officer Lionel Mandrake, and Dr. Strangelove. Each performance that he delivers is armed with perfect comedic timing and wonderful physical moments. Peter Sellers is a genius without any doubt and this film isn’t the first time he and Kubrick have teamed up; two years earlier Sellers starred alongside James Mason in Lolita. 

Starring Slim Pickens, George C. Scott, Peter Bull, and James Earl Jones, Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, is a wonderfully satiric comedy that was filled with action, suspense, misunderstandings, negotiations, nuclear warfare, and epic blunders. Although you do have to persevere to see the brilliance of it, it’s all worth it in the end. Fantastic!