Essay On Dr Strangelove

Cinematography is defined as “the art or science of making motion pictures” (Merriam Webster). That’s the big picture but there are tons if smaller elements that make it possible to make a movie at all. Dr. Strangelove, as typical of any film, uses a multitude of these elements including different types of lenses, various angles and levels for various characters, and certain distances in camera shots.

Dr. Strangelove seems to stick to a wide camera lens for dramatic effect, and throws in zoom shots every once and a while to add to the image. During the meeting with the president there are a lot of wide camera lens shots, especially when they’re sitting at the huge table. The camera zooms in and out on a character (General Buck especially) when they speak for emphasis. All of this contributes adds this sense of large space and urgency when all these people are trying to talk over each other to find a solution to the doomsday machine. Another time when there are zoom shots is when the US soldiers are storming the fort, for dramatic emphasis. The wide lens and
zoom shots promote this idea of urgency and lack of time to make a decision.

Another element that Dr.
Strangelove utilizes is different angles and levels. Kubrick has a lot of low angles especially when he’s first introducing General Ripper that gives viewers the idea that something is wrong even though we’re not exactly sure what. It makes Ripper seem like a devious character who is up to something shifty because that’s typically the sort of angle used for villains. Even before viewers realize this chain of events that Ripper has set into motion we can tell by the angles that we shouldn’t trust this character. Combine that with the initial extra-long-distance camera shots of Ripper and he seems like a maniacal character. The majority of the camera shots of Ripper are either extra-long distance or close up silhouettes. Even some of the lines and levels as far as Ripper is concerned are tilted downwards and seem dark. A lot of the shots with him in them are dark, with lots of
shadows.

All in all, Dr. Strangelove uses a variety of elements of cinematography to convey and shape the viewers reaction to the mise-en-scene. Elements like distance and angles direct our attention to parts of the characters that may not have necessarily been revealed yet. Zoom shots and wide camera lens usage lets us see the full extent of the decisions that have been made in the film. Cinematography is made up of all these pieces that help us see the big picture if we just know where to look.