Dr. Strangelove is a very interesting and humorous movie. Whether you like comedies, horror, or action movies, you are bound to at least appreciate the unique comedy that is found in this movie. For the time period it takes place in it was a very bold move to make a comedy about this horrifying subject, but I think the comedy is needed to prevent the audience from becoming totally depressed about the entire situation. It may not be such an issue today, but back when the probability of a nuclear war was much more likely, an audience would need some way to take the plot a little less seriously, and this movie does a great job at that. Much of the humor in Dr. Strangelove comes directly from the characters. Their wit and weirdness is the source of most of the comedy in this film, for example when General 'Buck' Turgidson is speaking with his girlfriend about “making her a Mrs. Turgidson someday” in the middle of an important meeting. It was also ironic for some of the characters to act like their names, for example, Jack Ripper, the character who creates the crisis, has the same name as a world renowned serial killer. Ripper in the movie also ends up killing innocent men. The name of the character is a hint as to what he accomplishes in the end of the movie which is why it is ironic. Also I feel that the director was mocking the military through little moments or ideas in the movie, using clues in the movie to get the audience to see the idea of blind obedience that is present in the military and the government. This was very funny to me, but to a person in the military it would not be. Another part that was ironic, and that I missed the first time was appearances of Miss Scott (Tracy Reed), "the well-spoken Pentagon secretary under the sunlamp displaying (for the time) ample navel, also pops up as the centerfold in the Playboy magazine being admired by Major Kong in the cockpit."(5) If you were not paying attention to detail in this film you would have missed a lot. This is one of those films that you could watch over and over and find different parts that are unique.

I noticed that the director used many close ups in the film and some extreme close ups. This did a good job at connecting the viewer with the character and also gave them a great chance to view their unique facial expressions which to me was some of the best parts in the movie. A part that I thought showed this very well was when we were first introduced to Dr. Strangelove. Also the use of the eye-level camera angle really gave me a since of being on the same level as the actors and kept me focused on what they were having to say.

Citations

Dr. Strangelove; Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Perf. Peter Sellers,George C. Scott,Sterling Hayden, and Keenan Wynn. Hawk Films, 1964. DVD.

Stillman, Grant B. "Two of the Madest scientists: where Strangelove Meets Dr. No;or, unexpected roots forKubrick’s cold war classic." 2008. Web. 13 Jan. 2010. .