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Dr. Strangelove: Historical Comedies - by Shayne MichaelDr. Strangelove is the American Film Institute's #3 all-time pick among comedy films. On the other hand, over 39,192 Internet Movie Database (IMDB) users have voted it the #1 comedy film of all time. Critics have praised this movie for its bold, new perspective on war. The general public enjoys familiarity over bold, new approaches to anything. How can this film be both? Dr. Strangelove was released at the height of the cold war. In a sense it was the unfamiliar situation everyone was imagining. At the same time, Dr. Strangelove was a bold, new approach to dealing with that war. Up until that time, war had ever been tackled as a comedy. The original release date of Dr. Strangelove was pushed back after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. Obviously there is an implication that drama and reality can be mistaken for each other. With Dr. Strangelove, Kubrick felt the nation wasn't ready to witness the apocalypse after loosing their president. Should the release date have been pushed back? From a purely economical stand-point, of course. Even disregarding the moral implications, if nobody's comfortable watching a movie it won't make money. Remember some films are timed to come out at Christmas, some over the summer, still others are timed to coincide with related historically related events. You can't claim there's a right time to release a film if you're unwilling to admit there is also a wrong time to release a film. What can comedy film makers learn from Dr. Strangelove?A lot of the comedy within Dr. Strangelove comes from the fact the film was never trying to be funny. This is similar to an upcoming stand-up comic who is only funny when he's not trying to be. The script for Dr. Strangelove wasn't originally a comedy. However, the more Kubrick envisioned world leaders dealing with the threat of an all-out nuclear war, the more unavoidable everyday problems crept into the script. When nature calls, nature calls, even if you're about to accidentally obliterate Russia. Film makers can also learn that comedy scripts can be dramatically improved when lead actors are selected for their versatility. In Dr. Strangelove Peter Sellers plays three roles: president Merkin Muffley, Captain Lionel Mandrake and Dr. Strangelove. His versatility landed all three parts. But, it also gave the film something in return. The president's phone call to the premier of Russia was not in the original script and remains the second most memorable scene in the movie. Without Peter Seller's ability to improvise that scene would never been in the film. Ask yourself, "Where Dr. Strangelove would fall on the IMDB's top 250 films without that scene?" How can such a dark comedy be so popular?Perhaps this film is a guilty pleasure. Dr. Strangelove feels real. Yet, set in 1964, it seems distant. We feel safe as we watch. Yet since 9-11, we feel more vulnerable than ever. Dr. Strangelove came out at the right time. It was a time when John F. Kennedy failed at the Bay of Pigs and then succeeded with Cuban Missile Crisis. The United States had recently stood at the brink of nuclear annihilation. Early on, the fascination with the film was a morbid nostalgia for the recent past combined with a fear of the distant future. Today, that fascination is still locked in by all the subversive parts of the plot which read like a prediction of how the world might exist today. What if Russia breaking into pieces only increased the chances of World War III? Before the nuclear weapons were only in the hands of one crazed communist leader. Now they fall to the guardianship of many. Much of the plot in Dr. Strangelove was based on a war-crazed General's belief that the communist were trying to slowly, subversively poison our "bodily fluids" through our water supply. These types of fears connect deeply to the threat of terrorism we feel in 2003. Today, those subversive, terrorist-like parts of the plot are as real to us as they seemed unrealistic in 1964. How many films of this caliber will never get released due to similar subject matter?Today producers are less afraid of these types of controversial story line. Yet, at the same time, film makers avoid these issues by hiding behind intense special effects and overblown plots. Today we would turn Dr. Strangelove into another Star Wars. We would be so focused on the scenes of F-16s dodging enemy fire over Russia we'd forget the immanent threat of nuclear war was more important. The original Planet of the Apes had serious messages about racism and religious intolerance. In the remake how many themes were sacrificed in favor of another surprise ending? "Everyone wants to see this human who defies the apes" is hardly as memorable as a single line in the original film. To make this film correctly the special effects can only be a single layer. In 1964, the dominant layer was the simple, yet realistic plot. Today, either the special effects dominate or the plot would contains so many twists and turns the writer seems to be one-upping every other plot ever filmed. If the special effects became the major focus you would loose both what makes the film funny (the urgency of everyday problems against a backdrop of nuclear annihilation) and what makes the film compelling (the fact that nuclear annihilation is something we were facing all along and the realistic nature in which it was portrayed). What aspects of Dr. Strangelove were specific to film?Why is this film so popular among critics and audiences alike? Dr. Strangelove had an invisible layer of sight gags throughout the film. Many of these hidden jokes were visual and therefore only appropriate for TV and film. Watch the film and look for the sign that reads, "Fighting For Peace," in the background as our solders murder each other in a pointless battle that pits American against American. Look for the writing on the nuclear warheads that reads "Nuclear Warhead, Handle With Care". Even the lettering of the credits was used to keep eyes focused on phallic symbolism of a small refueling plane. All these visuals were subtly taking place in the background. You can easily miss them, unless your a critic trained not to. Kubrick also had a large hand in the success of this film. However, Kubrick only did enough to make the war scenes feel realistic. Instead of overdoing it, Kubrick used his documentary style of showing a war in progress. His camera panning, angling, and focus was known to create a sense of urgency on the battlefield. Then, he added all those subtle sight gags (throw away visuals) to the well-written dialog. That plus the film's perfect timing made it the classic. Are a few memorable scenes enough to make a movie?Memorable scenes can make a movie. In The Princess Bride, there is a point where Indigo Montoya says, "Hello, I am Indigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." Then the six fingered man, balances his sword, looks in Indigo's eyes, and turns around and runs the other direction. The scene is so much more realistic than heroes that run towards a sword that ultimately spells their death. In comedy, a few funny scenes can go a long way to making a film complete. Every line in Star Trek IV is not funny. However, when you overlay the comedy in the film over a compelling plot and add in a single memorable scene (Spock giving a punk rocker a Vulcan nerve pinch and swearing a lot) you have a very good film. Dr. Strangelove has two very memorable scenes. The most important scene was a cowboy riding nuclear bomb like a bucking bronco to nuclear obliteration. The second most memorable scene is Peter Seller's phone call to premier Kiss Off explaining how he's about to accidentally start all-out nuclear war. The call is peppered with understatements like: "One of our generals went and did a silly thing." Both scenes work by themselves. However, they also have a huge strength in unison. The first scene is the classic overstatement. The second scene is the classic understatement. What could be a better idea than to produce a comedy that features both types of scenes in the same movie? Dr. Stranglove's Comedy Film Maker's Checklist
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