| Review:
|
Dr. Strangelove is directed by Stanley Kubrick (2001:
A Space Odyssey.) The film stars Peter Sellers (The Pink
Panther), Sterling Hayden (The Godfather), James Earl Jones
(Star Wars), George C. Scott (Patton), Peter Bull, and Slim
Pickens. The film is based \on Red Alert, a novel by Peter
George. ***
In a time when the Cold War is at its height, a reckless
American military commander orders a bomber strike over
Russia. Foreign relations officials representing both countries
attempt to negotiate peace, with the Russians revealing
that if the American bomber strike hits Russia, it will
activate a doomsday device that will annihilate all life
on Earth. For help in dealing with a potential nuclear holocaust,
the American and Russian diplomats turn to the brilliant
ex-Nazi German scientist – Dr. Strangelove. ***
Let me start by saying if you’re coming into this movie
looking for a laugh-out-loud comedy, you are going to be
sorely disappointed. Dr. Strangelove was never meant to
be that kind of movie. That said though, if you’re a fan
of satire, and intelligent comedies that actually require
some knowledge and brain power from their viewers, you won’t
be able to stop laughing. If you fall into those categories,
you may very well have found your all-time favorite movie.
***
The star of Dr. Strangelove, and the man who makes the
film so damn brilliant, is Peter Sellers. Sellers plays
THREE roles here – a military captain, the American president,
and the now-iconic title character. He plays each of these
roles surprisingly well, and a first-time viewer who didn’t
know better likely wouldn’t think that all of these roles
were being filled by a single actor! This was not Kubrick’s
first time working with Sellers, he previously appeared
in the director’s adaptation of Lolita – with one o f the
disguises his characters assumed in that film employing
a German accent almost identical to the one he uses as the
title character here. ***
The true strength of Dr. Strangelove (and what makes
it so comically brilliant) is that, despite the ridiculously
over-the-tip premise, all of the actors play it straight.
No one seems aware of the sheer comical nature of what is
going on, and they take their parts seriously – which just
makes the end result all the more laughable. In addition
to Peter Sellers and his three roles, the film features
a pre-P atton George C. Scott as an Air Force general, Sterling
Hayden (who Kubrick worked with earlier in The Killing)
as the man who orders the bomber strike that sets the film’s
events into motion, James Earl Jones in an early role as
a bomber crew member, and Slim Pickens as an ill-fated bombardier
aboard that same bomber. ***
Stanley Kubrick was a brilliant filmmaker and rarely
attempted the same genre more than once. War films are one
of the few genres in which he created more than one entry.
Dr. Strangelove is a whole different kind of war film th
an the brilliant Paths of Glory or the later Full Metal
Jacket, but it is nothing less in the quality department.
This is an absolutely brilliant satire, and hands down,
one of the greatest films ever made. Not everyone is going
to “get it”, but if you sit down to watch it and you have
at least some intelligence to your name, you’ll be witnessing
a cinematic work of comic brilliance. ***
Before moving on, however, I need to point out that
this disc is in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio throughout. The
original theatrical film alternated between 1.66:1 and 1.33:1
aspect ratios, meaning that the 1.33:1 scenes were cropped
slightly for home video releases. That means the same thing
for this Blu-Ray release, however associates of Kubrick
have insisted that, if he were still alive in this day and
age of widescreen televisions, this is most likely the way
he would have preferred the film to be shown. Hard to argue
with that for the most part, though there are a few minor
scenes here and there that may make you question the decision.
---
Image and Sound:
While Dr. Strangelove isn’t a revelation on Blu-Ray,
it is still the best the film has ever looked, and it’s
hard to argue with that. The grain level is never a distraction,
and the picture is clearer and sharper than any earlier
home video version of the movie. There is some minor print
damage in a few places (mostly noticeable in stock footage-type
scenes such as bomber flights), but as a whole it looks
pretty good. It isn’t going to dethrone Casablanca for the
coveted title of “best looking black and white film on Blu-Ray”,
but it’s a more than acceptable transfer. I can’t imagine
the film looking any better than it does here. ***
For audio, a new TrueHD lossless audio track has been
created. This sounds far better than I expected it to, given
the age of the film, but it gets the j ob done and then
some. And purists fear not! The original mono track appears
on the disc. However, both tracks do tend to suffer slightly
based on the condition of the original sound elements. Fortunately,
it isn’t a big deal, and the flaws are rarely distracting.
The movie sounds as good as it looks, and that’s an enormous
compliment. ---
|
