Movie Review: DR. STRANGELOVE

Columbia Pictures
1964
PG

“Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here. This is the War Room.”

• Convinced the Commies want to pollute America’s “precious body fluids”, a crazed general orders a nuclear air strike on the U.S.S.R. As his aide, Captain Mandrake, scrambles to unlock a recall code to prevent the bombing, the U.S. President calls a drunken Soviet Premier on the hotline claiming the proposed attack is all a silly mistake, while the President’s adviser Dr. Strangelove verifies the existence of a dreaded Doomsday Machine–a retaliatory device designed by the Soviets to end the human race once and for all!

One of the more infuriating excuses I’ve heard people use to justify not knowing history is “that was before I was born.” the easiest way to demonstrate that you’re a willfully ignorant douchenozzle is to throw that excuse out when discussing things like classic movies:
“So, you like smartly made and politically subversive dark comedy satires? What do you think of Dr. Strangelove?”
“I haven’t seen it. That was from before I was born.”
“How do you think and breathe at the same time?”
…and then the date pretty much ends there. But, I digress.

Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb is perhaps my favorite Stanley Kubrick film. And that’s saying a lot, as I count myself as one of those guys who considers Kubrick to have been a mad genius in every genre he’s dabbled in. And no, I don’t count A.I.: Artificial Intelligence as one of his movies.

Anyway, I consider Dr. Strangelove to be his best movie so far (I’m still working through all of his films, it might be dethroned at a later time…though it’s doubtful). The main reason is because this is a biting satire about the Cold War, released during the height of the actual conflict. The Cuba Missile Crisis was still fresh in the minds of Americans, and here comes a movie that satirizes the general fear and paranoia running rampant at the time. Not that things were better during the 80s, mind.

Anyway, Dr. Strangelove was very, very loosely based on a novel titled Red Alert, in that Kubrick took a straight-forward thriller and turned it into a black comedy. Makes, sense, as paranoia can make anyone do absurdly comical things in hindsight. The story involves a General that orders a nuclear air strike on the U.S.S.R. (what you Millennials refer to as “Russia”), despite the Pentagon having nothing to do with is, because of his fears of fluoridation in the water supply. This in turn leads to a mad dash by the President and the Pentagon to try and stop the potential Mutually Assured Destruction that this posits, which includes the Soviet ambassador and former Nazi scientific adviser Dr. Strangelove. Wackiness ensues while everyone can’t seem to get past their own paranoia-driven ambitions and presumptions, meanwhile the bomber gets closer and closer to its intended target.

If you have yet to watch Dr. Strangelove because it’s either one of those “old movies” made before your time, or because it’s in black and white, or a combination of both…well, get over yourself. Seriously, tell that false sense of superiority to bugger off, and watch this movie right now. I am not kidding; stop reading this review, and rent it off of whatever streaming site you use, watch it, then get back here to finish up. I can wait.

There. Don’t you feel better? I’m going to take your silence as an enthusiastic, “YES!”

First off, there’s the fact that George C. Scott himself never wanted to play his part as the over-the-top wacky character the movie portrays; that was Kubrick’s intention, Scott and he were at odds about it, so Kubrick just told Scott to play it like that as a dress rehearsal, and secretly filmed him like that for the real parts of the movie. Then we have comedy legend Peter Sellers playing not only the titular Dr. Strangelove, but also the President and a British exchange officer that’s held hostage by the General that ordered the initial air strike. There’s also Western legend Slim Pickens and future voice of Darth Vader James Earl Jones as two of the bomber’s crew members. The script manages to strike the perfect balance between subtle satire and absurdist humor with a smattering of slapstick, as well as Kubrick’s trademark ultra-perfectionist cinematography. Over 50 years later, and this movie still holds up brilliantly, and is even more pointed in this modern political climate.

Overall: Yeah, if you haven’t seen it (even now, after being told earlier to do so), rectify that oversight. Even if you don’t “get it” the first time, keep watching it until you do. And I know what you’re thinking, and no: I am not a “Boomer”. I’m Gen X. Idiot.

Movie Review: The SHINING

Warner Bros.
1980
R

“Some places are like people, some shine and some don’t.”

The Shining is one of my favorite books written by Stephen King.  If you haven’t read it yourself, I urge you to rectify this glaring oversight immediately (after you’re done with this review, of course).  It’s a great modern haunted house novel that I all but devoured when I was only 15.  Still resonates with me to this day.  As does this original movie adaptation by Stanley Kubrick.

I should mention that, for the longest time I didn’t watch the film version of The Shining, because I “didn’t want to sully the purity of the novel.”  Yeah, I was a bit of a d-bag about these things back in the day.  Well, different level, anyway.  I also knew that Stephen King himself didn’t like the film adaptation at all, and that was reason enough to not watch it.  Then, around college, I started checking out the work of Stanley Kubrick, and realized that the film version of The Shining is really more a Kubrick film than a mere adaptation of a novel.

I don’t think I’m shocking anyone by saying I consider this film one of Kubrick’s finest work in his portfolio.  I’m just adding my voice alongside the many others who have said the same thing.  In true Kubrick fashion, every shot is deliberately made to gain the fullest effect of thick uncomfortable horror and madness that the haunted resort is wont to do to someone. Especially a recovering alcoholic writer with anger issues and writer’s block.  The sense of isolation and the vastness of the hotel itself is very palpable, making them almost characters in their own right.  Mind you, as far as actors chosen for the parts, I do question the use of Jack Nicholson in the role of the guy who’s slowly going insane.  Mainly because, as great and iconic an actor Nicholson is, let’s face it – he looks crazy to begin with.  And Shelly Duvall as his long-suffering wife was…eh.  Though, she did pull off some of the bests scream takes I’ve seen, mostly thanks to the insanity of the director himself.

Over thirty years later, and The Shining, save for some dated fashion choices, still remains a very effective and well-made slow burning supernatural horror film that works on a psychological level as well as a viceral level.  Sure, there are deviations from the book.  But, forget about them.  This version of The Shining is its own entity.  This goes in my “Own” pile.  Check it out if you haven’t yet.