# Dr. Strangelove: Do you know it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 11, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056 "2011-02-11T19:51:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/61 "2011-02-12T02:08:44Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Vegas is way funnier… Vegas was a different place back in 1964. For one thing, it had the _real_ Elvis instead of a bunch of impersonators. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/62 "2011-02-12T02:11:34Z")
You win. It’s totally a classic. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/63 "2011-02-12T02:45:31Z")
> [@Satchmo](#): > > I’ve always thought that it was originally Dallas because Major Kong was from Texas and he knew what you needed for a good time in Dallas. They changed it because of Kennedy’s killing. (though you probably already knew that) Yes, but even so, Vegas is funnier. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/64 "2011-02-12T03:10:57Z")
I hadn’t seen it until recently, although I had categorized it as “classic I haven’t seen” in my head. I knew it was going to be good and I knew it was going to be a satire, but I was amazed by just how FUNNY it was. Satire doesn’t have to be funny, so it wasn’t what I was expecting in the least. And while Peter Sellers rightfully gets so much respect for this film, I was more blown away by George C Scott. I loved the little blooper towards the end where he actually fell down IRL and they kept rolling and he kept going like that was supposed to have happened all along. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/65 "2011-02-12T03:30:10Z")
> [@Satchmo](#): > > All right men, Survival kit contents check. In them you’ll find: one forty-five caliber automatic; two boxes of ammunition; four days’ concentrated emergency rations; one drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills; one miniature combination Rooshian phrase book and Bible; one hundred dollars in rubles; one hundred dollars in gold; nine packs of chewing gum; one issue of prophylactics; three lipsticks; three pair of nylon stockings. Shoot, a fella’ could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff. That’s my favorite bit too. > [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > I never understood why Pickens’ line was originally “Shoot, a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Dallas with all that stuff.” Vegas is way funnier, and was Dallas a party town at the time? Again, my sentiments exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/66 "2011-02-12T04:08:52Z")
As the 200th person to pick option 1, let me tell you a story: One day I was in a training at my job but we finished something like an hour before the shift ended, and we weren’t allowed to work-work. So we killed time playing generic non-trademark infringing whiteboard Pictionary. When Dr Strangelove came up, half the people knew it, and the other half didn’t even think it sounded real. Most of the people there were between 18 and 25- everyone over 30 in the room and about a third of the 18-25 year olds, including me, knew the film. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/67 "2011-02-12T06:28:59Z")
I love this movie. It is a fantastic ensemble film. There are no weak performances. But Sellers on the phone with the drunk Russian leader is mind blowing great. You can ‘hear’ the other side of the conversation by Sellers performance. Very few actors ever do this sort of bit because it is so hard. Bob Newhart used to do entire stand up routines as one sided phone conversations. I never got the ‘sex’ scene idea from the beginning. And yes my college course in ‘film appreciation’ taught me that was a sex scene but I don’t really see it. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/68 "2011-02-12T07:40:09Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Definitely. But I’m not sure the folks on this board constitute a random cross-section of moviegoers. We tend to be zealots. > [@Gustav](#): > > Poll results would probably be a bit less one-sided if the thread title were something more vague, like “poll: do you know this movie”. Yes, my girlfriend raised both of these objections (biased sample, loaded poll question) as well, but I think even controlling for these factors leaves a somewhat solid case… Me, however, I’m at this point just getting giddy about the amount of love on here for this movie, and reading everyone’s quotes, stories, and trivia. > [@Leiko](#): > > One day I was in a training at my job but we finished something like an hour before the shift ended, and we weren’t allowed to work-work. So we killed time playing generic non-trademark infringing whiteboard Pictionary. When Dr Strangelove came up, half the people knew it, and the other half didn’t even think it sounded real. Most of the people there were between 18 and 25- everyone over 30 in the room and about a third of the 18-25 year olds, including me, knew the film. We should probably proselytize more in our age group. I’ve given the film away as a gift to a friend (on the occasion of his 30th birthday…) just a couple weeks ago… ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/69 "2011-02-12T07:48:35Z")
> [@Satchmo](#): > > All right men, Survival kit contents check. In them you’ll find: one forty-five caliber automatic; two boxes of ammunition; four days’ concentrated emergency rations; one drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills; one miniature combination Rooshian phrase book and Bible; one hundred dollars in rubles; one hundred dollars in gold; nine packs of chewing gum; one issue of prophylactics; three lipsticks; three pair of nylon stockings. Shoot, a fella’ could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff. > > I have to agree, Kubrick and Sellers and Pickens at their very best. Every single one of those items was on my Christmas list when I was 17… ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/70 "2011-02-12T16:10:57Z")
Mein Furheur ! I loved it and still love it. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/71 "2011-02-12T17:47:56Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > Well, without further data, like, “Do you know it?” or “Do you like it?”, your age doesn’t tell us much. . . 😃 > > I personally love it. Ha…touche… Knew it…liked it well enough. ---
**Author:** ![UncaStuart](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncastuart/32/404_2.png) [@UncaStuart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaStuart)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/72 "2011-02-12T17:49:38Z")
> [@Trans Fat Og](#): > > > [@Chronos](#): > > > > It is the stated position of the United States Air Force that the safeguards in place would be sufficient to prevent the events depicted in this film. > > Say, didn’t they actually have a similar statement shown on the screen after the “Fail Safe” film? Yes, I remember the audience having a good, though nervous, laugh when that scrolled by on the screen. ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/73 "2011-02-12T18:25:08Z")
I’m 25 and I love that movie. I’m not at all a film buff, though i have seen a few classic films. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/74 "2011-02-12T21:23:58Z")
> [@](#): > > One day I was in a training at my job but we finished something like an hour before the shift ended, and we weren’t allowed to work-work. So we killed time playing generic non-trademark infringing whiteboard Pictionary. When Dr Strangelove came up, half the people knew it, and the other half didn’t even think it sounded real. Most of the people there were between 18 and 25- everyone over 30 in the room and about a third of the 18-25 year olds, including me, knew the film. Let me guess: You drew a stick figure in a cowboy hat riding a bomb? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/75 "2011-02-12T23:20:47Z")
I’ve seen bits of it. And I may have even seen the whole of it when I was very young but I can’t remember any of it apart from the clips I’ve seen subsequently. So I checked “haven’t seen it”. I am decidedly a non-fan of Kubrick. I don’t know what people see in him, I find all his work to be the opposite of entertainment. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/76 "2011-02-12T23:47:58Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I am decidedly a non-fan of Kubrick. I don’t know what people see in him, I find all his work to be the opposite of entertainment. I don’t need to be “entertained” to respect and like or love a movie, what the hell kind of yardstick is that? But, Strangelove is unlike any other Kubrick movie anyway. While other of his movies do have humorous moments amid the drama, some more than others, this is is an out and out comedy, and a very funny comedy. It IS entertaining. I would think that even people who hate Kubrick’s dramas would find this funny. Obviously 3 people don’t. I don’t understand it, but people are strange. Needless to say, I love love LOVE it. ---
**Author:** ![Heyoka13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Heyoka13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heyoka13)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/77 "2011-02-12T23:51:51Z")
Probably just me, but if forced to pick between Dr. Strangelove, The Shining, or Full Metal Jacket, I would have a tough time. They are all so different from each other, yet just so totally Kubrickian, it would just be difficult. Curiously, for me at least, The Shining gets better with age, and for me, has ‘caught up’ with Dr. Strangelove and Full Metal Jacket, finally. The ‘reveal’ in FMJ, of the sniper being a young girl is still visceral for me, and then after her death, the movie cuts to the platoon singing the Mickey Mouse song, just a stunning piece of cinema. The sustained excellence of Dr. Strangelove makes designating a particular scene as being supperlative is impossible. So many moments of Dr. Strangelove have entered the collective shared experience of all of us. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/78 "2011-02-12T23:55:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Let me guess: You drew a stick figure in a cowboy hat riding a bomb? I was on the opposite team: the person who was doing the drawing did a doctor with a stereotypical mirror-light hat (you know, like a headlamp?) and a heart with a question mark on it. I was surprised they’d gone rebus rather than iconic image until I found out they didn’t know the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2011, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/79 "2011-02-13T01:01:06Z")
I have (of course) seen it, and it is a classic. It is also unfortunately little-seen by the most recent generations, in no small part because it stars all actors who are dead and is in black and white. That is unfortunate because while it is a phenomenal comedy in its own right, it also makes some very salient points about the absurdity of nuclear deterrence (literally drawn from the lectures of RAND Corporation and later Hudson Institute theorist Herman Kahn) and many of the bizarre, unvalidated concepts arising from it. The concealment of the “Doomsday Device”, thereby negating its value as a deterrent while increasing the likelihood of unintended catastrophe is mirrored in the Soviet “Biopreparat” biowarfare program, which concocted virulent strains of contagious agents intended to be used against civilian populations but was totally unknown by Western military and intelligence agencies until the fall of the Soviet Union. “Based on the findings of the report, my conclusion was that this idea was not a practical deterrent for reasons which at this moment must be all too obvious.” I also love that the actual motto of the Strategic Air Command (“Peace Is Our Profession”) appears repeatedly in the background, often in battle scenes as when the airmen are defending the air force base against Col ‘Bat’ Guano’s army forces. Brilliant, brilliant film, and as good as Peter Sellars is in it, Sterling Hayden (in his comeback role) and George C. Scott make this movie. Scott played the role straight, and essentially repeated his performance fifteen years later in _Patton_. Slim Pickens is perfect as Major Kong, as well; opening the secure safe just to pull out his cowboy hat, reading the survival kit contents (“Shoot, a fellah could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all this stuff,”), and riding the fatal bomb down are all memorable moments. Top Five movie, easily. And along with _Brazil_ and _Wag The Dog_, it is one of the most subversive films to ever emerge from Hollywood. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2011, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/80 "2011-02-13T01:17:28Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > I don’t need to be “entertained” to respect and like or love a movie, what the hell kind of yardstick is that? It’s _my_ yardstick. I don’t mean only making me laugh or thrill me; a thought provoking drama, or a harrowing sorrowful tale can still entertain me. I just find Kubrick’s style to not work for me. I’ve watched four of his films, and every time I came away disappointed or bored. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056.md?page=5)