Cinema Styles: Dr. Strangelove satirizes Cold War era

Film: Dr. Strangelove (1964) Director: Stanley Kubrick (2001: A Space Odyssey) Cast: Peter Sellers (Being There), George C. Scott (Patton), Sterling Hayden (The Killing), Slim Pickens (Blazing Saddles) Streaming Platform: HBO Max Rating: PG Runtime: 95 minutes Genres: Comedy, War Awards: Academy Award Nominations for Best Picture, Lead Actor (Sellers), Director (Kubrick), Screenplay

Dr. Strangelove is the 1964 satirical classic from the legendary Stanley Kubrick. The film begins with General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) overreaching his authority and ordering a nuclear attack on The Soviet Union. He believes the Russians have poisoned the American water supply, and contaminated “our precious bodily fluids.” The remainder of the movie deals with the consequences of his annihilatory decision, in the process making a comedy classic, and somehow wringing humor from the societal anxiety that was constant during the Cold War era.

Based on the novel “Red Alert” by Peter George, Dr. Strangelove is as funny now as it was when it was first released. It remains a top-rate satire of war and politics, and exposes how easily humans can destroy all life on Earth.

Ripper’s deadly decision is based on his belief in a conspiracy theory, making this a story with modern relevance. With intentional misinformation at an all-time high in our current society, the thought of a conspiratorial individual with no regard for facts having the power to start nuclear war is utterly terrifying.

Nuclear war is no laughing matter, making the humor in this film all the more impressive. The comedic aspects of the movie are biting in their satirical takedown of people in power at the highest levels of the government and military. Most of the characters behave foolishly, and the film wrings their folly for laughs. These bumbling buffoons hold the end of the world in their hands, and they’re as illequipped as an average citizen.

Fear of technology was a prominent topic in Stanley Kubrick’s filmography. In this movie, and in reality, humans have created weapons capable of monumental destruction and the ability to end all life as we know it. The fear of global destruction from nuclear bombs peaked during the Cold War, and this film deftly harnessed that anxiety into an embattled takedown of humanity’s hubris.

The film’s lasting appeal is mostly thanks to the incredibly talented ensemble cast, especially Peter Sellers. Sellers plays three different characters in the movie, predating similar moves from comedic actors like Eddie Murphy and Mike Myers. Sellers plays President Merkin Muffley, Captain Lionel Mandrake, and the titular Doctor Strangelove (an ex-nazi scientist). Each character is completely unique, and Sellers adds nuance to each one.

Columbia Pictures reportedly only agreed to finance the movie if Sellers played multiple characters, and for his efforts he was paid more than 50 percent of the film’s entire budget. The studio wanted him to play four characters, and originally, he was supposed to play the role of Major King Kong, the B-52 aircraft commander who was in charge of carrying out the apocalyptic command from General Ripper. Sellers was nervous he wouldn’t be able to portray the character’s Texan accent effectively, so he dropped that role.

The role of Major Kong instead went to the great Slim Pickens. Pickens was born in Kingsburg and attended Hanford High School. Major Kong was written with John Wayne in mind, and Pickens harnesses this energy impeccably. According to some crew members, Pickens wasn’t told the film was a comedy, so his performance was intended as completely serious.

Actor manipulations are commonplace in the making of Stanley Kubrick’s movies. George C. Scott is hilarious as General Buck Turgidson, and he was reportedly tricked into portraying the character more eccentric than he had intended. Kubrick asked Scott to do over-the-top “practice takes.” He said these were warmups for the “real takes,” but in the final edit of the movie, Kubrick only used the outlandish practice takes. For this reason, Scott declared he would never work with Kubrick again.

Dr. Strangelove is an anti-war film that makes you think while it makes you laugh.

The men orchestrating the war are presented as hypocritical, foolish, and incompetent. The most famous line in the movie is “Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room.” This line encapsulates the film’s critique of war, and the often irrational behavior of those in leadership positions. Dr. Strangelove is a comedic critique, and one that still holds great relevance to this day.

Robert Styles studied Film at UCLA, and worked as an editor and producer on several film, commercial, and music video projects in Los Angeles. He currently teaches the intermediate and advanced Video Production courses in the Multimedia & Technology Academy at Monache High School. His column appears in The Recorder every Tuesday.