My Favorite Movies of All Time- Part One

Okay, let's get this done...

Dr. Strangelove- It's been said that there's two types of satire: satire from the outside and satire from the inside. Satire from the outside condemns the priest for teaching a false religion. Satire from the inside condemns the priest for not following the teachings of his religion. Or, to be more succinct, Dr. Strangelove is a movie about how the guardians of democracy are infantile madmen; while the movie, "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying"(released at about the same time) is about how them ad execs really like their coffee breaks.

I'm not one to critique a movie like an olympic judge, but to my mind, Dr. StrangeLove is about the most successful example of black comedy in film that I've ever seen. Other examples of black comedy like Fight Club or Wag the Dog tend to lose their nerve most of the way through the picture. My understanding is that Kubrick was preparing to direct a straight adaptation of the novel, "Fail-Safe". In the course of his usual through research, he found that U.S. foreign policy involving nuclear deterrence was more absurd than an Alfred Jarry play. "Mutually Assured Destruction", anyone? So he then got the help of master comic writer Terry Southern to work with him on the screenplay.

The tone of the movie is of a mouth contorted into a rictus grin, small beads of sweat appearing on the upper lip. Every part is played straight, with no broad comic strokes whatsoever. (Well, George C. Scott plays his role of the overenthusiatic general pretty broad, but, C'mon. It's George C. Scott!) Peter Sellers, the master of sinking into a role, handles three different parts with aplomb. He's ineffectual President of the United States, Merkin Muffey,(note the effeminate name) Group RAF Captain Lionel Mandrake, the voice of reason to the insane General Jack D. Ripper, and what is to me possibly the most absurd character ever to appear in film, the Dr. Strangelove of the title. Reportedly, he was also pegged to play the B-52 group commander, Major Kong.

Notice the character of General Jack D. Ripper(Sterling Hayden), the insane head of the air force base that orders his bombers to attack Russia. He's not your stock madman. He doesn't rant and rave at the top of his voice. His tone throught the whole movie is one of calm, ordered, well-thought out logic. His rationale for beginning the attack makes sense, if you're a right-wing paranoid. It's only when he reveals his abhorrence for floride treatments in water (actually, there's a reasonable rationale for being opposed to floridation, but I'm not going to go into it here...) that we (and Captain Mandrake) realize that Ripper's gone off the deep end a long time ago:

General Jack D. Ripper: Mandrake, do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water, why, there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk... ice cream. Ice cream, Mandrake, children's ice cream.

Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Lord, Jack.

General Jack D. Ripper: You know when fluoridation first began?

Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: I... no, no. I don't, Jack.

General Jack D. Ripper: Nineteen hundred and forty-six. Nineteen forty-six, Mandrake. How does that coincide with your post-war Commie conspiracy, huh? It's incredibly obvious, isn't it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual. Certainly without any choice. That's the way your hard-core Commie works.

Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Uh, Jack, Jack, listen, tell me, tell me, Jack. When did you first... become... well, develop this theory?

General Jack D. Ripper: Well, I, uh... I... I... first became aware of it, Mandrake, during the physical act of love.

Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Hmm.

General Jack D. Ripper: Yes, a uh, a profound sense of fatigue... a feeling of emptiness followed. Luckily I... I was able to interpret these feelings correctly. Loss of essence.

Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Hmm.

General Jack D. Ripper: I can assure you it has not recurred, Mandrake. Women uh... women sense my power and they seek the life essence. I, uh... I do not avoid women, Mandrake.

Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: No.

General Jack D. Ripper: But I... I do deny them my essence.

And there's Peter Sellers' President Merkin Muffey (such a great name!) His monologue with the drunken Russian Premier is like a Bob Newhart sketch:

President Merkin Muffley: [to Kissoff] Hello?... Uh... Hello D- uh hello Dmitri? Listen uh uh I can't hear too well. Do you suppose you could turn the music down just a little?... Oh-ho, that's much better... yeah... huh... yes... Fine, I can hear you now, Dmitri... Clear and plain and coming through fine... I'm coming through fine, too, eh?... Good, then... well, then, as you say, we're both coming through fine... Good... Well, it's good that you're fine and... and I'm fine... I agree with you, it's great to be fine... a-ha-ha-ha-ha... Now then, Dmitri, you know how we've always talked about the possibility of something going wrong with the Bomb... The *Bomb*, Dmitri... The *hydrogen* bomb!... Well now, what happened is... ahm... one of our base commanders, he had a sort of... well, he went a little funny in the head... you know... just a little... funny. And, ah... he went and did a silly thing... Well, I'll tell you what he did. He ordered his planes... to attack your country... Ah... Well, let me finish, Dmitri... Let me finish, Dmitri... Well listen, how do you think I feel about it?... Can you *imagine* how I feel about it, Dmitri?... Why do you think I'm calling you? Just to say hello?... *Of course* I like to speak to you!... *Of course* I like to say hello!... Not now, but anytime, Dmitri. I'm just calling up to tell you something terrible has happened... It's a *friendly* call. Of course it's a friendly call... Listen, if it wasn't friendly... you probably wouldn't have even got it... They will *not* reach their targets for at least another hour... I am... I am positive, Dmitri... Listen, I've been all over this with your ambassador. It is not a trick... Well, I'll tell you. We'd like to give your air staff a complete run-down on the targets, the flight plans, and the defensive systems of the planes... Yes! I mean i-i-i-if we're unable to recall the planes, then... I'd say that, ah... well, ah... we're just gonna have to help you destroy them, Dmitri... I know they're our boys... All right, well listen now. Who should we call?... *Who* should we call, Dmitri? The... wha-whe, the People... you, sorry, you faded away there... The People's Central Air Defense Headquarters... Where is that, Dmitri?... In Omsk... Right... Yes... Oh, you'll call them first, will you?... Uh-huh... Listen, do you happen to have the phone number on you, Dmitri?... Whe-ah, what? I see, just ask for Omsk information... Ah-ah-eh-uhm-hm... I'm sorry, too, Dmitri... I'm very sorry... *All right*, you're sorrier than I am, but I am as sorry as well... I am as sorry as you are, Dmitri! Don't say that you're more sorry than I am, because I'm capable of being just as sorry as you are... So we're both sorry, all right?... All right...

The film itself is Kubrick at the height of his powers. His bone-dry wit, his sly little gags, (note how General Turgidson's 'secretary' is the Playboy Centerfold that one of the B-52 crew ogles on duty. 'Peace is our Profession' on a sign in the besiged air force base, looking over several dead soldiers, "Gentlemen! You can't fight in here, THIS is the WAR ROOM"...) his deadpan camera shots. It's unfortunate how Kubrick's later work ossified these skills of his into empty technique, but for this movie and the earlier 'Lolita', they served the subject matter well.