Title: Dr. Strangelove or: How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Starring: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, and an actor with the best name ever: Slim Pickens
Directed by: the infamous Stanley Kubrick
Number on the AFI List: 39
Year: 1964
Oh, this film. I had no idea what to expect. I would've never guessed a quirky Cold War pseudo-comedy/drama that was actually pretty uncomfortable to watch. Should I laugh? Ok, I can laugh. Sometimes. Maybe? But it was also terrifying. My thoughts ran rampant, like...the doomsday clock just moved forward in real life and now I'm watching a movie about a bomb that will destroy the whole world made by a nazi and wow are we really all this fickle and childish?!
I don't want to give too much of the plot away. Just know that there were some mistakes made by an air force general while clinging to a conspiracy theory, then a group of men including the president unmade those bad decisions, then...well...a crazy Texan who's name in real life is Slim Pickens basically ruins it all for everyone. Just watch it. You'll get what I mean.
Shout out to Peter Sellers for playing three different roles in the movie. I had no idea, until I read this fun article about 15 things you might not know about Dr. Strangelove.
This movie is a turn towards Kubrick's more off the wall direction and sense of humor. I never thought I could laugh at impending doom, but he coached some brilliant performances out of each of his actors, especially George Scott who played General Buck Trugidson. Childish, yet believable and hysterical (the fight with the Russian ambassador had me rolling). Peter Sellers as President Muffley was great-especially his phone conversations between himself and the Russian President, Dimitri. I've never been more entertained to listen to an actor on the phone (shout out to invisible Dimitri for being petty and whiney enough to give the funniest moments of the film).
Do I recommend watching this movie in the current political climate of the world? Well...I don't know. But it will make you laugh. And cringe. That much I do know.
Favorite moment: the phone conversation between President Muffley and Russian President Dimitri:
Will I watch it again: I'd be willing to, for sure!
MOVIE NUMBER 50 MEANS I'M HALFWAY THERE Y'ALL. I'm going slower than I expected but I WILL FINISH!
My rankings thus far (these keep getting harder!)
1. City Lights
2. It's a Wonderful Life
3. Modern Times
4. To Kill a Mockingbird
5. The Bridge on the River Kwai
6. Sunset Boulevard
7. Sunrise8. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
9. Wizard of Oz
10. Psycho
11. Gone with the Wind
12. Ben Hur
13. On the Waterfront
14. A Streetcar Named Desire
15. The African Queen
16. 12 Angry Men
17. Citizen Kane
18. Some Like it Hot
19. All About Eve
20. Sullivan's Travels
21. Spartacus
22. Double Indemnity
23. Casablanca
24. Singing in the Rain
25. Vertigo
26. Bringing up Baby
27. The Gold Rush
28. The Best Years of our Lives
29. The Maltese Falcon
30. Yankee Doodle Dandy
31. It Happened One Night
32. High Noon
33. A Night at the Opera
34. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
35. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
36. The Grapes of Wrath
37. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
38. North by Northwest
39. The General
40. Rear Window
41. King Kong
42. The Philadelphia Story
43. Intolerance
44. West Side Story
45. Swing Time
46. Duck Soup
47. The Apartment
48. The Searchers
49. Shane
50. Lawrence of Arabia
