Review of Dr. Strangelove

Flash Summary: 
A general during post-World War II issues a plan to bomb Russia without consent from the President or any other established authority. Chaos ensues, to the hilarity of the viewer. Sidenote: This very well could be the easiest Kubrick film to summarize. God knows I couldn't do this for 2001.

Review: 
It has taken me quite some time to actually sit down and prepare myself for the only Kubrick movie I have yet to see, apart from Eyes Wide Shut. I was, in a sense, scared of the film for a while, for reasons of not understanding the concept or not being able to "get" the comedic portions of the film. Needless to say, I hope anyone wishing to see this film drops these feelings if they mirror my own, because this is a film anyone above the age of 15 can enjoy, and one I was quite happy to finally see.

I watched this film in a class I have at school, among many other people who had heard of the film, but had never seen it. The reception of the film was quite mixed, to say the least, as this is a black-and-white movie with a not-so-very-dated issue. The film follows multiple people: a cracked-out general who calls for a team of planes to drop nuclear bombs on Russia; a single plane of that very team; and the war room containing the President, the Russian ambassador, many other authoritative figures, and our beloved Dr. Strangelove. All aspects of the story are very important, crucial to the following of the current event, and, simply put, hilarious.

Out of our three colliding stories, I would most definitely categorize the war room scenes as my favorites. The interaction of the war general with the President and the ambassador was spot on and very satirical of how our political system is ran to this day. But, these scenes would feel incomplete without our titular character, Dr. Strangelove, himself. Although it is quite "strange" that he only appears in about 15 minutes of the film, the screen/scene is completely his once he wheelchairs in. Peter Sellers, who not only plays a character in every separate story, is in a role of a lifetime with Strangelove, and he eats up the German Hitler-built ego with presence and ecstasy.

I quite liked the portions of the film located in the cockpit of the B-52, as well. The flight team was very comical and represented the dire opposites of their general who put them to the task. They cannot make a single move without getting it confirmed about a thousand times, and nothing seems to go right for them, but they always maintained a positive feel to their scenes and it was a welcome addition to our three-part story. The scenes I was not particularly fond of were the general and his executive officer. These scenes, apart from a couple in the beginning of the film, felt almost like filler to me, and watching the degradation of a man who has made a decision to be hanged for in a black comedy is not always so funny to me. Needless to say, Peter Sellers portrayal of the executive officer that stands by his general's side (forcibly, one might say) is quite the touch to these scenes, and makes them more entertaining.

 Through and through, it is quite clear to me how this is such an important film in not just Kubrick's career, but in film history, as well. This was not a light subject at the time the film was released, and it still isn't today. This was a very daring film, something Kubrick was known for, and it is reminiscent on the celluloid. I can't fairly say I enjoy it more so than his other films, such as A Clockwork Orange or Paths of Glory, but it is most certainly a film I wouldn't mind revisiting from time and time again. I highly recommend this film to anyone studying the history of film, or anyone that finds political satires to be their favorite sort of cinema, because this may be the king of the genre.

P.S. More reviews coming up soon, namely The Impossible and Take Shelter!!! Be sure to follow me on Google+, and also feel free to leave and commentary or discussion below my reviews, as I would love to hear everyone's personal opinions and thoughts! See you at the movies!