Category: Movies

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW

Blackest of black comedies is 50 years old & still so very good. Brilliant writing, gorgeous photography, good character actor performances.

Spoiler-free Movie Review of Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb:

It can be a challenge to review absolutely masterful films like this one, so I often do a bit of research on the interwebs, looking for some colorful background. I remembered that Dr. Strangelove was sort of loosely based on a novel, so I started there, and its an interesting story.

Red Alert (released in England as Two Minutes to Doom) was written in 1958 by British author Peter George. The novel was optioned by Stanley Kubrick, who worked with George and Terry Southern to turn it into a satirical black comedy. The only hitch was that there was another film scheduled for release in 1964 that was also about an accidental nuclear war; Fail-Safe, based on a bestseller by Eugene Burdick & Harvey Wheeler. In order to make sure that Strangelove was the first to theaters, Kubrick & George accused the writers of Fail-Safe of plagiarism, bringing a lawsuit that tied up production on the rival film. The case was settled out of court, and Fail-Safe would go on to be a great movie – but not as successful.

Of course, while the source material may have invited comparison, the similarities ended there, as Dr. Strangelove is unquestionably played for laughs. Interestingly, although I howl every time I see it, I’ve found upon screening it for newcomers to the film that not everyone appreciates the black comedy, finding it dark and depressing. I guess there is a gallows humor aspect that I am drawn to, but I can understand why some people find the film uncomfortable. The sad truth is that while the film is very funny, the reality of Mutually Assured Destruction and the ease with which we all could go up in smoke is very unsettling. The film works not because it’s so far-fetched, but because it isn’t. At all.

The movie is an absolute masterpiece. Maestro Director of Photography Gilbert Taylor made two pictures in 1964 – the other was A Hard Day’s Night – pretty good year. Production Designer Ken Adam, who created the amazing sets for Bond films like Dr. No & Goldfinger, had one of his finest hours with the War Room design. The pacing of the film and the changes in scene locations really sustain the tension, unusual for a comedy. The actors are given room to breathe and time to establish their characters. I’ve avoided saying much about the acting – it’s very good, with George C. Scott & Sterling Hayden particularly fine. I’m a bit conflicted about Peter Sellers. It’s an amazing performance, certainly, but I reflexively hate actors taking on multiple roles in a film. It’s gimmicky and unnecessary, no matter the actor. And while Captain Mandrake & President Muffley are played very effectively straight, the Strangelove performance is just a bit too over the top for me. The affectations are fun, but the reliance on physical gags is wearisome and threatens to devolve the film into farce, just as the original “pie-fight” ending surely would have.

Probably the greatest black comedy ever made, and one of the funniest films of all time, Dr. Strangelove is still meaningful long after the end of the Cold War, because while the circumstances change, it skewers an organizational way of thinking that sadly may always be with us.

Poster:

Trailer:

Bechdel Test:

Fail

The Representation Test Score: D (1 pts)

(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)

[schema type=”movie” name=”Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” description=”An insane general triggers a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically try to stop.” director=”Stanley Kubrick” actor_1=”Peter Sellers” actor_2=”George C. Scott” actor_3=”Sterling Hayden”]

Main Cast	Peter Sellers Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake/President Merkin Muffley/Dr. Strangelove, George C. Scott Gen. ‘Buck’ Turgidson, Sterling Hayden Brig. Gen. Jack Ripper, Keenan Wynn Col. ‘Bat’ Guano
Rating	Approved
Release Date	Wed 29 Jan 1964 UTC
Director	Stanley Kubrick
Genres	Comedy, War
Plot	An insane general triggers a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically try to stop.
Poster
Runtime	95
Tagline	the hot-line suspense comedy
Writers	Stanley Kubrick (screenplay) &, Terry Southern (screenplay) …
Year	1964

July 10, 2014

Jaws (1975)

140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW

Now safely past the 4th of July, we can watch what is arguably Spielberg’s best film. Jaws is so much more than a blockbuster monster movie.

140 Character Movie Review #2 – #140RVW

(NOTE: Would you believe that I sat down to write a review of Jaws for its 40th anniversary, completely forgetting that I’d already written it last year? Oh well, here’s the new #140RVW anyway…)

Impossible to overstate the importance of this film to our modern culture. Yes, that cuts both ways, but I’m mainly referring to positive…

Spoiler-free Movie Review of Jaws:

Now that the 4th of July is behind us, I think it’s safe to review this one. I had planned to release this review during 4th of July weekend, to recreate the terror that the film characters experience over that same holiday, but I selfishly held it. Why? Because I wanted to go swimming and knew I wouldn’t get in the water after writing this…

Jaws is such a popular film that it probably doesn’t need much in the way of a review, anyhow. If you somehow haven’t seen it, you should start now – right now – and then come back. If you have seen it, that’s still good advice…

Much has been written about the making of this film – the difficulties in every part of production, mechanical problems, going over budget by 100 days. I’m not going to get into that stuff. For the best account of the making of the film, try The Jaws Log by co-screenwriter Carl Gottlieb.

Jaws really isn’t about a shark anyway. This is a human story, populated by some truly great characters. The knock on Peter Benchley’s debut novel has always been that the characters weren’t likable, and it was this problem that led to the massive rewrite of Benchley’s screenplay by Gottlieb. (There were also a number of uncredited script “polishers” like John Milius, Matthew Robbins & Hal Barwood.)

It’s impossible to imagine what the film would have been like had things gone according to plan. Without the delays, the on-set rewrites would never have happened. Without the mechanical problems, the clever characterization wouldn’t have needed to stand in for effects wizardry.

This last fact, of course, is why the film is so great. Jaws is the best film example of a happy accident. If the mechanical shark works well, this movie would have been nothing. Gone would be the suspense that makes the film a classic. Spielberg has always been happy to admit that his picture would have been a b-movie monster picture if the technical problems didn’t require a completely different approach.

Even if he had ended up making a gratuitous monster picture, though, it certainly would have been best in class, as it’s a gorgeous film by any standard. If it were shot today, we’d be talking about production design. The beauty of this picture is that there basically isn’t any – this is Martha’s Vineyard. This is island life. If you’ve experienced life in a seaside community, you’ll recognize it. Not only did they retain the character and feel of the island life, they cast islanders in the picture – not just as extras but in named parts.

DP Bill Butler captures the ocean and the island with equal effectiveness; no mean feat. Think of the vastly different shots in the film and how well they all come together – late night low-lit scenes on the dock, campfire scenes, early morning coastal landscapes, municipal interiors, crowded beaches, scenes in a small boat, hand-held POV shots of swimmers. He even has the camera dipping underwater to simulate the feel of treading water near the action. It’s marvelous work.

Incredible underwater footage of live sharks was provided by Australian divers and shark experts Ron & Valerie Taylor, who unfortunately did their job so well that they would spend much of the rest of their careers championing conservation and a better understanding of these amazing creatures that have now been hunted to near extinction, partly as a result of the terror created by this film. In fact, that’s really the only negative thing you can say about Jaws; it has created and fed anti-shark fervor with a brutal effectiveness. As much as I love this movie, it is very nearly single-handedly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of sharks and has made protection of these beautiful animals all but impossible.

Like few films before it, Jaws completely changed the landscape for filmmaking, advertising and film release strategy. It virtually invented the summer blockbuster, wide theatrical releases and massive promotions. That’s all just marketing – more importantly it established a visionary filmmaker and an “event” style of motion picture. A good adventure thriller became something far more because of fascinating characters, fully realized by great acting. It’s still the best…