There are too many classic lines in this movie--though that one is near the top of the list. One of mine has to be, "well, I've been to one world fair, a picnic and a rodeo and that is the stupidest thing I've heard come over a set of headphones"
@@ciaranconlon84 Laughs--I think that one is lost on current generations, who did not live through or study the 1950s, where we had the bomber gap and post sputnik missile gap as main points of public debate. The joke loses something if you're not aware of how that shaped U.S. defense and foreign policy.
For the ending, I always took it as Dr. Strangelove's inner Nazi, which he repressed after defecting to the USA, was finally coming out as he realised he could pick which humans to save and which to let die to the Doom's Day Device. And I took it that his paralysis was psychosomatic, caused by the abandonment of his Nazi ideals. Then as he starts to realise he could form the "master race" by programming the computer to decide who to save and then breading the survivors in the mine shafts, he gets excited. That's why he keeps accidentally saying "Mein Führer" instead of "Mister President." His arm keeps trying to sieg heil; when he tries to stop, it turns on him. When he completely embraces his Nazi ideals, he can walk again. I think this ending is Kubrick saying that all those german scientists that the USA took in during operation paperclip to help fight the USSR in the arms and space races are just waiting for their chance to bring back Nazism. Remember when this came out it was only like 19 years after WWII.
You're spot on. I originally saw this on one of the many "Late, Late Show"s (movies) across America back in the 70's at age 12. There's a lot of analysis backing this up. I suggest they watch "The Trial at Nuremberg" for a more sobering perspective.
Hey..the guy was a rodeo performer and rodeo clown before he got into movies. In fact when he tried to break into THAT line of work, he asked a lady at the first rodeo arena ticket office he went to...... words to the affect: How easy is it to break into the rodeo business and how much money can a person make? The lady responded that the money was "Slim Pickens". Hence the name (so the story goes!)
@@badguy1481 Originally, Major Kong was supposed to be Peter Sellers 4th role in the movie. But Sellers didn't want to do it and faked an ankle injury so he wouldn't have to climb into the cockpit set
George C. Scott falling backwards in the war room was not written in the script. He legitimately tripped but kept going with his line. Kubrick decided to keep the scene in the movie.
Yeah and Kubrick didn't tell George C. Scott that he was going to use that scene in the final cut. When Scott saw it for the first time in the theater he was really pissed off at Kubrick
I'm actually not sure which of Peter Sellers' roles is funnier. The President's one-sided conversation on the phone is absolutely hilarious but Dr Strangelove himself is utterly brilliant.
It's actually a study in "mutual assured destruction" and "true deterrence" and did have real World consequences in a good way in order that a "bi-polar World"(cough cough reference to Peter Sellers cough cough) was in fact a far more stable World than any alternative (by way of counterexample look at today's "post Cold War World.)
In 1983, Soviet Air Force officer Stanislav Petrov was in charge of the night shift monitoring the Soviet missile warning system. The system detected multiple US missile launches, closing in on Russia. All diagnostic tests confirmed the system was working and the signal was real. Petrov was supposed to call the Politburo by hotline, confirm an attack was underway, and recommend launching a counterstrike before it was too late. Petrov called his boss for guidance. His boss was drunk, and yelled at him, and hung up on him more than once. Petrov decided he couldn't go through with it, even if it was real, and just waited (it was a false alarm). 'If it was real, Russia was gone. I wasn't going to take the entire world down with it' The documentary is called 'The Man Who Saved the World' If Petrov's boss hadn't been such a stereotype (drunken, incompetent Soviet boss), who knows? (He later tried to destroy Petrov to cover his tracks)
I was in the Air Force when this movie came out and actually saw it in the movie theater on the Air Force base. When it was over, I walked out of the theater absolutely astounded that it had been allowed to be shown on base.
You're right. It's shocking that you would have been allowed to watch that on the base. Thank you for your service. I was honorably discharged from the US Army in 1991.
ahhaa I was reading more of his "acting " and the cast had to suppress their laughter ,especially that scene at end where hes doing a Heil Hitler motion
With that came the other part , he really was a prick , faking injuries , Slim Pickens got that pilot role , when Sellers had doctors notice for not be able to do the things required in that role and in other movie he faked hearth attack and then left to a vacation resort ... ambulance from movie set to airport ... and yeah he died later in an actual heart attack .
Yes. Wonderfull movie. Sellers had read the book and fallen so much in love with it, he wanted to make it into a movie. However, no-one wanted to finance it, so Sellers agreed to make two more Pink Panther movies to finance it, making it one of his best performances.
You’d be surprised at why lipstick, nylon stocking and condoms get into that survival kit. They can all be used for something in a survival situation. Lipstick will write on almost any surface in waterproof letters. Condoms can be used to carry large amounts of water and prevent ingress of dirt into wounds or as makeshift surgical gloves. Tights can be used to bind around dressings that need the opposite of waterproofing, ie to breathe, and can be used to filter large particles from water. And most importantly, you can look gorgeous and indulge in safe sex whilst surviving behind enemy lines. All critical stuff! 🤣
In this film, the idea was probably that they could be used to bribe Russian women into helping them - domestic goods, especially luxury items like makeup, were not given top priority in the Soviet planned economy, and the material poverty of the average Soviet citizen was probably further exaggerated in Western perception by ideological assumptions and propaganda. The Russian ambassador does mention that building the doomsday weapon was actually really cheap compared to supplying their people with nylon stockings and washing machines.
@@tommcewan7936 Yep, nylon stockings were first sold in 1940 and during WW2 their manufacture was almost completely halted as the nylon was needed for parachutes, so their value for bribery/bartering was pretty huge. See also the 'Nylon riots' of 1945-46. EDIT: I do realise this movie is set in the Cold War and not WW2.
@@commanderkruge and the mein part is German for 'my'. It's what the called Hitler. Similar to 'il Duce', my leader in Italian, for Mussolini. For those who didn't know.
Fun Fact: Major Kong's line, "Shoot, a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff!", was originally, "Shoot, a fella could have a pretty good weekend in *Dallas* with all that stuff!", but was dubbed over at the last minute because of the JFK assassination.
The film was do to be released a week or 2 after JFK was killed, but they delayed release until early 1964. That delay probably cost Peter Sellers an oscar.
Aside from being one of the funniest comedies ever made, this movie is actually incredibly haunting because of how plausible this kind of situation is. Especially at the time this was made when nuclear war seemed so inevitable, Kubrick really showed how absurd the whole thing was in such a darkly funny way. Also since you guys pretty far into his filmography, I’d recommend doing eyes wide shut, barry lyndon and paths of glory
Kubrick is responsible for destroying the straight version of this story, 'Failsafe'. He insisted his movie be released first, and after seeing it parodied, nobody was interested in seeing the straight story when it came out months later, despite a solid cast (Henry Fonda and Walter Matheau).
@@Carandini the 2000 CBS live remake was a better “fail safe” Amazing cast, cut out unnecessary scenes, and respect for it being performed live. But to stay more accurate it was broadcast in black and white.
And the authority used by General Ripper to launch the strike was very real. A version of the doomsday device was very real too, and may even still exist.
and there are already americans who believe that water flouridation is being used against them, and some even quote that the Russians started testing people in the gulags on them. These conspiracy theorists exist, let's hope none of them get into power.
I find it funny that the man who physically played Darth Vader is in A Clockwork Orange. And the man who did the voice for Darth Vader is in Dr. Strangelove
I realised the same thing a few months ago when I'd seen them both right after each other. Kubrick had two halves of Darth Vader in two different movies. Whoops! My tablet remembered me typing that, even. Once I started typing "Kubrick had two," the autocomplete finished the whole sentence. Fits in with the whole theme of automation taking over.
Fencer and fight choreographer Bob Anderson who designed the lightsaber fights in the classic Star Wars trilogy and stood in as a double for Darth Vader, was hired by Kubrick as a fight choreographer for Barry Lyndon. So there's your third Vader-Kubrick connection. :)
Fun fact, David Prowse who physically played Darth Vader, almost passed on being in Star Wars, because he was also starring in a series of Road Safety PSAs at the time and thought that was going to be the far more important role
Sellers said of the 50 plus movies he starred in, Dr Strangelove was the one he was proudest of and enjoyed working on the most. Sellers plays Claire Quilty in Lolita (a Stanley Kubrick movie) as well.
This actually was released Jan 64, but the serious drama Fail-Safe with a similar scenario was released Oct 64 and it worth a watch as well. Scary stuff
Fail Safe that came out a month after also caused a panic. The USAF made a movie to Congressional committees to assure them the USAF had better control over nuclear weapons. BTW, Dr Strangelove is a more realistic movie.
The president's initial conversation with the Russian premier is one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen in any movie. To make a one-sided phone call that hysterical is a true testament to Sellers' comedic abilities. Scott's facial expressions in this are the stuff of legends, and I loved that you were wondering what the hell that was when he fell over and sprang back up mid-rant. That was an accident, but Kubrick loved it and left it in because it so perfectly shows how deliriously worked up he is about the situation.
I'm so glad you guys did this one! Not enough reactors watch this classic. Don't be afraid of the black-and-white films, people! Lack of colour does not mean lack of entertainment.
In this case black and white was a choice. Color was available in the 40s but not widely used till the 50s. I totally agree with you. Give me films with great dialog, awesome story line and real actors. I'm growing a bit tired of rather boring action heroes stumbling from one crash to the next explosion. Would be nice to return to a time when movies were made for adult audiences.
@Maya Nightwolf Thank you so much. I checked out Mia's channel {subscribed} as well. It's a shame that so many people today won't watch a film because it's not in color or has subtitles. The early silent pictures would make people laugh and cry without color, without dialog, without CGI.
@@nightfall902 I was thinking another of my favourite films is '12 Angry Men'. That was 1957 so I don't know if the black & white choice was down to art or budget.
@Maximillian Wylde yep. The funny thing is LeMay is the logical conclusion of a philosophy that existed since WT Sherman at least- the idea that war should be terrible in order for it to be short. In theory, the idea is to make war so awful that either you never go to war, or you make it so awful that you totally annihilate the enemy as quickly as possible. Nukes are basically the epitome of that idea. LeMay implemented it, but even a lot of the nuclear scientists thought that in an ideal world every country would have nukes so that deterrance would be universal. Of course, LeMay also wanted to nuke Cuba, so the idea didn't really work... but then again we didn't go to war over Cuba during the missile crisis... so maybe it did? And Truman didn't want to give any other countries nukes, so we never had total deterrance. It's pretty complicated to wrap your mind around. Dr Strangelove does a good job of satirizing the entire process.
@Maximillian Wylde can’t say I ever approved of LeMay’s handling of the Cold War. He was useful in wwii, but after words I think he went off the deep end (assuming he was sane to begin with). I believe he also threw his lot in with George Wallace.
Peter Sellers played multiple roles in several movies, usually making each character so unique that it was hard to remember they were all him. In this film you can see his genius as he plays Mandrake, The President, and Dr Strangelove, three personas so extremely different that they never seem like just one actor.
From what I've heard, Kubrick originally intended for this film to be a drama. However, the longer he worked on it before shooting, the more he realized how absurd the characters were, and at some point he changed the whole thing to a dark comedy.
He and Terry Southern, the screenwriter, would have meetings to work on the script… And apparently they couldn’t help themselves, and the dark humor just flowed.. lol.. And eventually they realized it was a dark satire they were making..
You can tell George C Scott's character is worried when he ends his call with his secretary in the war room with, "....Sugar, don't forget to say your prayers."
The layout of the B-52 cockpit instruments was so accurate it caused the CIA to investigate the set designers for being spies. The government was shaken to its core. Ha
60 years later, they still fly, and are due to fly into the 2050s ( ~ 100+ years). Covering a large majority of the entire age of human flight. Incredible.
@@GK-yi4xv Amazing the leveel of human ingenuity when it comes to weapons of war. Heck Davinci invented weapons 400 years ago that can only be built today.
@@GK-yi4xv the B-52 program has to be in the running for the best "bang for your buck" project the US military ever funded. It's insane they're set to be retired in 2050.
The General's fall was an accident, but the actor continued in character, and spoke his line. Directors often do keep mistakes in, if the mistakes are better than the original.
Next, you should definitely look at Barry Lyndon. It’s one of the most amazing Kubrick films I’ve ever seen and also far too criminally underrated masterpiece.
Yes!!! I totally agree! Been getting more and more surprised, to the point of giddiness! lol Do you know Mia's channel? She's doing Hitchcock month, last month was Westerns, before that was two months of Marilyn, etc etc....here's the link, she did "Notorious" today: ruclips.net/video/mBZME856tNA/видео.html
Like the rest of us, Stanley Kubrick was amazed by the talent of Peter Sellers and basically let him run free. The only other time he did that was with R. Lee Ermey's crazed drill sergeant in "Full Metal Jacket". An even earlier film than this one by Kubrick, "Lolita", also features Sellers doing several characters and is seriously worth watching.
Kubrick also allowed Malcolm McDowell free rein with Alex in A Clockwork Orange, especially in making up words in the Nadsat language of the book and the inclusion of Singing in the Rain as Alex assaults the couple at home.
@@dcanmore And in costuming - Kubrick wanted something that would add an air of sophistication to the menace, so McDowell suggested the cricket uniform and bowler hat, and Kubrick loved the idea.
One of the greatest films of all time! The sheer brilliance of Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Slim Pickens, Keenan Wynn, and, a young James Earl Jones, all combined with the genius of Kubrick, in a comedy!
The song is, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home, " which is an old war time song. The seriousness of the music along with the absurdity of the action always cracks me up. Plus there's the sardonic joke that in a nuclear war, Johnny isn't going to be marching home.
Alternatively "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye." Both songs use the same tune and since there's no lyrics, it's up to the viewer to decide. Especially since one is a pro-war song and the other an anti-war song.
It's also a hint that many people at the time, and even now, had a naive tendency to assume (or at least desperately hope) that a nuclear war would be little different to the wars of two hundred years ago. (General Ripper's exclamation of "The Redcoats are coming!" to Mandrake is another telling moment) The Cold War was so utterly terrifying a time to live in because nobody really knew what the rules were, nobody had ever learned how to plan, strategise or negotiate when you could wipe entire cities off a map, at the touch of a button, with no possibility of defence, and so could your opponent.
That is indeed actual footage of nuclear bomb tests at the end, and the song "We'll Meet Again" was a famous song from WWII. The singer, Dame Vera Lynn actually only passed away last year at 103 years old.
Its always been crazy to me how George C Scott went from THIS comedic role, THEN to play the very serious, intense Patton five years later. Such a contrast.
My irony was always really stroked by the scene where they're fighting to the entrance gate of the base, the giant firefight under the huge 'Peace is our profession' billboards. So perfect. Just like 'You cant fight in here, this is the warroom!'
European here, I remember in the 1960's (don't know for how long before that) "Peace is our profession" was the motto of the US Strategic Air Command, hope they have developed some level of self-awareness since then...
Dr. Strangelove himself was a reference to all the German scientists and doctors brought to the US after WWII. That explains the salute, etc. He probably also had something called "Alien Limb Syndrome", a real condition where limbs operate on their own and often can't be controlled by the person. Peter Sellerz did a good job in that role, and the others he played in this movie.
@@Siansonea He's an amalgam of several real people. The folder on Gen Turgidson's desk titled "WORLD TARGETS IN MEGADEATHS" is a nod to Herman Kahn who invented the term "megadeaths" and was one of the inspirations for Strangelove. Kahn was a strategist at RAND Corp who was one of the first to apply Game Theory to nuclear deterrence and war planning and wrote his seminal work "On Thermonuclear War" (a nod to Clausewitz) - his cold detachment in dealing with the subject matter helped make him a rather controversial figure at the time.
Dr Strangelove and The Life Of Brian are probably the two finest - and most profound - comedies ever made in the history of film. One is dark hearted and the other is light hearted. Perfect balance.
Plane scenes were played to “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”. Funniest comment by Sam when Kong rides the bomb down to his death: “ I feel that’s how he would have wanted to go.” 😂 Hey who wouldn’t? Beats being eaten by Jaws for example.
The actor who played Major Kong, the bomber pilot, was Slim Pickens, who primarily played in western movies. For him to wear the cowboy hat when they get their orders fits that persona, and for him to be riding the nuclear bomb like a bucking bronco in a rodeo is the quintessentially highest performance of his career. He was picked for this role specifically because of that background in western movies.
I love the tension on the plane as things go onwards. The soldiers get more and more humanized as the film goes on and you feel invested in them as people and the film's atmosphere makes you want them to succeed, but then you remember that No! that would be an absolute disaster and the only good outcome, especially near the end, is for them to be shot down. This tension of caring for them while knowing that they must be stopped at all costs (for no fault of their own) is one of the most emotional parts of the film.
As others have mentioned, Failsafe with Henry Fonda is a more serious take on the theme here. ...and a slightly more recent take on the doomsday scenario... Wargames ;-)
The 2000 tv version of fail safe is better. Amazing cast, tighter script, shorter runtime and most amazingly it was performed and broadcast completely live!
Or fail safe with George Clooney Harvey keitel, don cheadle, Hank azaria, Brian dennahey and other accomplished actors that genuinely wanted to be part of this live special (year 2000). It was performed and broadcast live! Like a play….. it also cut out some scenes in the original that weren’t necessary
The US government freaked out when they saw this because they got so much right The "I deny them my essence" bit is so funny. Kubrick is rightly remembered for his darker movies but this is a classic comedy that influenced generations
I think I remember reading about that long ago, the US govt freakout I mean, ie. there were some who believed Kubrick might have been giving away secrets right there on the cinema screen or something, but IIRC in reality Kubrick just made very good guesses as to how things probably worked.
George C. Scott's slip and roll was an accident. Kubrick kept it because it was funny. Also, the place the bomber was targeting, Laputa, gets its name from "Gulliver's Travels". It was the place where geniuses ruined society through terrible leadership. Finally, the Strangelove character was inspired by Edward Teller, the "Father of the Nuclear Bomb". :-)
Sterling Hayden--who plays General Ripper--is wonderful in Kubrick's first good movie "The Killing." "Paths of Glory" is the first great Kubrick film, and "Dr. Strangelove" cemented his reputation.
@@iliketostayhome - It's a bit debated whether Spartacus can really be called a Kubrick film. It was Kirk Douglas' project, and production had already started before Kubrick was brought aboard to replace the original director who was fired.
The films shows what would happen if a general got so paranoid, he decided to send his planes carrying nuclear weapons to attack Russia. It's a a brilliant and well made dark comedy cold war film.
Isn't it also implied in the dialogue that General Ripper has ED? When he is talking about fluoridation he says he had an issue while with a woman taking his essence, but assures Mandrake that it hasn't happened again. He says women do want him, but he denies them his essence. It always came across to me as General Ripper trying to rationalize why he couldn't get it up anymore. Obviously it was someone/something else causing the problem. So he sends his bombers because he is paranoid and massively overcompensating...
Oddly, when the film was made, considering fluoride to be dangerous was crazy conspiracy theory but all these years on there are many peer reviewed studies that show it can hinder cognitive development in children and is now a known toxin.(Prenatal fluoride exposure and cognitive outcomes in children at 4 and 6 to 12 years of age in Mexico. Environ Health Perspect. 2017) (Association between Maternal Fluoride Exposure during Pregnancy and IQ Scores in Offspring in Canada. JAMA Pediatrics, 2019.) Despite this it is still added to water supply in the US and UK widely. Strangely it is stated that this is to help prevent tooth decay yet we have fluoride toothpaste we brush teeth with and spit out while water is simply swallowed. Look after your bodily fluids!
Peter Sellers was a very popular comic actor in that era. In Strangelove he played the heavily mustached Mandrake, the Bald guy in the war room, and Dr. Strangelove. Wicked satire on the insanity of the military. Another very famous film Sellers was in was 'The Pink Panther.'
SUCH fun watching you two watch Kubrick's brilliant black comedy! I've been loving this bit of genius for 57 years! Might I recommend a follow up to George C. Scott's comedic acting job here -- "Patton" about the WWII American Army general. Not a comedy but one the best war movies/biographies ever made. Scott will knock your socks off.
Peter Sellers was supposed to play Maj Kong but he hurt his ankle and he could not enter the B-52 cockpit set. Slim Pickens was rushed over to England to film his part. As a result of his role, he said his pay checks and dressing rooms got bigger in future films.
This is the second movie that Peter Sellers made in which he plays 3 parts. The other was the 1959 comedy "The Mouse That Roared." Then there's Alec Guinness who played 8 parts in "Kind Hearts & Coronets." Both of them were in one of the 5 funniest movies ever made (imho,) "The Lady Killers" (1955) along with Herbert Lom - who was the chief inspector in the Pink Panther movies. BTW - I'm not talking about the DREADFUL remake of "The Ladykillers" with Tom Hanks. I'm referring to the original British comedy.
"the Mouse that Roared"- an enjoyable read for me in Junior high. For those who don't know, it's about a tiny European nation ( think Luxmborg) with financial problems, so they decide to declare war on the USA, so that after they lose, the USA will rebuild their country like with the Marshall Plan. The US ignores their declaration of war, so they send over a few soldiers, who arrive in NYC during a civil defense drill and everyone is in bomb shelters and the city is empty.
The actor playing General Ripper, Sterling Hayden, also played the crooked police chief in THE GODFATHER. George C. Scott (best known as PATTON) wanted to underplay Buck Turgidsen but Kubrick wanted him to go over the top. He persuaded Scott to overplay during the rehearsals, then filmed the rehearsals and used those takes, which angered Scott. I love the shot where Scott falls backward during a line, then rolls back up to his feet, still in character, and finishes the line, and Kubrick used the take. In addition to Mandrake, Strangelove, and the President, Sellers was also going to play Major Kong but, as I understand it, he couldn't quite get a handle on the character. Slim Pickens, however, was the ideal choice to play him. Your reaction was excellent.
Funny fact about the "War Room": It's become such a standard movie trope since Doctor Strangelove that, according to what I've read, even newly elected presidents had to be told once or twice that, actually, there isn't one.
Sterling Hayden was the crooked cop in The Godfather part 1, in this movie he ‘s Jack Ripper (Jack the Ripper). Peter Sellers is Dr Strangelove, & the President, & the RAF officer. George C Scott is hilarious. Another nuclear war film done 6 or 7 years before this flic is “Fail Safe””. Drama starring Henry Fonda
When this hit the theatres, several people in the pentagon wondered how Kubrick was so right. The word is that Strangelove was based on Henry Kissinger.
Strangelove is one of the greatest of all time films. And the character himself was Kubrick making fun of Operation Paperclip: where the USA took Nazi scientists involved in their research and weapons programs, shipped them back to the USA, and put them to work designing the next generation of weaponry. Soviets did it too, and a lot of these guys were hardcore Nazis and we both turned a blind eye to their War Crimes to help our side gain a strategic advantage over the other.
The majority of the Scientists actually didn't care about the Nazis, and it's a myth that they were hardcore Nazi party members. They wanted to conduct their research and didn't care who was in charge. Wernher von Braun and the other Scientists were "compelled" to join the Nazi party. It wasn't a choice one could refuse, especially since other high ranking Nazi party members had been killed in the past, so killing some random scientist wasn't an impossibility. The Allies looked into his membership, and found that he only ever turned in his monthly dues, and that was it. The Soviets rarely looked into the history of their captured German scientists, but they still did in certain instances. Those in the medical field that carried out inhumane research typically were arrested, and others that the Allies couldn't find, were later found and arrested or killed, by the Israeli Mossad.
There are lots of good observations here! I don't think that anyone has pointed out the funny aspects of many of the characters names, so... The General who went nuts and sent his planes to attack was General "Jack T. Ripper" (Jack the Ripper!) The Major who shot up the Coke machine was Major "Bat Guano" (Bat guano is Bat "poop"!) The President was "Merkin Muffley" ( A merkin is a "pubic wig" - seriously! lol ) The Russian Premiere on the other end of the phone was "Dimitry Kissoff" (Pretty obvious!) The Russian ambassador was "Alexi de Sadesky" (The name refers to the Marquis De Sade!) ... Etc. A fantastic movie and excellent reaction video!
George C. Scott wanted to play his character straight which Kubrick allowed him to do, under one condition...he would do an extra take and play it over the top. Kubrick ended up using only the over the top extra takes. Scott was not too pleased.
Slim Pickens wasn't even told the movie was a comedy! His copy of the script was just his scenes, to prevent him figuring it out. At least he had the consolation that his performance was great and widely acclaimed. (Also, the first time Pickens arrived for filming, the studio staff thought he was a method actor who was "living in character" - it took a little while for them to realize that was how Pickens normally dressed, spoke, and behaved when out of character.)
Kubrick did a pretty fair assessment of the Feds. They had a nuke missile spill off a truck on a Denver off-ramp back in the 90's. The first responders called the NRC's (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) 24 hour hot line to find out what they should do. The police and fire department aren't qualified to handle nukes spilled on the highway but unfortunately the NRC only manned the hotline 9am-4pm EST time. Outside of those hours you were routed you to a answering machine. The nuke layed on the off-ramp over night as the first responders waited for the NRC's office to open the next morning.
In the 60's and 70's we were all nervous because we really did think there would be nuclear war.I grew up in a large oil refinery steel production area and we were always told this is one of the first places the soviets would attacks.
The Peace is our Profession sign was not a parody. That is the official logo of the Strategic Air Command. Their first generation strategic bomber before the B-52 was called the Peacemaker. Kubrick was going to make a serious movie based on the realistic nuclear war book, Red Alert, but the more he got into it, he couldn’t help but see the ridiculousness of MAD and turned it into a dark comedy.
Great analysis! Great first reaction! Only one detail in the film, that I think is outstanding that you didn't mention, is how amazing the footage of the attack on the base is. Kubrick switches to that shakey hand-held footage feel, as if you're really in battle trying to capture what's going on. Fantastic stuff. Kubrick really knows how to make a scene feel real, as you pointed out, all the scenes in the B-52 are so real.
The best possible reaction to this movie!!!! (And congrats for breaking the black & white barrier! Some of the best movies ever are in b&w!) And great post-film discussion! I love what TBR says: "He could have done comedy the rest of his career!" Never thought of that, you are absolutely right. (His previous movie, "Lolita", definitely has similar dark, cynical humor). 1.) Just in case you didn't notice: Sterling Hayden who played General Ripper played the police chief McLuskey in the Godfather (who punches Pacino out, later shot at the table!). Did you recognize him? (He's also in Kubrick's first movie, "The Killing".) 2.) Romantic refueling, you say during the opening credits! Yes! That was intentional! If you notice, all the images of the planes are sexual! 3.) George C. Scott was so hilarious, his other most iconic performance is also as a general: Patton! Really great movie! 5.) "Paths Of Glory", Kubrick's 1957 trench-warfare movie is absolutely one of his greatest and most powerful, definitely you'll love that (and it's not a long movie!)! That would be my personal recommendation after having seen "Strangelove", although "Barry Lyndon", "The Killing", "Lolita" and "Spartacus" are all worthy as well.
Bob Newhart was an actor/comedian popular in the 60's and 70's. He had several different television shows which I didn't really care for, but his original stand-up comedy schtick was just him talking on the phone to some imaginary person, and only hearing his side of the conversation. It's very much in the same vein as the President's phone calls in this movie (and I wouldn't be at all surprised if they were inspired by Newhart's comedy bits), but since you really enjoyed those scenes, if you look up some classic Newhart comedy routines, I'm sure you'd enjoy them.
keep in mind you only had one chance to see the desired effect of sellers playing three characters: you did not suspect/you couldn't tell...and that is the best tribute to his skill he could ask for. Going back and watching him do it is the next pleasure. If you would like to be amazed by another such instance: "Kind Hearts and Coronets" 1949.
Sellers worshipped Alec Guinness, especially his Kind Hearts and Coronets performances. It's almost palpable when they appear together in The Ladykillers.
I saw that only last Sunday, for the first time in many years, but so many reactors had commented on it that I figured that it was time. I did recognise Slim Pickens eventually (a bit hard behind that huge moustache). I read some claim that Pickens really had no sense of humour. He just followed directions and didn't understand when his character was supposed to be funny. Remarkable if true.
It's awesome that Peter Sellers can play three different characters from three different countries. It would've been 4. He was supposed to play the bomber captain. But he hurt his leg and couldn't do the role, so it went to Slim Pickins.
Correction: Sellers only pretended that his leg was hurt, because he couldn't get a Texas accent down and rather than admit it he faked an injury at the last minute to get out of the role of the pilot.
@@gggooding But if he could have pulled off Major Kong, then it would have been Four Peter Stellers in three locales and NO ONE is getting communication across (with Strangelove being a secret unrepentant Nazi).
This came out like six months after the Cuban Missle Crisis the closest we have been to Nuclear war and everyone knew it. "Patton" would be a great movie too react to.
Fun fact: The original ending of the movie was everyone in the war room getting into a big food fight and literally throwing pies in each other's faces. They filmed it, but Kubrick thought that it was a little too goofy and belaboring of the point, so he ended it with the b-roll of nuclear explosions and the song. I always kinda wish that they'd kept the pie fight. It feels like a natural conclusion to the whole "There's no fighting in The War Room" thing.
Probably the most disturbing fact is that the science isn't too far off when it comes to the doomsday machine. If you jacket nuclear weapons in cobalt, it does extend the radio active half life of the radiation--not 100 years, but long enough to leave everything living on earth with severe blood cancer.
@@andrewlustfield6079 You don't need to do anything like that to destroy humanity. Food production will drop to zero or close to that, very quickly. Even if there are survivors who don't get any radiation, they will not survive for more than few months at best.
The pie fight scene also contained a moment when the President is hit in the face with a pie, after which General Turgidson would shout, "Gentlemen, our gallant young president has been struck down in his prime!" Initial test screenings were scheduled for the same day president Kennedy was shot in Dallas (which is why the Dallas reference was changed to Vegas). Just about everyone thought this was too much.
I was in the Air Force Strategic Air Command back in the '80s during the Cold War. The "Peace Is Our Profession'' sign is real. We had them on the base I was at. I was one of those ''base security troops,'' too. We were called ''The Peacekeepers." And we used light armored vehicles that carried 4 armed troops with a machinegun turret on top. They were called ''Peacekeeper vehicles."
yeah. In my mind, Kubrick's most terrifying movie. Each character - at least on the commanding, american side - is based on a real person. Buck Turgidson is based on Curtis Le May (architect of the firebombing effort in the pacific against the japanese), the president is based on Adlai Stevenson, Dr. Strangelove is a combination of Herman Kahn (who wrote a book 'On Thermonuclear War' which argues that nuclear war is winnable) and Edward Teller (who actually argued for continent-buster nuclear bombs). And the BLAND corporation was a transparent take on the RAND corporation, who did nuclear studies. There IS a real possible doomsday machine where you salt nuclear bombs with cobalt-60 and they detonate, making the cobalt radioactive and the radioactive cobalt makes its way into your cardiovascular system and into your blood cells. And the timeframe is right - it will render uninhabitable the area of contamination for about 100 years. The airforce seriously studied all of this in the early 1960's. And finally there was the premise. There WAS the equivalent of a plan-R, and the scenario of a sneak attack decapitating control is one of the principles of launch on warning where nuclear bombs are launched if any signs of them are seen on radar. The nuclear codes were all out in the open and each individual bomber could theoretically do what Ripper did. And of course there was the Cuban Missile Crisis which had happened the year before. Its all detailed in Daniel Ellsberg's book "The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner" - the same guy who leaked the pentagon papers - whose job in the 1960s was to go to various air force facilities and assess safety. Ellsberg went to the premiere of Dr Strangelove, and swore that - coming out of the theater - that he had just watched a documentary. (ps. fun bonus fact. the US's policy towards nuclear war in the 1950s was - if they actually had to go into one with the soviets - that they nuke the chinese mainland as well, just to be on the safe side.)
The Soviets worked on a similar system called "Perimetr". The system would automatically launch a nuclear counterstrike, if 3 conditions were met: 1st) The soviet high command has to arm the system. 2nd) Hidden sensors in important cities and military installation must detect a nuclear explosion and 3rd) Communication with the soviet high command must have broken down, indicating a nuclear first strike against the USSR. If these conditions are met, the system would radio lauch orders to all remaining soviet nuclear arms for a counterstrike. The system was concieved as an answer to anti-communist retorics by President Reagan in the 1980s (Empire of Evil). It is not clear, if the system went beyond planning stages and was actually constructed. The system was made public after the collaps of the USSR in a New York Times article from October 8th 1993
The "cobalt thorium G" resembles real nuclear chemistry terminology of the time. Thorium G would be a decay product of thorium, although in reality none of thorium's decay products were given the designation G. Cobalt would just be cobalt - all naturally occurring cobalt is the same isotope so no further clarification was needed. (Today, the decay product notation has been long abandoned and we just use mass number notation: for example "thorium X" is now known as "radium 224")
The story I have heard is that this was the height of the cold war, where it seemed nukes might fall at any minute, and Kubrick had just read a book about the subject, which made him really depressed. But then he got his hands on this script, and it was basically a way for him to learn to cope with the whole "nuclear war might start at any moment" by turning it into something you could laugh at.
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"Gentlemen! You can't fight in here, this is the War Room!" Classic line!! 🤣
There are too many classic lines in this movie--though that one is near the top of the list. One of mine has to be, "well, I've been to one world fair, a picnic and a rodeo and that is the stupidest thing I've heard come over a set of headphones"
@@andrewlustfield6079 You're right, there are certainly an abundance.
And yet it makes sense.✔
Everyone points to this as the best line in the film, but my favourite is "Mr President, we CANNOT afford a mineshaft gap!"
@@ciaranconlon84 Laughs--I think that one is lost on current generations, who did not live through or study the 1950s, where we had the bomber gap and post sputnik missile gap as main points of public debate. The joke loses something if you're not aware of how that shaped U.S. defense and foreign policy.
For the ending, I always took it as Dr. Strangelove's inner Nazi, which he repressed after defecting to the USA, was finally coming out as he realised he could pick which humans to save and which to let die to the Doom's Day Device. And I took it that his paralysis was psychosomatic, caused by the abandonment of his Nazi ideals. Then as he starts to realise he could form the "master race" by programming the computer to decide who to save and then breading the survivors in the mine shafts, he gets excited. That's why he keeps accidentally saying "Mein Führer" instead of "Mister President." His arm keeps trying to sieg heil; when he tries to stop, it turns on him. When he completely embraces his Nazi ideals, he can walk again. I think this ending is Kubrick saying that all those german scientists that the USA took in during operation paperclip to help fight the USSR in the arms and space races are just waiting for their chance to bring back Nazism. Remember when this came out it was only like 19 years after WWII.
Heil Hydra
That's very insightful; thank you.
Indeed, great insight.
You're spot on. I originally saw this on one of the many "Late, Late Show"s (movies) across America back in the 70's at age 12. There's a lot of analysis backing this up. I suggest they watch "The Trial at Nuremberg" for a more sobering perspective.
The great movie that you are referring to is "Judgement at Nuremberg"
Major Kong, riding the nuclear bomb like a bronco straight to oblivion, is one of the most iconic scenes in cinema.
Hey..the guy was a rodeo performer and rodeo clown before he got into movies. In fact when he tried to break into THAT line of work, he asked a lady at the first rodeo arena ticket office he went to...... words to the affect: How easy is it to break into the rodeo business and how much money can a person make? The lady responded that the money was "Slim Pickens". Hence the name (so the story goes!)
@@badguy1481 Originally, Major Kong was supposed to be Peter Sellers 4th role in the movie. But Sellers didn't want to do it and faked an ankle injury so he wouldn't have to climb into the cockpit set
Point is Maj.Kong was depicted as a competent commander. And he did not want to ride the bomb, he just ended up there and made the best of it.
It's an American put down by a Brit.
George C. Scott falling backwards in the war room was not written in the script. He legitimately tripped but kept going with his line. Kubrick decided to keep the scene in the movie.
Makes it even more hilarious.
Kubrick let the camera roll during Mr. Scott rehearsal. That's what made it to the film.
You have to be naturally athletic to fall and recover that well.
Yeah and Kubrick didn't tell George C. Scott that he was going to use that scene in the final cut. When Scott saw it for the first time in the theater he was really pissed off at Kubrick
@@lukeizabelle2131 I think it adds more comedy to an already hilarious film.
The actor who played the ambassador did everything he could to not laugh when Sellers played Strangelove. Look at his face, he's dying.
Peter Bull, and yes. In every scene.
@@radbarij He is a classic case of “corpsing”.
No comrades...
That is classic Russian pokerface!
i dont see him trying to laugh
@@minimusmax When Strangelove is pounding his fist to let go of his wheelchair.
I'm actually not sure which of Peter Sellers' roles is funnier. The President's one-sided conversation on the phone is absolutely hilarious but Dr Strangelove himself is utterly brilliant.
There is a terrifying amount of truth in this movie.
It's actually a study in "mutual assured destruction" and "true deterrence" and did have real World consequences in a good way in order that a "bi-polar World"(cough cough reference to Peter Sellers cough cough) was in fact a far more stable World than any alternative (by way of counterexample look at today's "post Cold War World.)
In 1983, Soviet Air Force officer Stanislav Petrov was in charge of the night shift monitoring the Soviet missile warning system.
The system detected multiple US missile launches, closing in on Russia.
All diagnostic tests confirmed the system was working and the signal was real.
Petrov was supposed to call the Politburo by hotline, confirm an attack was underway, and recommend launching a counterstrike before it was too late.
Petrov called his boss for guidance. His boss was drunk, and yelled at him, and hung up on him more than once.
Petrov decided he couldn't go through with it, even if it was real, and just waited (it was a false alarm).
'If it was real, Russia was gone. I wasn't going to take the entire world down with it'
The documentary is called 'The Man Who Saved the World'
If Petrov's boss hadn't been such a stereotype (drunken, incompetent Soviet boss), who knows?
(He later tried to destroy Petrov to cover his tracks)
It is the film that best represents the twentieth century. It's actually terrifying if you think about it.
One particular truth in the movie, cobalt nuclear bombs. Possible but never built or tested because of the potential repercussions.
That's why it's so damn frightening, and why it's lasted so long.
I was in the Air Force when this movie came out and actually saw it in the movie theater on the Air Force base. When it was over, I walked out of the theater absolutely astounded that it had been allowed to be shown on base.
You're right. It's shocking that you would have been allowed to watch that on the base. Thank you for your service. I was honorably discharged from the US Army in 1991.
Peter Sellers was a legit genius. A lot of his dialogue was improvised. You should check out 'Being There' ('79).
ahhaa I was reading more of his "acting " and the cast had to suppress their laughter ,especially that scene at end where hes doing a Heil Hitler motion
Or the whole "Pink Panther" series.
With that came the other part , he really was a prick , faking injuries , Slim Pickens got that pilot role , when Sellers had doctors notice for not be able to do the things required in that role and in other movie he faked hearth attack and then left to a vacation resort ... ambulance from movie set to airport ... and yeah he died later in an actual heart attack .
+1 Being There - is a very special film, one of my favs
Yes. Wonderfull movie. Sellers had read the book and fallen so much in love with it, he wanted to make it into a movie.
However, no-one wanted to finance it, so Sellers agreed to make two more Pink Panther movies to finance it, making it one of his best performances.
You’d be surprised at why lipstick, nylon stocking and condoms get into that survival kit. They can all be used for something in a survival situation. Lipstick will write on almost any surface in waterproof letters. Condoms can be used to carry large amounts of water and prevent ingress of dirt into wounds or as makeshift surgical gloves. Tights can be used to bind around dressings that need the opposite of waterproofing, ie to breathe, and can be used to filter large particles from water. And most importantly, you can look gorgeous and indulge in safe sex whilst surviving behind enemy lines. All critical stuff! 🤣
In this film, the idea was probably that they could be used to bribe Russian women into helping them - domestic goods, especially luxury items like makeup, were not given top priority in the Soviet planned economy, and the material poverty of the average Soviet citizen was probably further exaggerated in Western perception by ideological assumptions and propaganda.
The Russian ambassador does mention that building the doomsday weapon was actually really cheap compared to supplying their people with nylon stockings and washing machines.
@@tommcewan7936 Yep, nylon stockings were first sold in 1940 and during WW2 their manufacture was almost completely halted as the nylon was needed for parachutes, so their value for bribery/bartering was pretty huge. See also the 'Nylon riots' of 1945-46.
EDIT: I do realise this movie is set in the Cold War and not WW2.
Carry on, soldier.
nice.
In the 80's it was common knowledge in Finland that nylon tights and Levi's jeans would buy you anything in Leningrad.
"MEIN FURHER, I CAN WALK" one of my most favorite endings to a movie ever
The original "MST3K" used that line in one of their shows when someone stood up, I think from a wheelchair.
At least he when out happy😃
It's "Führer". Or "Fuehrer", if you don't have the "ü". It literally means "leader".
@Bob Stone Heheheheh! :D
@@commanderkruge and the mein part is German for 'my'. It's what the called Hitler. Similar to 'il Duce', my leader in Italian, for Mussolini. For those who didn't know.
'My Fuhrer, I can walk!'
One of the best last lines ever.
Fun Fact: Major Kong's line, "Shoot, a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff!", was originally, "Shoot, a fella could have a pretty good weekend in *Dallas* with all that stuff!", but was dubbed over at the last minute because of the JFK assassination.
The film was do to be released a week or 2 after JFK was killed, but they delayed release until early 1964. That delay probably cost Peter Sellers an oscar.
Thank you. I did not want to type all that out!
That scene alone solidified my obsession with ejection seats and survival kits. It’s a fascinating field if you ever get a chance to look into it.
Yeah, you can read his lips saying “Dallas”, too.
Wow. Just wow. Thanks, I did not know that.
Aside from being one of the funniest comedies ever made, this movie is actually incredibly haunting because of how plausible this kind of situation is. Especially at the time this was made when nuclear war seemed so inevitable, Kubrick really showed how absurd the whole thing was in such a darkly funny way. Also since you guys pretty far into his filmography, I’d recommend doing eyes wide shut, barry lyndon and paths of glory
Kubrick is responsible for destroying the straight version of this story, 'Failsafe'. He insisted his movie be released first, and after seeing it parodied, nobody was interested in seeing the straight story when it came out months later, despite a solid cast (Henry Fonda and Walter Matheau).
@@Carandini the 2000 CBS live remake was a better “fail safe”
Amazing cast, cut out unnecessary scenes, and respect for it being performed live. But to stay more accurate it was broadcast in black and white.
And the authority used by General Ripper to launch the strike was very real. A version of the doomsday device was very real too, and may even still exist.
and there are already americans who believe that water flouridation is being used against them, and some even quote that the Russians started testing people in the gulags on them. These conspiracy theorists exist, let's hope none of them get into power.
@@wackyvorlon It does
I find it funny that the man who physically played Darth Vader is in A Clockwork Orange. And the man who did the voice for Darth Vader is in Dr. Strangelove
And those are both Kubrick films.
I realised the same thing a few months ago when I'd seen them both right after each other. Kubrick had two halves of Darth Vader in two different movies.
Whoops! My tablet remembered me typing that, even. Once I started typing "Kubrick had two," the autocomplete finished the whole sentence. Fits in with the whole theme of automation taking over.
Fencer and fight choreographer Bob Anderson who designed the lightsaber fights in the classic Star Wars trilogy and stood in as a double for Darth Vader, was hired by Kubrick as a fight choreographer for Barry Lyndon. So there's your third Vader-Kubrick connection. :)
Fun fact, David Prowse who physically played Darth Vader, almost passed on being in Star Wars, because he was also starring in a series of Road Safety PSAs at the time and thought that was going to be the far more important role
@@weldonwin Lol!
Sellers said of the 50 plus movies he starred in, Dr Strangelove was the one he was proudest of and enjoyed working on the most. Sellers plays Claire Quilty in Lolita (a Stanley Kubrick movie) as well.
Dr Strangelove actually caused a minor panic in SAC, and they revised their protocols to be sure events in the movie could never happen in real life.
Whoa, that's cool
This actually was released Jan 64, but the serious drama Fail-Safe with a similar scenario was released Oct 64 and it worth a watch as well. Scary stuff
Sauce?
Fail Safe that came out a month after also caused a panic. The USAF made a movie to Congressional committees to assure them the USAF had better control over nuclear weapons. BTW, Dr Strangelove is a more realistic movie.
The president's initial conversation with the Russian premier is one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen in any movie. To make a one-sided phone call that hysterical is a true testament to Sellers' comedic abilities. Scott's facial expressions in this are the stuff of legends, and I loved that you were wondering what the hell that was when he fell over and sprang back up mid-rant. That was an accident, but Kubrick loved it and left it in because it so perfectly shows how deliriously worked up he is about the situation.
I'm so glad you guys did this one! Not enough reactors watch this classic. Don't be afraid of the black-and-white films, people! Lack of colour does not mean lack of entertainment.
In this case black and white was a choice. Color was available in the 40s but not widely used till the 50s. I totally agree with you. Give me films with great dialog, awesome story line and real actors. I'm growing a bit tired of rather boring action heroes stumbling from one crash to the next explosion. Would be nice to return to a time when movies were made for adult audiences.
@Maya Nightwolf Thank you so much. I checked out Mia's channel {subscribed} as well. It's a shame that so many people today won't watch a film because it's not in color or has subtitles. The early silent pictures would make people laugh and cry without color, without dialog, without CGI.
@@nightfall902 I was thinking another of my favourite films is '12 Angry Men'. That was 1957 so I don't know if the black & white choice was down to art or budget.
"There is no fighting in the War Room!" One of the greatest movie lines of all time.
And there's a subtle reference to it in WarGames
George C Scott is well known for playing General Patton in the movie Patton. Another good movie you guys should react to!
Absolutely!
“Rommel. You magnificent bastard. I read your BOOK.”
patton is absolutely fantastic, coppola wrote it i think
@Maximillian Wylde yep. The funny thing is LeMay is the logical conclusion of a philosophy that existed since WT Sherman at least- the idea that war should be terrible in order for it to be short. In theory, the idea is to make war so awful that either you never go to war, or you make it so awful that you totally annihilate the enemy as quickly as possible.
Nukes are basically the epitome of that idea. LeMay implemented it, but even a lot of the nuclear scientists thought that in an ideal world every country would have nukes so that deterrance would be universal.
Of course, LeMay also wanted to nuke Cuba, so the idea didn't really work... but then again we didn't go to war over Cuba during the missile crisis... so maybe it did? And Truman didn't want to give any other countries nukes, so we never had total deterrance.
It's pretty complicated to wrap your mind around. Dr Strangelove does a good job of satirizing the entire process.
@Maximillian Wylde can’t say I ever approved of LeMay’s handling of the Cold War. He was useful in wwii, but after words I think he went off the deep end (assuming he was sane to begin with). I believe he also threw his lot in with George Wallace.
Peter Sellers played multiple roles in several movies, usually making each character so unique that it was hard to remember they were all him. In this film you can see his genius as he plays Mandrake, The President, and Dr Strangelove, three personas so extremely different that they never seem like just one actor.
Jesus, I never knew this. That's actually ridiculous, I wouldn't have noticed that in a million years
When Ronald Reagan became President he asked to be shown the War Room, which of course never existed
Sterling Hayden, as " Gen. Jack D.Ripper ", also played the corrupt policeman " Captain Mc Cluskey " in ' The Godfather.'
Watch the Asphalt Jungle its my favorite movie where he was the star.
From what I've heard, Kubrick originally intended for this film to be a drama. However, the longer he worked on it before shooting, the more he realized how absurd the characters were, and at some point he changed the whole thing to a dark comedy.
Plus, "Fail Safe" was coming out and Kubrick didn't want his movie to be too like that.
He and Terry Southern, the screenwriter, would have meetings to work on the script… And apparently they couldn’t help themselves, and the dark humor just flowed.. lol.. And eventually they realized it was a dark satire they were making..
Apparently Slim Pickens was not told that the movie was to be a comedy and although his character was a maverick, it was acted as straight drama.
You can tell George C Scott's character is worried when he ends his call with his secretary in the war room with, "....Sugar, don't forget to say your prayers."
The layout of the B-52 cockpit instruments was so accurate it caused the CIA to investigate the set designers for being spies. The government was shaken to its core. Ha
60 years later, they still fly, and are due to fly into the 2050s ( ~ 100+ years).
Covering a large majority of the entire age of human flight.
Incredible.
Welcome to the red scare. The Cold War era was unnerving as hell.
Back when this was made there were fallout shelters everywhere people felt the threat of nuclear conflict everyday.
@@GK-yi4xv Amazing the leveel of human ingenuity when it comes to weapons of war. Heck Davinci invented weapons 400 years ago that can only be built today.
@@GK-yi4xv the B-52 program has to be in the running for the best "bang for your buck" project the US military ever funded. It's insane they're set to be retired in 2050.
The General's fall was an accident, but the actor continued in character, and spoke his line. Directors often do keep mistakes in, if the mistakes are better than the original.
"Mien Fuhrer, I can walk!'...followed by the bombs going off to 'We'll meet Again'...a classic ending.
Next, you should definitely look at Barry Lyndon. It’s one of the most amazing Kubrick films I’ve ever seen and also far too criminally underrated masterpiece.
Yes.
absolutely!!
100%
Paths of Glory is the best Kubrick film not shown yet
@@michaelsims1160 You're absolutely right, it's also very good! Definetely one of the best war movies ever made. :)
Movie reaction channels are starting to get more into classics and i'm here for it. So GOOD!
Yes! Just saw someone do Psyco!
Yes!!! I totally agree! Been getting more and more surprised, to the point of giddiness! lol Do you know Mia's channel? She's doing Hitchcock month, last month was Westerns, before that was two months of Marilyn, etc etc....here's the link, she did "Notorious" today: ruclips.net/video/mBZME856tNA/видео.html
The theme playing in the B-52 was "when Johnny comes marching home."
Like the rest of us, Stanley Kubrick was amazed by the talent of Peter Sellers and basically let him run free. The only other time he did that was with R. Lee Ermey's crazed drill sergeant in "Full Metal Jacket". An even earlier film than this one by Kubrick, "Lolita", also features Sellers doing several characters and is seriously worth watching.
Interesting
Kubrick also allowed Malcolm McDowell free rein with Alex in A Clockwork Orange, especially in making up words in the Nadsat language of the book and the inclusion of Singing in the Rain as Alex assaults the couple at home.
@@dcanmore And in costuming - Kubrick wanted something that would add an air of sophistication to the menace, so McDowell suggested the cricket uniform and bowler hat, and Kubrick loved the idea.
Berry Lyndon is a must see for Kubrick fans! I’d argue his best work, easily in my 3 films of all. It also tons of comedic elements.
Yes, finally, another person who feels the same about Barry Lyndon!!...😎
Peter Sellers was a genius. Check out Being There, it was one of his final appearances and one of his best.👍😂
Classic!
Yes, the original Forrest Gump.
Great movie.
Being There is such a hard film to watch, but necessary. i watched it when it came out. i am still affected by it 40 years later.
Someone has mentioned that the president...dr strangelove and Mandrake were all played by Peter Sellers.
For the longest time I didn't realize Sellers was playing 3 characters. That's how good he is.
He was actually supposed to play the bomber pilot as well but he told Kubrick that 3 characters was enough!
How is that possible, Indrid? As a moth... uhm.. person.. aren't you supposed to know everything?
@@kingfield99 I heard something about him coming to the set and faking an injury just to get out of it.
@@donkfail1 he was easily bored.
One of the greatest films of all time! The sheer brilliance of Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Slim Pickens, Keenan Wynn, and, a young James Earl Jones, all combined with the genius of Kubrick, in a comedy!
Peter Sellers does an amazing job playing multiple characters in this movie 😄😃😂
The song is, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home, " which is an old war time song. The seriousness of the music along with the absurdity of the action always cracks me up. Plus there's the sardonic joke that in a nuclear war, Johnny isn't going to be marching home.
Alternatively "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye." Both songs use the same tune and since there's no lyrics, it's up to the viewer to decide. Especially since one is a pro-war song and the other an anti-war song.
Well i would say its a pretty happy song
It's also a hint that many people at the time, and even now, had a naive tendency to assume (or at least desperately hope) that a nuclear war would be little different to the wars of two hundred years ago. (General Ripper's exclamation of "The Redcoats are coming!" to Mandrake is another telling moment) The Cold War was so utterly terrifying a time to live in because nobody really knew what the rules were, nobody had ever learned how to plan, strategise or negotiate when you could wipe entire cities off a map, at the touch of a button, with no possibility of defence, and so could your opponent.
@@tommcewan7936 civil war was only about 90 year befor this movie was recorded.
The American Revolutionary War (the one with "The Redcoats") was 190 years before the film.
That is indeed actual footage of nuclear bomb tests at the end, and the song "We'll Meet Again" was a famous song from WWII. The singer, Dame Vera Lynn actually only passed away last year at 103 years old.
Another great early Kubrick film is "Paths of Glory." A WWI drama starring Kirk Douglas.
A fantastic movie!
Very true!
Watch PoG and 1917 back to back
Its always been crazy to me how George C Scott went from THIS comedic role, THEN to play the very serious, intense Patton five years later. Such a contrast.
"listen if it wasn't friendly you probably wouldn't have even got it" that always cracks me up
My irony was always really stroked by the scene where they're fighting to the entrance gate of the base, the giant firefight under the huge 'Peace is our profession' billboards.
So perfect. Just like 'You cant fight in here, this is the warroom!'
European here, I remember in the 1960's (don't know for how long before that) "Peace is our profession" was the motto of the US Strategic Air Command, hope they have developed some level of self-awareness since then...
Dr. Strangelove himself was a reference to all the German scientists and doctors brought to the US after WWII. That explains the salute, etc. He probably also had something called "Alien Limb Syndrome", a real condition where limbs operate on their own and often can't be controlled by the person.
Peter Sellerz did a good job in that role, and the others he played in this movie.
Operation Paperclip
I think he was based mostly on Wernher von Braun.
It's also obviously meant to be a prosphetic arm.
@@Siansonea He's an amalgam of several real people. The folder on Gen Turgidson's desk titled "WORLD TARGETS IN MEGADEATHS" is a nod to Herman Kahn who invented the term "megadeaths" and was one of the inspirations for Strangelove. Kahn was a strategist at RAND Corp who was one of the first to apply Game Theory to nuclear deterrence and war planning and wrote his seminal work "On Thermonuclear War" (a nod to Clausewitz) - his cold detachment in dealing with the subject matter helped make him a rather controversial figure at the time.
Dr Strangelove and The Life Of Brian are probably the two finest - and most profound - comedies ever made in the history of film. One is dark hearted and the other is light hearted. Perfect balance.
Buster Keaton? Chaplin? Lubitsch? Sturges? There were many great comedies before 1964.
What about Holy Grail? The best Monthy Python movie imo
Plane scenes were played to “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”. Funniest comment by Sam when Kong rides the bomb down to his death: “ I feel that’s how he would have wanted to go.” 😂 Hey who wouldn’t? Beats being eaten by Jaws for example.
The actor who played Major Kong, the bomber pilot, was Slim Pickens, who primarily played in western movies. For him to wear the cowboy hat when they get their orders fits that persona, and for him to be riding the nuclear bomb like a bucking bronco in a rodeo is the quintessentially highest performance of his career. He was picked for this role specifically because of that background in western movies.
Gentlemen you cannot fight in here! This is the War Room!
I love the tension on the plane as things go onwards. The soldiers get more and more humanized as the film goes on and you feel invested in them as people and the film's atmosphere makes you want them to succeed, but then you remember that No! that would be an absolute disaster and the only good outcome, especially near the end, is for them to be shot down. This tension of caring for them while knowing that they must be stopped at all costs (for no fault of their own) is one of the most emotional parts of the film.
As others have mentioned, Failsafe with Henry Fonda is a more serious take on the theme here.
...and a slightly more recent take on the doomsday scenario... Wargames ;-)
War Games (1983) is actually much closer to Dr. Strangelove (1964) than it is to today...
@@maxis5650 Which is why I said "slightly more recent" ;-)
I would also recommend to these two watching "threads" or "the day after" about nuclear war. Both aren't comedies though
The 2000 tv version of fail safe is better.
Amazing cast, tighter script, shorter runtime and most amazingly it was performed and broadcast completely live!
@@maxis5650 Fail Safe is a near copy of Strangelove. The plot is nearly the same. Fail Safe is just serious in tone.
The "serious" version of this is "Fail Safe" with Henry Fonda.
Or fail safe with George Clooney Harvey keitel, don cheadle, Hank azaria, Brian dennahey and other accomplished actors that genuinely wanted to be part of this live special (year 2000).
It was performed and broadcast live!
Like a play….. it also cut out some scenes in the original that weren’t necessary
The US government freaked out when they saw this because they got so much right
The "I deny them my essence" bit is so funny. Kubrick is rightly remembered for his darker movies but this is a classic comedy that influenced generations
I think I remember reading about that long ago, the US govt freakout I mean, ie. there were some who believed Kubrick might have been giving away secrets right there on the cinema screen or something, but IIRC in reality Kubrick just made very good guesses as to how things probably worked.
@@mapesdhs597 Yeah, it was specifically over the B-52 interiors, he was actually investigated over it.
The obsessions of the General who starts WWIII are very similar to the rants of the " Q " cult .
@@jameskennedy721 Oh god don't you start too
Some modern repub politicians have this creepy attitude toward women.
George C. Scott's slip and roll was an accident. Kubrick kept it because it was funny. Also, the place the bomber was targeting, Laputa, gets its name from "Gulliver's Travels". It was the place where geniuses ruined society through terrible leadership. Finally, the Strangelove character was inspired by Edward Teller, the "Father of the Nuclear Bomb". :-)
Sterling Hayden--who plays General Ripper--is wonderful in Kubrick's first good movie "The Killing." "Paths of Glory" is the first great Kubrick film, and "Dr. Strangelove" cemented his reputation.
Watched The Killing, Paths of Glory, and Spartacus recently for the first time. All very good. I especially liked The Killing.
@@iliketostayhome - It's a bit debated whether Spartacus can really be called a Kubrick film. It was Kirk Douglas' project, and production had already started before Kubrick was brought aboard to replace the original director who was fired.
This movie is so hilarious. And the performances of Peter Sellers - brilliant.
The films shows what would happen if a general got so paranoid, he decided to send his planes carrying nuclear weapons to attack Russia. It's a a brilliant and well made dark comedy cold war film.
Isn't it also implied in the dialogue that General Ripper has ED? When he is talking about fluoridation he says he had an issue while with a woman taking his essence, but assures Mandrake that it hasn't happened again. He says women do want him, but he denies them his essence.
It always came across to me as General Ripper trying to rationalize why he couldn't get it up anymore. Obviously it was someone/something else causing the problem. So he sends his bombers because he is paranoid and massively overcompensating...
Oddly, when the film was made, considering fluoride to be dangerous was crazy conspiracy theory but all these years on there are many peer reviewed studies that show it can hinder cognitive development in children and is now a known toxin.(Prenatal fluoride exposure and cognitive outcomes in children at 4 and 6 to 12 years of age in Mexico. Environ Health Perspect. 2017) (Association between Maternal Fluoride Exposure during Pregnancy and IQ Scores in Offspring in Canada. JAMA Pediatrics, 2019.)
Despite this it is still added to water supply in the US and UK widely.
Strangely it is stated that this is to help prevent tooth decay yet we have fluoride toothpaste we brush teeth with and spit out while water is simply swallowed.
Look after your bodily fluids!
"It appears that General Ripper has exceeded his authority" kills me every time.
"You cant fight in here, this is a war room!"
Peter Sellers was a very popular comic actor in that era. In Strangelove he played the heavily mustached Mandrake, the Bald guy in the war room, and Dr. Strangelove. Wicked satire on the insanity of the military. Another very famous film Sellers was in was 'The Pink Panther.'
14:40 That IS Strategic Air Command's real-life motto.
The unofficial "War is just a hobby." was a popular follow-up.
Was...While SAC no longer exists, its formerv role is now handled by STRATCOM mainly, ACC, and probably the new Space Command.
Peter Sellers was a human chameleon and close colleagues often said they didn't really know who he was, including Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe.
SUCH fun watching you two watch Kubrick's brilliant black comedy! I've been loving this bit of genius for 57 years! Might I recommend a follow up to George C. Scott's comedic acting job here -- "Patton" about the WWII American Army general. Not a comedy but one the best war movies/biographies ever made. Scott will knock your socks off.
Completely agree with this and all the other comments recommending "Patton".
Peter Sellers was supposed to play Maj Kong but he hurt his ankle and he could not enter the B-52 cockpit set. Slim Pickens was rushed over to England to film his part. As a result of his role, he said his pay checks and dressing rooms got bigger in future films.
This is the second movie that Peter Sellers made in which he plays 3 parts. The other was the 1959 comedy "The Mouse That Roared." Then there's Alec Guinness who played 8 parts in "Kind Hearts & Coronets." Both of them were in one of the 5 funniest movies ever made (imho,) "The Lady Killers" (1955) along with Herbert Lom - who was the chief inspector in the Pink Panther movies.
BTW - I'm not talking about the DREADFUL remake of "The Ladykillers" with Tom Hanks. I'm referring to the original British comedy.
"the Mouse that Roared"- an enjoyable read for me in Junior high. For those who don't know, it's about a tiny European nation ( think Luxmborg) with financial problems, so they decide to declare war on the USA, so that after they lose, the USA will rebuild their country like with the Marshall Plan. The US ignores their declaration of war, so they send over a few soldiers, who arrive in NYC during a civil defense drill and everyone is in bomb shelters and the city is empty.
The actor playing General Ripper, Sterling Hayden, also played the crooked police chief in THE GODFATHER. George C. Scott (best known as PATTON) wanted to underplay Buck Turgidsen but Kubrick wanted him to go over the top. He persuaded Scott to overplay during the rehearsals, then filmed the rehearsals and used those takes, which angered Scott. I love the shot where Scott falls backward during a line, then rolls back up to his feet, still in character, and finishes the line, and Kubrick used the take. In addition to Mandrake, Strangelove, and the President, Sellers was also going to play Major Kong but, as I understand it, he couldn't quite get a handle on the character. Slim Pickens, however, was the ideal choice to play him. Your reaction was excellent.
"Our first black and white film" -- don't make it your last!!
Funny fact about the "War Room": It's become such a standard movie trope since Doctor Strangelove that, according to what I've read, even newly elected presidents had to be told once or twice that, actually, there isn't one.
Sterling Hayden was the crooked cop in The Godfather part 1, in this movie he ‘s Jack Ripper (Jack the Ripper). Peter Sellers is Dr Strangelove, & the President, & the RAF officer. George C Scott is hilarious. Another nuclear war film done 6 or 7 years before this flic is “Fail Safe””. Drama starring Henry Fonda
When this hit the theatres, several people in the pentagon wondered how Kubrick was so right. The word is that Strangelove was based on Henry Kissinger.
The first time I watched Dr Strangelove, I was about 10 years old and the humour went straight over my head. It was pretty scarey stuff at that age!
I love this film. From that glorious intro, you have ZERO idea what to expect. It is MINDBLOWING GOOD. Great reactions!
You should watch “Fail Safe” for a non-comedic version of basically this same plot.
Rewatching, I love that Dr Strangelove is at the table the whole time. He's to the right of Turgidson, jus vibin like a weird lil guy. XD
Strangelove is one of the greatest of all time films. And the character himself was Kubrick making fun of Operation Paperclip: where the USA took Nazi scientists involved in their research and weapons programs, shipped them back to the USA, and put them to work designing the next generation of weaponry. Soviets did it too, and a lot of these guys were hardcore Nazis and we both turned a blind eye to their War Crimes to help our side gain a strategic advantage over the other.
One of them made the astro orbiter for Disney
The majority of the Scientists actually didn't care about the Nazis, and it's a myth that they were hardcore Nazi party members. They wanted to conduct their research and didn't care who was in charge. Wernher von Braun and the other Scientists were "compelled" to join the Nazi party. It wasn't a choice one could refuse, especially since other high ranking Nazi party members had been killed in the past, so killing some random scientist wasn't an impossibility. The Allies looked into his membership, and found that he only ever turned in his monthly dues, and that was it. The Soviets rarely looked into the history of their captured German scientists, but they still did in certain instances. Those in the medical field that carried out inhumane research typically were arrested, and others that the Allies couldn't find, were later found and arrested or killed, by the Israeli Mossad.
Hence the "involuntary" Nazi salutes.
The crazy thing is Operation Paperclip wasn't publicly acknowledged until the 90's
But sadly, no Oscar win.
There are lots of good observations here! I don't think that anyone has pointed out the funny aspects of many of the characters names, so...
The General who went nuts and sent his planes to attack was General "Jack T. Ripper" (Jack the Ripper!)
The Major who shot up the Coke machine was Major "Bat Guano" (Bat guano is Bat "poop"!)
The President was "Merkin Muffley" ( A merkin is a "pubic wig" - seriously! lol )
The Russian Premiere on the other end of the phone was "Dimitry Kissoff" (Pretty obvious!)
The Russian ambassador was "Alexi de Sadesky" (The name refers to the Marquis De Sade!)
... Etc.
A fantastic movie and excellent reaction video!
George C. Scott wanted to play his character straight which Kubrick allowed him to do, under one condition...he would do an extra take and play it over the top. Kubrick ended up using only the over the top extra takes. Scott was not too pleased.
Slim Pickens wasn't even told the movie was a comedy! His copy of the script was just his scenes, to prevent him figuring it out. At least he had the consolation that his performance was great and widely acclaimed.
(Also, the first time Pickens arrived for filming, the studio staff thought he was a method actor who was "living in character" - it took a little while for them to realize that was how Pickens normally dressed, spoke, and behaved when out of character.)
Kubrick did a pretty fair assessment of the Feds. They had a nuke missile spill off a truck on a Denver off-ramp back in the 90's. The first responders called the NRC's (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) 24 hour hot line to find out what they should do. The police and fire department aren't qualified to handle nukes spilled on the highway but unfortunately the NRC only manned the hotline 9am-4pm EST time. Outside of those hours you were routed you to a answering machine. The nuke layed on the off-ramp over night as the first responders waited for the NRC's office to open the next morning.
The song played during the scenes on the bomber was “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again”. 😎
In the 60's and 70's we were all nervous because we really did think there would be nuclear war.I grew up in a large oil refinery steel production area and we were always told this is one of the first places the soviets would attacks.
"Gentlemen! You can't fight in here - this is the War Room!"
The Peace is our Profession sign was not a parody. That is the official logo of the Strategic Air Command. Their first generation strategic bomber before the B-52 was called the Peacemaker. Kubrick was going to make a serious movie based on the realistic nuclear war book, Red Alert, but the more he got into it, he couldn’t help but see the ridiculousness of MAD and turned it into a dark comedy.
I love dark comedies and this is the gold standard.
Mein Furhor I can Walk!!!! Best line, that and the "What are you, some kind of Prevert or something scene..🤣
I like how the scenes in the War Room were kind of composed like paintings, with everybody but the people speaking being very still.
Great analysis! Great first reaction!
Only one detail in the film, that I think is outstanding that you didn't mention, is how amazing the footage of the attack on the base is. Kubrick switches to that shakey hand-held footage feel, as if you're really in battle trying to capture what's going on. Fantastic stuff. Kubrick really knows how to make a scene feel real, as you pointed out, all the scenes in the B-52 are so real.
The best possible reaction to this movie!!!! (And congrats for breaking the black & white barrier! Some of the best movies ever are in b&w!) And great post-film discussion! I love what TBR says: "He could have done comedy the rest of his career!" Never thought of that, you are absolutely right. (His previous movie, "Lolita", definitely has similar dark, cynical humor). 1.) Just in case you didn't notice: Sterling Hayden who played General Ripper played the police chief McLuskey in the Godfather (who punches Pacino out, later shot at the table!). Did you recognize him? (He's also in Kubrick's first movie, "The Killing".) 2.) Romantic refueling, you say during the opening credits! Yes! That was intentional! If you notice, all the images of the planes are sexual! 3.) George C. Scott was so hilarious, his other most iconic performance is also as a general: Patton! Really great movie! 5.) "Paths Of Glory", Kubrick's 1957 trench-warfare movie is absolutely one of his greatest and most powerful, definitely you'll love that (and it's not a long movie!)! That would be my personal recommendation after having seen "Strangelove", although "Barry Lyndon", "The Killing", "Lolita" and "Spartacus" are all worthy as well.
Bob Newhart was an actor/comedian popular in the 60's and 70's. He had several different television shows which I didn't really care for, but his original stand-up comedy schtick was just him talking on the phone to some imaginary person, and only hearing his side of the conversation. It's very much in the same vein as the President's phone calls in this movie (and I wouldn't be at all surprised if they were inspired by Newhart's comedy bits), but since you really enjoyed those scenes, if you look up some classic Newhart comedy routines, I'm sure you'd enjoy them.
keep in mind you only had one chance to see the desired effect of sellers playing three characters: you did not suspect/you couldn't tell...and that is the best tribute to his skill he could ask for. Going back and watching him do it is the next pleasure.
If you would like to be amazed by another such instance: "Kind Hearts and Coronets" 1949.
Sellers worshipped Alec Guinness, especially his Kind Hearts and Coronets performances. It's almost palpable when they appear together in The Ladykillers.
KHAC is in my top 10, it's a brilliant film.
_Kind Hearts and Coronets_ and _The Ladykillers_ are both excellent films. The best of British comedy.
I've watched a bunch of Strangelove reaction videos and I think you're the best... you comprehended it SO well!
3:31, Slim Pickens, he was in Blazing Saddles and his last film was The Howling.
I saw that only last Sunday, for the first time in many years, but so many reactors had commented on it that I figured that it was time. I did recognise Slim Pickens eventually (a bit hard behind that huge moustache).
I read some claim that Pickens really had no sense of humour. He just followed directions and didn't understand when his character was supposed to be funny. Remarkable if true.
Love Slim, he always made me laugh.
"You can't fight in here this is the War room!" 😆 This Movie's Dialogue is Hilarious!
It's awesome that Peter Sellers can play three different characters from three different countries.
It would've been 4. He was supposed to play the bomber captain. But he hurt his leg and couldn't do the role, so it went to Slim Pickins.
Correction: Sellers only pretended that his leg was hurt, because he couldn't get a Texas accent down and rather than admit it he faked an injury at the last minute to get out of the role of the pilot.
@@gggooding Yes, I've read that as well.
@@gggooding But if he could have pulled off Major Kong, then it would have been Four Peter Stellers in three locales and NO ONE is getting communication across (with Strangelove being a secret unrepentant Nazi).
This came out like six months after the Cuban Missle Crisis the closest we have been to Nuclear war and everyone knew it. "Patton" would be a great movie too react to.
The closest till that point. Although there was a good chance for a third world war during the Soviets' Berlin blockade in 1948.
Fun fact: The original ending of the movie was everyone in the war room getting into a big food fight and literally throwing pies in each other's faces. They filmed it, but Kubrick thought that it was a little too goofy and belaboring of the point, so he ended it with the b-roll of nuclear explosions and the song. I always kinda wish that they'd kept the pie fight. It feels like a natural conclusion to the whole "There's no fighting in The War Room" thing.
Probably the most disturbing fact is that the science isn't too far off when it comes to the doomsday machine. If you jacket nuclear weapons in cobalt, it does extend the radio active half life of the radiation--not 100 years, but long enough to leave everything living on earth with severe blood cancer.
Why do I remember this ending though? Was there footage of it released or something? I strongly remember it.
@@andrewlustfield6079 You don't need to do anything like that to destroy humanity. Food production will drop to zero or close to that, very quickly. Even if there are survivors who don't get any radiation, they will not survive for more than few months at best.
The pie fight scene also contained a moment when the President is hit in the face with a pie, after which General Turgidson would shout, "Gentlemen, our gallant young president has been struck down in his prime!" Initial test screenings were scheduled for the same day president Kennedy was shot in Dallas (which is why the Dallas reference was changed to Vegas). Just about everyone thought this was too much.
@@Trusteft Probably the Mandela effect. I think there are some still production photos around.
I was in the Air Force Strategic Air Command back in the '80s during the Cold War. The "Peace Is Our Profession'' sign is real. We had them on the base I was at. I was one of those ''base security troops,'' too. We were called ''The Peacekeepers." And we used light armored vehicles that carried 4 armed troops with a machinegun turret on top. They were called ''Peacekeeper vehicles."
yeah. In my mind, Kubrick's most terrifying movie. Each character - at least on the commanding, american side - is based on a real person. Buck Turgidson is based on Curtis Le May (architect of the firebombing effort in the pacific against the japanese), the president is based on Adlai Stevenson, Dr. Strangelove is a combination of Herman Kahn (who wrote a book 'On Thermonuclear War' which argues that nuclear war is winnable) and Edward Teller (who actually argued for continent-buster nuclear bombs). And the BLAND corporation was a transparent take on the RAND corporation, who did nuclear studies.
There IS a real possible doomsday machine where you salt nuclear bombs with cobalt-60 and they detonate, making the cobalt radioactive and the radioactive cobalt makes its way into your cardiovascular system and into your blood cells. And the timeframe is right - it will render uninhabitable the area of contamination for about 100 years. The airforce seriously studied all of this in the early 1960's.
And finally there was the premise. There WAS the equivalent of a plan-R, and the scenario of a sneak attack decapitating control is one of the principles of launch on warning where nuclear bombs are launched if any signs of them are seen on radar. The nuclear codes were all out in the open and each individual bomber could theoretically do what Ripper did. And of course there was the Cuban Missile Crisis which had happened the year before. Its all detailed in Daniel Ellsberg's book "The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner" - the same guy who leaked the pentagon papers - whose job in the 1960s was to go to various air force facilities and assess safety.
Ellsberg went to the premiere of Dr Strangelove, and swore that - coming out of the theater - that he had just watched a documentary.
(ps. fun bonus fact. the US's policy towards nuclear war in the 1950s was - if they actually had to go into one with the soviets - that they nuke the chinese mainland as well, just to be on the safe side.)
The Soviets worked on a similar system called "Perimetr". The system would automatically launch a nuclear counterstrike, if 3 conditions were met:
1st) The soviet high command has to arm the system.
2nd) Hidden sensors in important cities and military installation must detect a nuclear explosion
and
3rd) Communication with the soviet high command must have broken down, indicating a nuclear first strike against the USSR.
If these conditions are met, the system would radio lauch orders to all remaining soviet nuclear arms for a counterstrike.
The system was concieved as an answer to anti-communist retorics by President Reagan in the 1980s (Empire of Evil). It is not clear, if the system went beyond planning stages and was actually constructed.
The system was made public after the collaps of the USSR in a New York Times article from October 8th 1993
The "cobalt thorium G" resembles real nuclear chemistry terminology of the time. Thorium G would be a decay product of thorium, although in reality none of thorium's decay products were given the designation G. Cobalt would just be cobalt - all naturally occurring cobalt is the same isotope so no further clarification was needed.
(Today, the decay product notation has been long abandoned and we just use mass number notation: for example "thorium X" is now known as "radium 224")
Dr. Stranglove was voted one of the top 20 movies of all time..A Film Classic..!
The story I have heard is that this was the height of the cold war, where it seemed nukes might fall at any minute, and Kubrick had just read a book about the subject, which made him really depressed. But then he got his hands on this script, and it was basically a way for him to learn to cope with the whole "nuclear war might start at any moment" by turning it into something you could laugh at.
Yup. Grew up during that time.
@@henrytjernlund That time is back
If not already mentioned - the tune that played behind every plane scene was "When Johnny Comes Marching Home"