Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, more commonly known as Dr. Strangelove, is a 1964 political satire black comedy film that critiques the Cold War paranoia of a nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the United States. The film was directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick, stars Peter Sellers and George C. Scott, and features Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, and Slim Pickens. Production took place in the United Kingdom.

The story concerns an unhinged United States Air Force general who orders a first strike nuclear attack on the Soviet Union. It follows the President of the United States, his advisers, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a Royal Air Force (RAF) officer as they try to recall the bombers to prevent a nuclear apocalypse. It separately follows the crew of one B-52 bomber as they try to deliver their payload.



Having enjoyed 2001 Space Odyssey, and The Shining, I knew it was time to give this famous Stanley Kubrick film a shot. I feel that I had initially skipped it growing up because it was shot in black and white. Pair that with the fact that I’m not normally a fan of comedies and this becomes a fairly unusual film choice for me. That being said, I enjoyed this film immensely and would highly recommend it for it’s humor, wit, and novel style.

For a fifty plus year old film, the humor hardly seems aged at all. While it wasn’t a netflix stand up comedy hour, the movie was full of legitimately solid laughs and sharp one liners. There is no lack of wit in this film, and the delivery is on point. The subject matter of the satire, however, remains the meat of the story.

Released during the Cuban Missile Crisis and in the middle of the Cold War, this film had extreme political weight to it. The audience would have had to look past the very real and present danger of actual nuclear war to laugh at the film. There would have been a feeling of current and present fear on behalf of the viewer while watching this comedy, and that I find extremely interesting. The context in which this comedy took place is likely unlike any other before.



While the viewers watched, the USSR had it’s missiles trained at them and vice versa. With the slightest hitch, they could be obliterated in a fraction of a second. The film takes this situation and masterfully creates humor out of it. To take a situation like that and make people laugh is nothing short of extraordinary.

The film demonstrates how those in charge of our everyday lives are often buffoons, making the real tensions of nuclear war seem like the affairs of disheveled school children. That being said, there is real tension in the film, which almost alway relieved with ridiculous comedy.

The acting is fantastic, especially on the part of Peter Sellers - who plays multiple characters. His skills are particularly notable and the comedic value inserted into each of his characters is genius.



In conclusion, if you have not seen this movie - see it. If you have watched any Stanley Kubrick before - see it. If you have any interest in the Cold War or US relations with Russia - please watch. This is an excellent film that everyone should give a shot. I’m glad I did!