Movie #35 – Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) - 95 min, cert PG.
Insane US brigadier general Jack Ripper (Sterling Hayden) has taken it upon himself to end the Cold War. He sets his squad of bomber on a course to drop atomic warheads on key targets all over Russia, a course that can only be reversed using the codes that he alone knows. Group Captain Lionel Mandrake (Peter Sellers) tries to talk him out of it. Meanwhile, in the war room, US President Merkin Muffley (Sellers again) tries in vain to contain the situation, while Gen. Turgidson (George C. Scott) makes the case for all-out war, but Dr Strangelove (Sellers yet again), a defected Russian scientist, informs them of a Russian doomsday weapon which protects them against such an attack.
I found the film a bit hit-and-miss. It certainly has some moments of comedy gold – Sellers as Strangelove being unable to control his left arm is genius – and the odd line like ‘You can’t fight in here, this is a war room!’ But, while I enjoyed it, I’m glad it wasn’t any longer than 95 minutes.
Score – 7/10
Next up is Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola’s epic Vietnam movie. I’ve not seen it for a while, but I seem to remember it’s a decent movie that loses its way a bit towards the end.
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