Preview

Dr. Strangelove

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3125 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Dr. Strangelove
Dr.Strangelove

Dr.Strangelove or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb, is one of Stanley Kubrick's greatest works and the best dark comedy to hit the silver screen. Kubrick perfectly captures the tension caused by the Cold War and boldly produces this film at a time when the Cold War was at it's height. By using a comedic voice Kubrick is able to portray a very serious subject manner, such as nuclaear war, in a way people can understand through comedy. So incredible was this story that it could only be taken in, and absorbed as a satire. Kubrick knew this, so he turned to the novel Red Alert, by Peter George, and transformed it into a screenplay, and added a certain degree of absurdity. By enlisting the talents of hit author Terry Southern, whose sharp wit and brazen mentality was exactly the edge Kubrick was looking for (Inside). Together, they were able to come up with a winning combination by taking the over-all plot of Red Alert and adding comedic elements. Such as Dr. Strangelove, a character that did not exist in the original novel. The mixture was just right and translated extremely well to film. In my opinion this is why Dr.Strangelove has been recognized as number 26 of the 100 most important films by the American Film Institute (IMDB). Unlike Fail Safe, a melodrama tackling the same subject and released around the same time, was not. Kubrick's mastery of his art is seen through out the film. In addition to Kubrick's talents, the brilliant performances of his stars Peter Sellers and George C. Scott, make Dr. Strangelove a film that will withstand the test of time.
Formalistic in nature, the film retains the qualities found in classical cinema as do most comedies, applying aspects of both formalism and realism. As such, the film is told in a classical narrative structure. We are overtly aware of jumps in time to keep us up to speed but they are subtle enough that we are not jarred and don't feel the need to inquire as to

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dr. Strangelove is a complex film. Unlike most films, the audience is not meant to perceive a clear protagonist and antagonist. Instead, there is sane versus delusional, ethical versus morally corrupt, and man versus machine, or in this case, the bomb. Group Captain Lionel Mandrake is the closest thing that Dr. Strangelove has to a traditional protagonist; he’s sane, ethical, and values life over the destruction that would be caused by the bomb. Overall, Mandrake is not an especially deep character. He’s honest, polite, and loyal, although he seems willing to disobey orders if he knows it will serve the greater good. There is very little shared about his past; all that the audience is only aware that he is an RAF exchange officer, second in…

    • 232 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Classicism is a style that merges realism and formalism. It grew to become the dominant style of the Hollywood Studio System. The goal of classicism was and is to use whatever is useful to tell a good story. Subject matter – Real and fantastic worlds depending on what the narrative requires. Technique – Generally realistic but with elements of fantasy. Usually seen in films that are essentially realistic but might have a surreal dream sequence. Examples - Porter’s, Great Train Robbery and David Fincher’s, The…

    • 2198 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Classical Hollywood films in the Golden Age in the United States contained complex storylines with cause-and-effect. For Hollywood filmmakers, the Classical Hollywood style was a persuasive and effective form of storytelling. Classical Hollywood cinema was by no means simplistic, as many films have complex plot webs. Because Classical Hollywood filmmakers used continuity editing, their focus was not to be as artistic as possible. One of the biggest differences between Classical Hollywood cinema and the Soviet Montage cinema lies in the causal agents—psychological vs. social.…

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Donnie Darko

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Donnie Darko is a film by Richard Kelly from 2001, with Jake Gyllenhaal in the main lead. The film is supposed to look like it’s from 1988. The film is about a schizophrenic teen that lives in the American suburb of Middlesex. When an unidentified giant plane engine crashes into his room, a chain of mysterious events is triggered. Donnie is plagued by visions of an evil-looking rabbit named Frank. Who makes Donnie commit acts of violence, and tells him the world will end in 28 days. Frank is the boyfriend of Donnie's sister Elizabeth. The Frank who speaks to Donnie is a kind of ghost Frank - a remnant of Frank, because Donnie shoots him in the eye within the Tangent Universe's 28 days and can move freely in time throughout the Tangent Universe.…

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fried Green Tomatoes

    • 1293 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In Fannie Flagg’s esteemed novel, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, characters and lessons from both the past and present inspire our main character, Evelyn Couch, to make changes in her life. The epitome of middle-aged misery and menopausal depression, Evelyn learns lessons from the stories and advice given to her by characters such as Mrs. Virginia ‘Ninny’ Threadgoode help her lift the veil of gloom cloaking her and aid her in reestablishing her dreams and goals – such as gaining a healthier and happier marriage with her husband, Ed, or losing all her unnecessary pounds. What sparks her journey to this better life, one she can actually look forward to at night rather than considering suicide, are the stories of a small Alabama town in the 1930’s and the residents who fight for happiness in a difficult time; Evelyn takes these stories of times past and uses the morals and advice given by Ninny to face each of her problems and attack every day with confidence. The transformation Evelyn embarks on is a sign of how strong she, or anyone, can be when their head is in the game, and as we see Idgie still selling her foods at the end of the book, we conclude that the past can live on even into the present.…

    • 1293 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    fried green tomatoes

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is about a middle aged woman named Evelyn who loves to listen to thrilling stories from Mrs.Threadgoode. Mrs.Threadgoode tells Evelyn some of the most outrageous stories about her life that made me laugh,cry,skeptical,and even horrified for what could happen next!…

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Cold War era in the United States was a time of fear and anxiety. Tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States had risen to such a level that every interaction between the two nations presented a potential for danger. The film, Dr. Strangelove, directed by Stanley Kubrick in the early 1960s, portrays a scenario that is frighteningly plausible to the American people by playing off of their sense of foreboding and apprehension in order to make a point about powerlessness of the average American in world affairs. The movie primarily asks viewers to embrace the idea found its secondary title, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.…

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Though Stanley Kubrick wrote Dr. Strangelove as a comedy, the premise and plot of the film are extremely realistic and suspenseful, this in part accounts for why the nightmare comedy was so successful. The main objective of the film was to show how military and civilian leaders would attempt to cope with an outbreak of an accidental nuclear war. However, in subtle and sometimes not so subtle ways, it also addressed many of the concerns and hypocrisies of the American public views on liberalism in America. In spite of the prevailing view of democracy as “good” and communism as “evil” at the time, America was being just as evil as the Soviet Union by pursuing the technology of superior nuclear weapons. Dr. Strangelove takes a serious look at how liberalism ultimately failed the international system in a most horrific way.…

    • 898 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Explain how characters transition from headstrong and quirky in the beginning to something that resembles shell-shocked soldiers”…

    • 695 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dr Strangelove Analysis

    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The film Dr. Strangelove or How I learned to stop worrying and Love the Bomb begins at Burpelson Air Force Base, in the middle of he Cold War. General Jack D. Ripper played by Sterling Hayden sends out a “go” code to an entire force of bombers. His commands are for them to drop their atomic payloads onto scores of quarries within the Soviet Union. General Buck Turgidson played by George C. Scott is called to consult with the nation's military leaders and executive, as soon as the news of this disastrous onset bid reaches the U.S. War Room. Tugidson is a humorous war hawk and is totally caught up in the Red Scare. He believes if the U.S. just let the illegitimate onsets take place it will give them supremacy in a Third World War. President…

    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fried Green Tomatoes

    • 897 Words
    • 4 Pages

    There were many examples of how the characters in the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes" manifested power in and through their lives. One example of this is with the character Big George. He was a black man who lived in the town. He also did the barbeque at the Whistle Stop Cafe. A big example of how he manifested power was through his dealings with racism. This movie took place in the 1930's, a time period where the black race was greatly looked down upon and thought to be lesser than white people. This could also be seen when Idgie's friend tells her he has to bring her to Georgia the next day because she is being convicted of Frank Bennett's murder. He basically tells her to pack up and leave the town so she is not arrested and also tells her to leave Big George in the town to get arrested because the people wanted to have someone hung for the crime, and they would rather have it be a black man than a white woman. So because of these biases, Big George had to find the power within him to overcome these obstacles and to live a decent life, despite the hardships he had to face on a daily basis because of his skin color. Big George also found power within his own family and even with Idgie. So, by combining their determination and strength with his own, Big George was able to overcome the barriers of racism.…

    • 897 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Formalism is the theory that focuses on the elements of a film, which include set design, sound, lighting and filming. These elements are emphasized or dramatized to give special importance to a certain idea or scene. The set design in Tim Burton’s 1990 Edward…

    • 1417 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    I was left guessing if the United States would send an atom bomb into Russian soil, if the Russians really did have an automatically triggered civilization ending doomsday device and if Dr. Strangelove was a secret spy of some sort, hell bent on world domination. The point is that Kubrick’s odd but effectively unique vision allowed the viewer to keep guessing and imagining what direction the film would take…

    • 3394 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dr Strangelove Analysis

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Dr. Strangelove is a satire of the doomsday and cold war, and black comedy directed by Stanley Kubrick. This film examines what happens when a renegade U.S. general orders a nuclear strike at the heart of the Soviet Union. The character where General Buck Turgidson, Brigadier General Jack Ripper and Peter Sellers, who had multiple roles; the nerdy U.S. president seeking to make sense of the madness, a British officer, Mandrake tries to stop the runaway general and the insane Dr. Strangelove, who warns the president of the doomsday scenario.…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Good Will Hunting

    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Good Will Hunting is a story of a young man’s journey to find his place in the world by finding out who he really is. Matt Damon plays a troubled genius with a great awareness to other peoples feelings and thoughts. The movie is an adventure through the mind of Will Hunting, as he has to go through therapy instead of ending up in jail. Robin Williams. Who plays Will Hunting’s psychologist, helps Will discover himself and realize his place and value to the world by understanding what matters most to him. The director, Gus Van Sant uses many different features to induce emotion and empathy. These features include using different colors, angles/shots, and camera movement.…

    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays