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Director: Stanley Kubrick
Verdict: Thumbs Up The dark comedy Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb was the only true comedy produced by Kubrick. It follows a Air Force general who orders a preemptive nuclear strike against Russia. When the President finds out, chaos ensues as the U.S. and Russia desperately try to stop the bombers, led by the fearless Major Kong. Kubrick made a conscious decisions to film the movie in black and white. He had made movies previously in color but not now. This was to make the film feel like a classic war film instead of a comedy film. His use of music was also excellent as it was a very effective mood setter, especially during the bombing scenes. Kubrick is most effective in this film in establishing a sense of disbelief, as if the events couldn’t be happening, that the doomsday device wasn’t real and the world wasn’t about to end. Do to the nature of the film, it was difficult for Kubrick to use his full artistic ability. One of the few shots that felt like a proper Kubrick shot was when General Jack Ripper is lecturing Mandrake about the Communist conspiracy. There it genuinely feels like Ripper is a dominating figure that no one could overcome. The way Kubrick used special effects felt like a dry run for 2001: A Space Odyssey. He used very similar techniques for filming the B-52 and the spacecraft. He was also developing techniques for conveying a general sense of emotion, such as discomfort. He would hold the camera on a speaker longer after they had stopped talking before switching over to the new speaker, just making the audience feel uncomfortable. Dr. Strangelove was a perfectly executed dark comedy where humour is abound but there is an acute sense that what is occurring is very very bad. To still be able to have this effect in modern times is incredible considering this was very much a film of its time. In the time it was created, the threats Kubrick mocks were very real.
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June 2018
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