Stanley Kubrick's Dr Strangelove - How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb stands as one of the all time great films about war because it is so much different from any other film on the subject. It has much more in common with the work of the Marx Brothers than it does with Saving Private Ryan or The Dirty Dozen. The black humor of the film is exactly why it was considered controversial upon release, and how it manages to be so sincere and honest on the subject of nuclear war.
The film finds humor in the fact that nuclear war really is an absurd, logically inconsistent idea. The film targets the absurdity of nuclear war and the foolishness of the politicians who send young men to die. The brave soldiers who go to fight are not discredited, rather, the war machine that has them dying, in some situations for no reason, is made the butt of the joke.
The movie has an important statement to make, yet it never comes across as preachy. It's a sincerely, honestly funny film. The jokes are amusing on a base level of simply being good humor, but they also draw attention to the stupidity of nuclear war.
Years later, when Kubrick made Full Metal Jacket, he seemed to fully embrace the humorous nature of war to the point that there were no overt jokes in that film, but rather, he simply relies on the weirdness of war to provide the humor. While not as direct as Dr. Strangelove, Full Metal Jacket is equally funny in spite of the lack of any real comedic elements.
Peter Sellers in multiple roles is perhaps the heart of the film. In recent years, the idea of one actor playing several characters has become trite, and it's usually the sign of a bad comedy with a weak script and only enough of a budget to hire one skilled comic in hopes of salvaging bad material. Sellers, on the other hand, was the master of creating several comic characters and making them all feel like different people. There's no in-joke to Sellers playing so many characters, it's just that he was better suited than anybody to play all of them.
The centerpiece of these would have to be Doctor Strangelove himself. Strangelove is portrayed as a former Nazi, whose limp right hand will sometimes snap into a Nazi salute. It is through Strangelove that the link between nuclear armament and sexual dysfunction is made most clear and direct. When the bombs start to fall, his sexual thrill is made nearly tangible.
George C. Scott's performance as General Buck Turgidson is another highlight. It's odd to see such a wild performance from Scott, who is typically noted as a gruff master of understatement. Certainly, his trademark is to do with a grizzly whisper what most would do with a shout. Kubrick actually had to trick Scott into going so wild for this role by requesting over the top "practice" takes, and then using them in the actual movie. Slim Pickens as Major Kong was similarly fooled into giving a straight performance by being told that the film was a standard war film and not a comedy.
If you haven't seen it yet, this is one of those movies that you absolutely must see before you die. From the opening scenes to the apocalyptic finale, Dr. Strangelove is the only statement that needs to be made on the foolishness of nuclear war. - 40729
The film finds humor in the fact that nuclear war really is an absurd, logically inconsistent idea. The film targets the absurdity of nuclear war and the foolishness of the politicians who send young men to die. The brave soldiers who go to fight are not discredited, rather, the war machine that has them dying, in some situations for no reason, is made the butt of the joke.
The movie has an important statement to make, yet it never comes across as preachy. It's a sincerely, honestly funny film. The jokes are amusing on a base level of simply being good humor, but they also draw attention to the stupidity of nuclear war.
Years later, when Kubrick made Full Metal Jacket, he seemed to fully embrace the humorous nature of war to the point that there were no overt jokes in that film, but rather, he simply relies on the weirdness of war to provide the humor. While not as direct as Dr. Strangelove, Full Metal Jacket is equally funny in spite of the lack of any real comedic elements.
Peter Sellers in multiple roles is perhaps the heart of the film. In recent years, the idea of one actor playing several characters has become trite, and it's usually the sign of a bad comedy with a weak script and only enough of a budget to hire one skilled comic in hopes of salvaging bad material. Sellers, on the other hand, was the master of creating several comic characters and making them all feel like different people. There's no in-joke to Sellers playing so many characters, it's just that he was better suited than anybody to play all of them.
The centerpiece of these would have to be Doctor Strangelove himself. Strangelove is portrayed as a former Nazi, whose limp right hand will sometimes snap into a Nazi salute. It is through Strangelove that the link between nuclear armament and sexual dysfunction is made most clear and direct. When the bombs start to fall, his sexual thrill is made nearly tangible.
George C. Scott's performance as General Buck Turgidson is another highlight. It's odd to see such a wild performance from Scott, who is typically noted as a gruff master of understatement. Certainly, his trademark is to do with a grizzly whisper what most would do with a shout. Kubrick actually had to trick Scott into going so wild for this role by requesting over the top "practice" takes, and then using them in the actual movie. Slim Pickens as Major Kong was similarly fooled into giving a straight performance by being told that the film was a standard war film and not a comedy.
If you haven't seen it yet, this is one of those movies that you absolutely must see before you die. From the opening scenes to the apocalyptic finale, Dr. Strangelove is the only statement that needs to be made on the foolishness of nuclear war. - 40729
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When it comes to the audience, you shouldnt focus on blocking them out, but instead embrace them as support. Download Movie Music In this article I would like to address the subject of practice, and how to get paid for it. Additional terms for the field in general include the big screen, the silver screen, the cinema, and the movies.
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