# I just watched Dr. Strangelove for the first time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 20, 2015, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158 "2015-02-20T02:42:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/41 "2015-02-20T15:51:43Z")
I was born in 77, didn’t see it until the 2000s, and loved it. Great movie. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/42 "2015-02-20T15:54:25Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > you had to be there. This. Its among a list of “generational humor” films like The Magic Christian and others that you have to be in a certain age range (or really into a certain era) to really “get”. I would be curious though – have you seen the original “Casino Royale” (1967) and how did that one strike you? ---
**Author:** ![Trafalgar\_Laura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trafalgar_laura/32/2907_2.png) [@Trafalgar\_Laura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trafalgar_Laura)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/43 "2015-02-20T16:15:20Z")
Just thought I’d chime in that I was born in 1981, and when the Cold War ended I was too young to understand what that meant, but I still found the movie hilarious when I first watched it in my early 20s. I did understand what the Cold War had been and, just as I could appreciate a movie about WWII, I could appreciate this movie. I think the difference is more a personal issue of what you find funny. It’s certainly possible to understand and appreciate it even if you didn’t live through that era in the US. Nothing wrong with liking it or not liking it, anyhow. My wife is from Taiwan and I keep intending to show the movie to her; I’m curious to see how she enjoys it, if at all. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/44 "2015-02-20T16:24:47Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > This. Its among a list of “generational humor” films like The Magic Christian and others that you have to be in a certain age range (or really into a certain era) to really “get”. I would be curious though – have you seen the original “Casino Royale” (1967) and how did that one strike you? I don’t agree about it being “Generational”. I hated The Magic Christian. I hated Casino Royale when it came out (liked the music, though). Dr. Strangelove makes more sense in context, but it’s a great piece of filmmaking. Not being Of That Generation shouldn’t make it inaccessible. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/45 "2015-02-20T16:37:08Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > I was born in 77, didn’t see it until the 2000s, and loved it. Great movie. > [@nealla](#): > > Just thought I’d chime in that I was born in 1981, and when the Cold War ended I was too young to understand what that meant, but I still found the movie hilarious when I first watched it in my early 20s. > [@kopek](#): > > This. Its among a list of “generational humor” films like The Magic Christian and others that you have to be in a certain age range (or really into a certain era) to really “get”. I didn’t mean to say that unless you lived through it, you wouldn’t get it. But I do think it helps. I think, as **nealla** said, it’s more of a personal issue. Some people prefer slapstick to satire. Some deluded people don’t like _Monty Python’s Flying Circus_. Some people don’t like costume dramas. Personally, I have to say that I think _Dr. Strangelove_ is one of the funniest films ever made. On preview: I didn’t like _Casino Royale_. I saw it in the '90s. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/46 "2015-02-20T16:45:02Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > And I was underwhelmed. > > I’d heard so much about this movie, and Peter Sellers was great, but what a disappointing film. > > George C. Scott was good too. > > I didn’t like the movie though. It wasn’t funny. It wasn’t anything. I didn’t like it either. Born in 1970, and it’s been quite a while since I saw it, but I don’t plan on watching it again. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/47 "2015-02-20T16:53:53Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I didn’t like it either. Born in 1970, and it’s been quite a while since I saw it, but I don’t plan on watching it again. But… but… how about if they _Colorize_ it? ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/48 "2015-02-20T16:54:51Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I don’t agree about it being “Generational”. > > I hated The Magic Christian. I hated Casino Royale when it came out (liked the music, though). > > Dr. Strangelove makes more sense in context, but it’s a great piece of filmmaking. Not being Of That Generation shouldn’t make it inaccessible. Just because we’re the same age doesn’t mean we’re going to find the same things funny. As we always say here YMMV. It does put it into a context for us though. To have escaped the themes the humor was based on you would have to have lived about 15 years in a fallout bunker. Yes - younger people can “get” it – if they have been raised with a knowledge of the time and events or studied it for themselves. But without that background or knowledge its just a fairly dumb and not very well thought out movie. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/49 "2015-02-20T17:07:32Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > That is a great line, but I’d heard it before. That’s really a huge problem with almost every classic movie. So much of it has already crept into your brain from one place or another that the freshness and originality of the original release is gone. Has anyone in the last 75 years reacted to Rhett walking out on Scarlett like the audience that originally watched\* Gone With the Wind\*? Do first-time viewers of _The Godfather_ get the same chill when Michael says, “It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s strictly business”? If we’re no longer blown away by the cinematography of _Birth of a Nation_ and _Citizen Kane_, the animation of _Snow White_ or the special effects of _King Kong_ or _The Wizard of Oz_, why should the satire of\* Dr. Strangelove\* be any different. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/50 "2015-02-20T17:17:32Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > That’s really a huge problem with almost every classic movie. So much of it has already crept into your brain from one place or another that the freshness and originality of the original release is gone. > > Has anyone in the last 75 years reacted to Rhett walking out on Scarlett like the audience that originally watched\* Gone With the Wind\*? Do first-time viewers of _The Godfather_ get the same chill when Michael says, “It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s strictly business”? > > If we’re no longer blown away by the cinematography of _Birth of a Nation_ and _Citizen Kane_, the animation of _Snow White_ or the special effects of _King Kong_ or _The Wizard of Oz_, why should the satire of\* Dr. Strangelove\* be any different. Yeah, lot of that going on, but at the same time the classics can work _because_ of their re-use. For example, I recently watched _Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid_ for the first time. The whole time was like reading Shakespeare : “Oh, so _that_’s where that thing comes from !” and “Ooooh, I get this joke from _that_ other show now !” Now, if only someone could explain to me what the fuck the bicycle scene was about… ---
**Author:** ![CGav8r](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@CGav8r](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CGav8r)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/51 "2015-02-20T17:22:50Z")
Saw it in '86, when I was 18 and enjoyed it tremendously. I knew going in that it would be subtle and dry satire, which is sometimes a hard target to do well. I thought it was fantastic, and very funny. > [@](#): > > Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Uh, Jack, Jack, listen… tell me, tell me, Jack. When did you first… become… well, develop this theory? > > General Jack D. Ripper: [somewhat embarassed] Well, I, uh… I… I… first became aware of it, Mandrake, during the physical act of love. > > Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Hmm. > > General Jack D. Ripper: Yes, a uh, a profound sense of fatigue… a feeling of emptiness followed. Luckily I… I was able to interpret these feelings correctly. Loss of essence. > > Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Hmm. > > General Jack D. Ripper: I can assure you it has not recurred, Mandrake. Women uh… women sense my power and they seek the life essence. I, uh… I do not avoid women, Mandrake. > > Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: No. > > General Jack D. Ripper: But I… I do deny them my essence. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/52 "2015-02-20T17:26:03Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > If you enjoyed Sterling Hayden, you should see some of his B&W dramas, > > He was the star of some truly great dramas: > > The Killing (one of the truly great Stanley Kubrick films) rated 8.1 > [The Killing (1956) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049406/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_41) > > The Asphalt Jungle rated 7.9 > [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042208/?ref\_=nm\_flmg\_act\_66](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042208/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_66) Don’t miss _Johnny Guitar_ unintentionally howlingly funny as Mercedes McCambridge and Joan Crawford fight over the man in a Western. Sterling plays the man, who sings songs on a guitar. Oh, the humanity! ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/53 "2015-02-20T18:01:31Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > That’s really a huge problem with almost every classic movie. So much of it has already crept into your brain from one place or another that the freshness and originality of the original release is gone. “Now we see Shakespeare to wait for the quotations.” - Oscar Wilde, ca. 1900. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/54 "2015-02-20T18:37:05Z")
The only solution to this thread is for **Leafan** to give us a list of movies he _DOES_ enjoy and let us all tell him just what his tastes are. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/55 "2015-02-20T18:55:22Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > But… but… how about if they _Colorize_ it? Mr. President, we must not allow a Colorization gap! ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/56 "2015-02-20T18:58:31Z")
You know who else didn’t like Dr. Strangelove? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/57 "2015-02-20T18:59:47Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > You know who else didn’t like Dr. Strangelove? The bomb, at first. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/58 "2015-02-20T19:06:16Z")
Mrs. Eidlewilde, my 6th grade homeroom teacher. She was a fan of _ **HITLER!** _ Well, not really… ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/59 "2015-02-20T19:11:40Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > You know who else didn’t like Dr. Strangelove? Anyone associated with _Fail-Safe_? ---
**Author:** ![TheFaerie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TheFaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFaerie)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/60 "2015-02-20T19:14:20Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > You’re going to have to answer to the Coca-Cola company. > > Sorry it didn’t float your boat. It is one of the best movies ever made. And funny. But we can’t have any fighting over it, this is the war room after all. > [@Don\_Draper](#): > > “Gentlemen! You can’t fight in here! This is the war room!” > > I just like to say that whenever I get a chance. It’s such a great line. 🙂 > [@Leaffan](#): > > That is a great line, but I’d heard it before. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158.md?page=4)