Dr. Strangelove [45th Anniversary Edition] [Blu-ray]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

In 1964, with the Cuban Missile Crisis fresh in viewers' minds, the Cold War at its frostiest, and the hydrogen bomb relatively new and frightening, Stanley Kubrick dared to make a film about what could happen if the wrong person pushed the wrong button -- and played the situation for laughs. Dr. Strangelove's jet-black satire (from a script by director Stanley Kubrick, Peter George, and Terry Southern) and a host of superb comic performances (including three from Peter Sellers) have kept the film fresh and entertaining, even as its issues have become (slightly) less timely. Loaded with thermonuclear weapons, a U.S. bomber piloted by Maj. T.J. "King" Kong (Slim Pickens) is on a routine flight pattern near the Soviet Union when they receive orders to commence Wing Attack Plan R, best summarized by Maj. Kong as "Nuclear combat! Toe to toe with the Russkies!" On the ground at Burpleson Air Force Base, Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake (Peter Sellers) notices nothing on the news about America being at war. Gen. Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) calmly informs him that he gave the command to attack the Soviet Union because it was high time someone did something about fluoridation, which is sapping Americans' bodily fluids (and apparently has something to do with Ripper's sexual dysfunction). Meanwhile, President Merkin Muffley (Sellers again) meets with his top Pentagon advisors, including super-hawk Gen. Buck Turgidson (George C. Scott), who sees this as an opportunity to do something about Communism in general and Russians in particular. However, the ante is upped considerably when Soviet ambassador de Sadesky (Peter Bull) informs Muffley and his staff of the latest innovation in Soviet weapons technology: a "Doomsday Machine" that will destroy the entire world if the Russians are attacked. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: ABC
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 (Vistavision)
• Audio: Dolby TrueHD
• Screen: Black and White
• Features:
  • The Cold War: picture-in-picture and pop-up trivia track
  • No Fighting in the War Room Or: Dr. Strangelove and the Nuclear Threat
  • Inside: Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
  • Best Sellers Or: Peter Sellers and Dr. Strangelove
  • The Art of Stanley Kubrick: from short films to Strangelove
  • An interview with Robert McNamara
  • Split-screen interviews with Peter Sellers and George C. Scott

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Actor - 1964 (Peter Sellers)
•     Nominated Best Adapted Screenplay - 1964 (Terry Southern, Peter George, Stanley Kubrick)
•     Nominated Best Director - 1964 (Stanley Kubrick)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 1964 (Stanley Kubrick)

• American Film Institute

•     Won 100 Greatest American Movies - 1998

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Won Best British Film - 1964 (Stanley Kubrick)
•     Won Best Film - Any Source - 1964 (Stanley Kubrick)

• Directors Guild of America

•     Nominated Best Director - 1964 (Stanley Kubrick)

• Library of Congress

•     Won U.S. National Film Registry - 1988

• London Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 2006

• New York Film Critics Circle

•     Won Best Director - 1964 (Stanley Kubrick)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Peter Sellers - Dr. Strangelove
       George C. Scott - Gen. Buck Turgidson
       Sterling Hayden - Gen. Jack D. Ripper
       Keenan Wynn - Col. Bat Guano
       Slim Pickens - Maj. T.J. "King" Kong
       Peter Bull - Ambassador de Sadesky
       James Earl Jones - Lt. Lothar Zogg
       Tracy Reed - Miss Scott
       Jack Creley - Mr. Staines
       Frank Berry - Lt. H.R. Dietrich, DSO
       Glenn Beck - Lt. W.D. Kivel
       Shane Rimmer - Capt. G.A. "Ace" Owens
       Gordon Tanner - Gen. Faceman
       Robert O'Neil - Adm. Randolph
       Roy Stephens - Frank
       Laurence Herder - Burpelson Defense Team Member
       John McCarthy - On Defense Team
       Hal Galili - Members of the Defense Team
       Paul Tamarin - Lt. B. Goldberg

• Director:

  Stanley Kubrick

• Producer:

  Stanley Kubrick

• Screenwriter:

  Peter George

• Book Author:

  Peter George

• Screenwriter:

  Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern

• Cinematographer:

  Gilbert Taylor

• Composer (Music Score):

  Laurie Johnson

• Editor:

  Anthony Harvey

• Production Designer:

  Ken Adam

• Art Director:

  Peter Murton

• Associate Producer:

  Victor Lyndon

• Costume Designer:

  Bridget Sellers

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Richard Bird

• Makeup:

  Stuart Freeborn

• Special Effects:

  Wally Veevers

• First Assistant Director:

  Eric Rattray

• Camera Operator:

  Kelvin Pike

REVIEW:

• Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is widely regarded as the screen's greatest satire, a film that superbly encapsulates the fear and paranoia of the Cold War. There is not a sequence in the film in which the dialogue is not quotable -- indeed, there are so many well-remembered moments that viewers and critics will differ on the best, though surely the sight of Major Kong (Slim Pickens) waving his cowboy hat as he rides the bomb into oblivion is among the most enduring images of its era. As was consistently the case in his career, director Stanley Kubrick brilliantly matches actors with their roles, from Peter Sellers' three-character performance to the screen debut of James Earl Jones, whom Kubrick had spotted in a stage play. Similarly, George C. Scott, who plays the hawkish general Buck Turgidsdon, considered Strangelove among his greatest screen achievements. Every performance is top-notch, and many Kubrick trademarks can be found in the film, from the visual style to the shift to a hand-held camera when the Air Force base is attacked to the sparse and ironic use of music. ~ Richard Gilliam, Rovi