Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) 60th Anniversary

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1 hr 35 min

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1/29/1964

GENTLEMEN, YOU CAN'T FIGHT IN HERE! THIS IS THE WAR ROOM. There may be no funnier or darker comedy than Stanley Kubrick’s DR. STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB. Everything you need to know about the film is right there in the name. It’s absurd and serious, funny and terrifying, light and extremely dark. It’s…well…strange. Adapted from the book Red Alert, a dead-serious political thriller, Kubrick decided to make this story of a crazed American general’s (played in the film to absolute perfection by Sterling Hayden) unauthorized order of dropping a nuclear bomb. We see how his actions affect the men on the ordered plane, which include a very early performance by James Earl Jones and a brief but brilliant Slim Pickens. In Washington, the President (Peter Sellers) and his military commanders, including the infamous German expatriate Dr. Strangelove (Peter Sellers, again) and good ol’ boy General Buck Turgidson (an atypically hilarious George C. Scott), have to figure out how to stop the plane before it’s too late. And, back on the base, General Ripper, the one who started it all, confides in a horrified captain (Peter Sellers, AGAIN!) of his insane reasons behind his action. Sounds funny, right? Sellers pulls off one of the great cinematic acting achievements of all time with a miraculous triple performance. Kubrick’s deft and intelligent touch allows the comedy to overflow even as the end of the world creeps closer and closer. He doesn’t change the plot of Red Alert as much as slant the viewpoint in order to accentuate the true ridiculousness of it all. The Cold War was in full swing when DR. STRANGELOVE was released, so its themes should be less resonant today than they were in 1964. But they’re not. We still live in a world of war and killing and military strikes predicated on fear. There are still those in our armed forces who mentally crack and kill people. The point of Kubrick’s comedy isn’t to sit back and morbidly laugh at the elements of military-led worldwide destruction, but instead analyze the ludicrous nature of it all. You just have to have the right point of view. (R.J. LaForce) May 3 thru 6 & 8 $7, tickets on sale now

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Genre:Comedy, War Movie
Director:Stanley Kubrick
Cast:Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden