Dr. Strangelove Blu-ray Reviewed

The President of the United States is on the phone to the Premier of Russia; he has bad news. One of our generals, he admits hesitantly, well, "he went and did a silly thing." He launched a nuclear attack on the U.S.S.R.

This memorable line occurs in the best sequence of a great movie, Stanley Kubrick's unforgettable "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb," known as just plain "Dr. Strangelove" to its friends. The sequence is when President Merkin Muffley (Peter Sellers) tries to break the word that America has accidentally begun World War III. It's a brilliant sequence, and Sellers, with a bald head and glasses (he looks a bit like Adlai Stevenson) is brilliant in the role, as he is in his other two roles in the movie.

After "Lolita" (also featuring Sellers) Kubrick could have done almost anything he wanted, provided it not cost too much. He bought the rights to "Red Alert," a serious novel about a deranged American general realizing he had enough control to launch a fleet of B-52 bombers with orders to bomb the U.S.S.R., and that nobody else could call them back. So he does just that.

As Kubrick worked on the screenplay with, at first, his producer James B. Harris (who ended their partnership amicably before the script was finished), after a hard day's work they traded jokes--everything in the story seemed so bizarrely ludicrous that it could be a comedy. And after Harris left, that's exactly what Kubrick, with writer Terry Southern, actually did.

"Dr. Strangelove" is one of the most striking, unexpected comedies in movie history; audiences loved it, critics (as usual with Kubrick) were baffled, knowing they'd just seen something original and interesting, but they lacked the imagination to, at first, see it for the amazing work it was, and is. Kubrick didn't make nearly enough movies, but from "Lolita" through "Eyes Wide Shut," he had one of the most striking, memorable careers in movies. There's never been anyone else remotely like him, and there never will be another Kubrick. We just had the one, folks, and he's gone, now.

But the melody lingers on. This Blu-ray of "Dr. Strangelove" presents the film as it should be seen--in stark black and white on a big screen. It's photographed in Kubrick's usually highly formal manner--except for an attack on an air base, shot (by Kubrick himself) with hand-held cameras; it's utterly realistic and as raw-looking as a newsreel. The rest of the film is mostly closeups--sometimes very intense, as in the shots of Sterling Hayden as the deranged Gen. Jack D. Ripper (with his big phallic cigar and his big phallic gun)--alternating with perfectly-composed, very wide-angle shots of sets carefully designed to be seen at their best in these wide shots. Ken Adam was the production designer; his sets are still memorable--you must remember the vast, circular table in the Pentagon's War Room.

Kubrick exerts such precise, thoughtful control over every aspect of the movie that it seems almost like it emerged intact from his mind, a finished film on celluloid that never even had to be filmed. He handles the elements so well that you might see the film several times before you realize how many long, long takes there are. The scene that begins with Tracy Reed reclining on the bed of her lover Gen. "Buck" Turgidson (George C.Scott, who's as good as Sellers--i.e., perfect) and ends with his promise to soon return from dealing with this minor issue and they'll "blast off!" together--it's one long take with the camera moving only slightly. This makes it seem both overheard and a little artificial, like most of the rest of the movie, such as the scenes in Ripper's office in which he explains to Group Captain Lionel Mandrake (also Sellers) that he launched the nuclear attack because Russian spies have "impurified" our precious bodily fluids. (We soon realize that Ripper isn't just nuts, but has launched nuclear war because he's impotent.)

The formal scenes in the War Room are shot primarily from just a few angles--high overhead shots, closeups of individuals, usually the President and Turgidson, and occasional two-shots. When Russian Ambassador de Sadesky (Peter Bull) arrives, we also see that a sumptuous-looking buffet has been laid out nearby. (It includes lots of cream pies, essential for the filmed-but-cut pie fight that originally concluded the movie.)

But the scenes aboard the B-52 captained by Major "King" Kong (a bizarrely but appropriately cast Slim Pickens) are shot like a documentary, with tight little zoom-ins and zoom-outs on various key pieces of equipment. These scenes are so realistic that toward the end, when, with the (eventual) cooperation of the U.S.S.R., the B-52s have either been recalled or (gulp) shot down, Kong's plane, slightly damaged (it lost radio contact), soars onward toward its goal, the movie becomes intensely suspenseful. These scenes are scored with military music (almost the only music in the film), including "When Johnny Comes Marching Home." Even Kubrick does not evade the idea that, however insane their orders to attack may have been, the crew of this bomber are heroes, carrying on against all odds. Of course, they end up destroying the world, but as Turgidson pouts to the President, he doesn't "think it's quite fair to condemn the whole program because of a single slipup."

The movie is rich in amazing, stunning lines, highly quotable, instantly memorable. "You can't fight in here!" complains Muffley to the scuffling Turgidson and de Sadesky, "this is the War Room!" Turgidson urges the President to follow up the accidentally-launched attack with a full-scale nuclear assault on all Communist countries. Yes, he knows there would be retaliation. "I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed," he points out, but the U.S. will only suffer "modest and acceptable casualties in our civilian population." He proudly promises, "No more than ten to twenty million killed, tops--uh, depending on the breaks," he hastily adds.

The lines are great, and the actors deliver them with gusto and wonderful skill. Before this--and pretty much after, too--George C. Scott played powerful, often cold-hearted men, rarely with anything more than a cynical, wry sense of humor. His other best and most memorable performance was also as a general who might have been just a bit off his rocker--but he was the man we needed at the time. (Patton) But here, his performance is awesomely comic, full blown, nearly but not quite over the top. In one of the excellent extras, someone explains that Kubrick tended to allow Scott to do a take once his way, and once very broadly--then used mostly the broadest takes. It works. A straighter performance would have seem somewhat scary, and there already was one of those--Hayden's Ripper. Scott is a delight, never aware of his absurdity, inclined to sometimes cower and pout when corrected by the president, but able to launch into a proud demonstration (he practically turns into an airplane) that Kong's B-52 will carry on triumphantly to--to-- he suddenly realizes that it will be to the end of the world, and sobers up. But a few minutes later, he leads the room in prayer by bellowing at God--ol' Buck is really in charge.

Sellers was originally set to also play Major Kong, but was insecure about his ability to do a Texan accent, and injured himself (some on the crew thought it wasn't an accident). Kubrick had met Slim Pickens in Hollywood, when the director was on the verge of helming "One Eyed Jacks," and realized a real cowboy might work even better than a fake one. Slim Pickens thereby lucked onto the role of his lifetime.

Sellers is completely realistic as President Merkin Muffley, a serious, sober man who's out of his depth. (Originally the role was played more broadly, but Kubrick changed his mind after a couple of days; in very high angles of the War Room table, you can still see Muffley blowing his nose, coughing, sneezing, etc.) And as Lionel Mandrake, he's completely straight; it's not a comic performance at all, but his veddy British stiff-upper-lipness becomes funny anyway. He has a great scene with truly stupid Colonel "Bat" Guano (Keenan Wynn), among those trying to regain the air base from Ripper's obedient soldiers. Like Pickens, Wynn had the role of his career; I'd bet that for the rest of his life, he kept meeting people who, laughing, told him he'd "have to answer to the Coca-Cola company."

But Sellers' standout performance, rivaling Inspector Clouseau as the performance of his career, is Dr. Strangelove. He's German, with a strange tower of gray hair, dark glasses, a black glove on one hand (which seems to be artificial), and he's in a wheelchair. He somewhat resembles the character Rotwang in Fritz Lang's "Metropolis," but he's basically a memorable original. His right hand sometimes fights with his left, and is inclined to impulsively spring forth in a Nazi salute. Also, Strangelove occasionally refers to the President as "Mein Fuhrer," then briefly apologizes. The extras reveal that Sellers actually improvised much of his dialogue; the scene was outlined in the script, then Kubrick simply turned on the camera and made sure it was focused on Sellers, who got better and better with each successive take. The way he triumphantly snarls the word "slaughtered" is worth the price of admission alone, as they used to say.

The stark, dramatic photography by Gilbert Taylor looks very dramatic, even classical, in this excellent Blu-ray presentation. The blacks are crisp and deep; the gray scale is broad and smoothly realized. However, it's also true that this movie depends less on the technical aspects than it does on the writing, directing and acting; nobody ever went to see "Dr. Strangelove" just to admire the photography and sets. But they are, nonetheless, splendid.

Like the movie in theaters, this Blu-ray has only mono sound, but only the scenes on the plane would have benefited much by surround. The sound otherwise is expertly handled; the rooms have the appropriately closed-in tone, while the vast War Room almost but not quite echoes. Occasionally, we see brief conversations off in a remote spot in the room, but the sound from the people around the table continues on--a bit amplified, like stadium speakers.

Most of the extras on this disc were created for an earlier standard DVD, and they're outstanding. "No Fighting in the War Room Or: Dr. Strangelove and the Nuclear Threat," "Inside Dr. Strangelove," "Best Sellers Or: Peter Sellers and Dr. Strangelove" and "The Art of Dr. Stanley Kubrick" are all excellent documentaries, fun to watch, highly informative about Kubrick (who wasn't inclined to be informative about himself), and also about the somewhat mysterious Sellers. Many faces, recognizable and not, turn up--James B. Harris, James Earl Jones, Robert McNamara (!--there's a separate interview just with him), Anthony Harvey, Spike Lee, Shirley MacLaine and Michael Palin (about Sellers), David Frost, and Kubrick biographers Alexander Walker and John Baxter are among the many well-informed, entertaining talking heads. This collection of extras is outstanding, but the little book that's part of the Blu-ray package is next to worthless. There's a pop-up trivia and information track exclusive to this Blu-ray disc.

Highly recommended, even essential.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Cast (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Peter Sellers... Group Captain Lionel Mandrake / President Merkin Muffley
/ Dr. Strangelove

George C. Scott... General 'Buck' Turgidson
Sterling Hayden... Brigadier General Jack Ripper
Keenan Wynn... Colonel 'Bat' Guano
Slim Pickens... Major 'King' Kong
Peter Bull... Russian Ambassador Alexi de Sadesky

James Earl Jones... Lieutenant Lothar Zogg
Tracy Reed... Miss Scott
Jack Creley... Mr. Staines
Frank Berry... Lieutenant Dietrich
Robert O'Neil... Admiral Randolph

Glenn Beck... Lieutenant Kivel (as Glen Beck)
Roy Stephens... Frank
Shane Rimmer... Captain 'Ace' Owens
Hal Galili... Burpelson AFB Defense Team Member
Paul Tamarin... Lieutenant Goldberg
Laurence Herder... Burpelson AFB Defense Team Member
Gordon Tanner... General Faceman
John McCarthy... Burpelson AFB Defense Team Member

...

Directed by
Stanley Kubrick

Writing credits
Stanley Kubrick (screenplay) &
Terry Southern (screenplay) &
Peter George (screenplay)

Peter George (book "Red Alert")

Produced by
Stanley Kubrick.... producer
Victor Lyndon.... associate producer
Leon Minoff.... executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Laurie Johnson (music)

Cinematography by
Gilbert Taylor (director of photography)

Film Editing by
Anthony Harvey

Production Design by
Ken Adam

Art Direction by
Peter Murton

Makeup Department
Stuart Freeborn.... make-up (as Stewart Freeborn)
Barbara Ritchie.... hairdresser

Production Management
Clifton Brandon.... production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Eric Rattray.... assistant director

Sound Department
John Aldred.... dubbing mixer
Richard Bird.... recordist
John Cox.... sound supervisor
Leslie Hodgson.... sound editor

Special Effects by
Wally Veevers.... special effects
Alan Bryce.... special effects (uncredited)
Arthur 'Weegee' Fellig.... special effects advisor (uncredited)
Brian Gamby.... special effects (uncredited)
Garth Inns.... special effects (uncredited)
Mike Shaw.... special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Vic Margutti.... travelling matte
Jim Body.... visual effects camera operator (uncredited)
Bob Cuff.... matte painter (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Bernard Ford.... camera assistant
Kelvin Pike.... camera operator
Bob Penn.... still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Bridget Sellers.... wardrobe

Editorial Department
Geoffrey Fry.... assembly editor
Ray Lovejoy.... assistant editor

Other crew
Pamela Carlton.... continuity
Captain John Crewdson.... aviation advisor (as Capt. John Crewdson)
Pablo Ferro.... main title design: Ferro, Mohammed & Schwartz, Inc.
Jean Bernard.... pilot: outside bomber views (uncredited)

Crew verified as complete

Production Companies
Columbia Pictures Corporation (presents)
Hawk Films
Distributors
Columbia Pictures (1964) (USA) (theatrical)
Columbia Pictures Corporation (1964) (UK) (theatrical)
Columbia Films (1964) (France) (theatrical)
Columbia Films (1964) (Belgium) (theatrical)
Columbia Films (1964) (Finland) (theatrical)
American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1968) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
Criterion Collection, The (1992) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
Columbia TriStar (1994) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
Columbia TriStar (1997) (USA) (VHS) (widescreen)
Warner Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
Warner Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
Columbia TriStar Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
Neue Visionen Filmverleih (2006) (Germany) (theatrical)
Sony Pictures International (1987) (West Germany) (theatrical)
Columbia TriStar Home Video (????) (UK) (DVD)
Columbia TriStar Italia (????) (Italy) (VHS)
Egmont Entertainment (2000) (Finland) (video)
RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
Warner Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
Other Companies
British Oxygen the producers gratefully acknowledge the assistance of
Ferro, Mohammed & Schwartz main title by
Institut Geographique National location filming (uncredited)
Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company the producers gratefully acknowledge the
assistance of (as Marconi's Wireless Telegraph)
Post Logic Studios digital film mastering (uncredited)
Solartron Electronics the producers gratefully acknowledge the assistance of
Telephone the producers gratefully acknowledge the assistance of (as
Telephone Manufacturing)
Create a character page for: Brigadier General Jack RipperColonel 'Bat'
GuanoMajor 'King' KongLieutenant Lothar ZoggMr. StainesLieutenant
DietrichAdmiral RandolphLieutenant KivelFrankCaptain 'Ace' OwensBurpelson AFB
Defense Team MemberLieutenant GoldbergBurpelson AFB Defense Team MemberGeneral
FacemanBurpelson AFB Defense Team Member-----------more...

Dr. Strangelove Blu-ray Reviewed

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