Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Not one single attempt at humour for the first 32 minutes. That's a third of the film, After that the jokes come at about one every 5 to 10 minutes and at best made me smile but mostly made me cringe. This is another example of the Kubrick delusion. The faithful dogmatically believe that the lord Kubrick is all perfect and everything he does is utterly wonderful, every film he makes is the finest movie masterpiece there is. If Kubrick says it is a comedy then his worshippers announce it the funniest film ever made. This film is NOT funny however many deluded fools say it is. This is barely even a comedy by any definition I am aware of. If you are a massive Kubrick fan then maybe you should watch this film but go in with open eyes and accept that you won't laugh, not even once. 1/10

Yeah. It was funny. It was entertaining. It's not a bad movie by any means. I think Kubrick did a great job with the visuals and the settings. Beyond that, it's not very dramatic or suspenseful. There's not much depth or intellect. I laughed modestly a few times, but mostly, the humor consists of lazy military stereotypes. The premise was interesting. I could've done with less cockpit and gun firing scenes. Perhaps the general and his descent into madness could've used more fleshing out. I don't know. It feels like it's missing something. Maybe it's one of these meme movies like Napoleon Dynamite that you either "get" or you don't.

Who'd have thought that Kubrick had such a great sense of humor? I mean, in most of his films, there are snippets of humor, and Barry Lyndon has a definite irony, but I hadn't expected him to be able to direct such a hilarious and thoroughly entertaining comedy. I had known for a while that this was the highest rated Kubrick film here on IMDb, so naturally, I was excited to find out if it was really his best film. Even though I haven't seen Lolita, Spartacus, Eyes Wide Shut or his first few films(the shorts he made before his feature), and even though I thoroughly enjoyed his other films, this very well may be his best film. Made in a period of time where the thought of nuclear war was a terrifying idea, that was believed to be a reasonable fear, the film takes this idea and turns it around, makes us laugh at it. The film was made during the Cold War, which must have taken quite a lot of guts on Kubrick's side... then again, he did start out, intending to make a thriller/suspense film about the subject, but ultimately realized that a comedy with a lighthearted look on the situation would be a better idea. So, he turned the idea of impending doom from nuclear holocaust into a black comedy. Personally, I think he did a damn good job of it. I haven't laughed that hard and for so long at any one time for quite a while... in fact, I might never have. The comedy isn't overplayed, in fact most of it is presented in a dead-pan, matter-of-fact-like type of way... what's even more hilarious is that the better part of it is completely accurate. No dumb stereotypes, no old clichés... just logic and simple, good old-fashioned observation. The plot is excellent, and very well-paced. In my opinion, Kubrick's most well-paced film. The plot takes off almost immediately and moves at a great pace throughout the film. The acting is flawless. Absolutely flawless. Not something completely unusual for a Kubrick film, but still. George C. Scott and Peter Sellers are amazing. Normally, I'm not too fond of Sellers, but here he was brilliant. The characters are well-written, diverse and interesting. The cinematography is great. Just like Kubrick's other films, this one has some very memorable scenes, one of which(the bomb-riding sequence) has been referenced and spoofed a huge number of times... possibly more times than any other sequence in Kubrick's films, which is quite impressive. The dialog is well-written, well-delivered and memorable. Plenty of quotable lines. I can't really say much more about the movie without ruining one or more of the innumerable great jokes... so I'll just suggest you see it. Seriously, if you enjoy Kubrick's sense of humor as seen limited in his other movies, you're going to enjoy this film. Maybe not as much as I did, but you'll most likely laugh. A lot. I recommend this to any fan of Kubrick, black comedies, Peter Sellers or just comedies with a dark basic theme to watch this. I can't praise it enough. See it, unless you are offended by the themes the film presents. You won't regret it. I know I didn't. Not by a long shot. Hilarious film with a provocative plot and basic idea. 10/10

I really wanted to like this movie. Sometimes Peter Sellers makes me laugh and sometimes I just think the way he plays the characters are too OTT. This movie is currently No.16 of all time and I just don't get it. Yes I know its a black comedy and your not necessarily supposed to be laughing out loud but for pity's sake a black comedy is still supposed to be funny. The first 30 minutes of the film passed without any comedy at all in my opinion. It then turned slightly more comical but an all time classic. Not for me. The only line that I can really recall was the 'no fighting, this is the war room'. That raised a smirk. Maybe this film worked well 41 years ago when it would have been controversial indeed but in these days there's just not enough there. The Dr. Strangelove character was worst of all. I felt like I was watching an episode of The Young Ones or something. Overall an okay way to spend a couple of hours, but oh so disappointing. I score it a 6

DR. STRANGELOVE.... is a satirical black comedy or rather an ironic approach to decisions and information in the Cold War madness. The smart choice is the mother of all wisdom. It is loosely based on Peter George's novel "Red Alert". A crazy American general has ordered, due a bizarre reason, a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union. A bit absentminded captain has realized that a general has lost his mind. Meanwhile, a President meets with his top Pentagon advisors, including a passionate super-hawk general, who sees this as an opportunity to do something about Communism in general and Russians in particular. However, the Russians have an "automatic" response... This film loses all touch with the reality on the one side, and yet, it directly affects an image of a disturbed political reality on the other side. The irony stems from human stupidity, irresponsibility, suspicion and arrogance. Mr. Kubrick has created a satirical hopeless situation, through a conflict of mentality and a sense of patriotism, after which, a bizarre - moral winner rises. The highlight of satire is that world diplomacy rejects itself on multiple occasions. However, there is a lot of questions. Why give so much power in hands of a few people? One of them, I mean all, are mostly crazy. Why use energy resources to build nuclear weapons? Probably because we do not have better things to do. Is it wise to make fun of a defense system of the strongest force in the world? Of course it is, one day, we have to stop being afraid of each other. That's why this film is a satirical warning in an universal time, because we live in a time of a political satire with very serious consequences. I am thrilled with a fact that this film does not have a trace of cynicism. Of course, there is plenty of satire, sarcasm, irony, perhaps exaggerated caricature, but there is no cynicism. Mr. Kubrick, you're a genius! The characterization is excellent. Peter Sellers (Captain Lionel Mandrake, President Merkin Muffley and Dr. Strangelove, the wheelchair-using nuclear war expert and former Nazi) is simply awesome as a kind of voice of reason, incompetence and insanity at the same time. It is a strange kind of patriot, savior and avenger. Sterling Hayden (Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper) is a paranoid ultra-nationalist, who shows his madness through a serious facial expression. George C. Scott (General Buck Turgidson) is the personification of chauvinism. He expresses his anger and paranoia of communism in a very comical way.