# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/61 "2015-02-20T19:26:01Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I think people who prefer ‘recent’ films ‘get’ irony. I’m not so sure they ‘get’ satire. While satire and irony are related, they are different. Satire often uses irony to make its point. While I agree with your overall point, I’d like to make a small nitpick: Irony is a very broad concept of which satire is one subset. “Irony” basically means “multiple layers of meaning that conflict with each other”. Satire is a form of irony, sarcasm is a form of irony, etc. The point that some people “get” certain kinds of irony but not others is well made though. Personally, I think Dr. Strangelove is one of the best movies ever made. Certainly in my top ten. I was born in '82, and didn’t see it until 2002 or so, but I also have a pretty deep knowledge of 20th century history and attitudes, so I “get” much of the movie that I think others with a different perspective might miss. Nothing wrong with that. Everyone has different interests and priorities. I’m not going to look down on anyone for their tastes. OP hates Dr. Strangelove, I hate My Dinner With Andre. (:barf:) Different strokes for different folks. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/62 "2015-02-20T19:29:52Z")
I am hard-pressed to think of any comedy in the 60s that even comes close to **Strangelove** in terms of writing, characterization, and simply hardcore laughs. With a few exceptions, most of Kubrick’s stuff holds up remarkably well because it remains smart, soulful, incisive, and merciless in its depictions of human nature. While a few cultural nuances may be lost over the passage of time, **Strangelove** isn’t largely dependent on that for its humor. But the humor is incredibly dry and very deadpan and for those people who need more obvious cues to tell them when to laugh, it’s not going to impress them much because subversive wit very rarely goes out of its way to signal these things–it’s just a part of the landscape and easily overlooked. ---
**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, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/63 "2015-02-20T22:35:10Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > While I agree with your overall point, I’d like to make a small nitpick: Irony is a very broad concept of which satire is one subset. “Irony” basically means “multiple layers of meaning that conflict with each other”. Satire is a form of irony, sarcasm is a form of irony, etc. I disagree. Satire is the holding up or persons, institutions, etc. to ridicule. Irony is the juxtaposition of opposites. For example, it is ironic that Senator Stongbottom is vehemently opposed to equal rights for homosexuals, and condemns homosexuality as an abomination, yet he is himself a homosexual. Satire is the creation of a ‘Senator Strongbottom’ character (or caricature) to display the real senator’s hypocrisy. My earlier example of fighting taking place near a sign that says ‘Peace Is Our Profession’ is ironic. Showing a military force behaving violently while its ‘mission statement’ is peace is satirical. Or, the Colt 1873 was called ‘The Peacemaker’. That’s ironic because it was used to kill so many people. Satire would be naming the Colt 1873 ‘The Peacemaker’ for the purpose of making a point about its being anything but peaceful. Satire uses irony within a context. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/64 "2015-02-20T22:35:38Z")
I was born in the late 1980s and I think **Dr. Strangelove** is one of the best films ever made. Kubrick is my favorite director, and I think most of his stuff holds up pretty well. In fact, the only film of his I don’t like is **Eyes Wide Shut,** which was his last film. I suppose there are two kinds of people in this world. People who don’t think the threat of nuclear armageddon is the ultimate joke, and those who do. Scenes that I can’t even think about without laughing: General Turgidson clutching a folder entitled: “Projected Civilian Casualties measured in Megadeaths.” The president’s angry protest that he thought he was the only one with the authority to deploy nuclear weapons being met with the reply of: “Yes… well… it would appear that General Ripper has exceeded his authority.” This phone call [Dr. Strangelove (3/8) Movie CLIP - Hello Dimitri (1964) HD - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEB-OoUrNuk) I mean, how does one go about explaining that one has just accidentally started a nuclear war? I could go on and on really. The point is, I don’t think you have to be old to like **Dr. Strange Love.** I’m a strapping young buck and I think the film gets funnier every time I watch it. ---
**Author:** ![Archeonomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Archeonomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archeonomist)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/65 "2015-02-21T02:32:19Z")
I have to watch it again I think. The one time I saw this movie was with my then girlfriend who absolutely did NOT enjoy it, and was sure to let me know that. As I recall I thought it was pretty OK, apart from the Strangelove character - I get the parody, I just thought it was too much, I dunno, funny voices, slapsticky. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/66 "2015-02-21T02:37:10Z")
Humor is very time-sensitive. Try watching “Stalag 17” now. The main story still works but the parts that are supposed to be funny fall flat on their face. Another example is one of my favorites from way back when: “The President’s Analyst”. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/67 "2015-02-21T02:44:06Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I suppose. I was born in '62. Then you weren’t aware when we all–even Canadians–nearly died that October. It gave people born before you a fatalism that made us “seize the day” for years after not waking up dead. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Nobody was building bunkers when I was growing up. They were when I was. Doc Looney (real name) used his as a wine cellar. > [@](#): > > Now, if only someone could explain to me what the fuck the bicycle scene was about… It was about selling records, silly. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/68 "2015-02-21T02:47:05Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Another example is one of my favorites from way back when: “The President’s Analyst”. Pure paranoia or [a remarkably prescient movie?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUa3np4CKC4) It was BOTH! ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/69 "2015-02-21T02:54:57Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > 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. > > 😉 Maybe that’s the thing. I don’t watch a lot of movies. When I was a kid there were no VCRs. You had to wait until a movie came on TV, like The Wizard of Oz once a year. When VCRs and movie rentals became available I was about 20 and my parents didn’t own a VCR. When we rented movies we rented the VCR and 2 or 3 tapes. Shortly after, I left my parents’ house and moved 400 miles away. No one owned a VCR at the time. They shortly became popular but the group I hung around with was more interested in music and conversation, so movie nights were limited to a sporadic Monty Python night or Airplane! or something. There are hundreds of classical movies I’ve never seen due to my demographics and who I hung around with. When I got married in 1996 my (ex)wife would only rent the latest releases. I could never choose a classic that I hadn’t seen. Since we separated two years ago I’ve slowly been trying to catch up on classics, but to be honest I don’t like devoting 2 hours to watching a movie. There are almost no movie rental places now, and my rural internet speed won’t support Netflix. I’ve been a victim of technology and marriage! ---
**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 21, 2015, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/70 "2015-02-21T02:57:24Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > Mrs. Eidlewilde, my 6th grade homeroom teacher. > > She was a fan of _ **HITLER!** _ I think its required that all 6th grade teachers be fans of _ **HITLER!** _ ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/71 "2015-02-21T03:06:03Z")
It would explain a lot about Sister Mary Jane. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/72 "2015-02-21T06:41:09Z")
Born in 1986, I was never around to appreciate the cold war. I still loved the movie. You definitely don’t have to have been through the cold war to appreciate Dr. Strangelove. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/73 "2015-02-21T07:04:30Z")
> [@SecretaryofEvil](#): > > General Turgidson clutching a folder entitled: “Projected Civilian Casualties measured in Megadeaths.” I was going to mention this as Kubrick’s joke on Fail Safe, where this concept was treated seriously. And I think the book was “Equivalent Cities in Megadeaths.” But I have been meaning to watch it again when I get the chance. Other great stuff, which no one has mentioned, is on the plane. Kubrick did this realistic set with no help from the Air Force. (Hardly surprising.) Slim Pickens, a great last minute choice. And the beautiful irony that the heroism and problem solving ability of the B52 crew results in the end of the world. I saw it when it first came out, and have loved it ever since. I have the novelization and “Red Alert” which it was kind of based on. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/74 "2015-02-21T07:09:15Z")
OK. Don’t beat me up here, but I’m thinking maybe I don’t appreciate satire as comedy. I recall watching “Spinal Tap” the first time and not liking it very much; it was too reality-based to be funny. Over the years, as I re-watched Spinal Tap, I came to terms with the satire and learned to enjoy the movie for what it was. The Marx Brothers are satirical, and I love their movies though. I dunno. Shit the Three Stooges are funny to me. I don’t know how to compartmentalize all this. Funny to me is: Monty Python Airplane! Police Squad Benny Hill George Carlin SCTV Bill Maher Early Simpsons The Flintstones Bugs Bunny Green Acres Beverly Hillbillies Charlie Chaplin Buster Keaton etc. ETA: Not much “high brow” stuff now that I think about it. Hmmmm… ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/75 "2015-02-21T07:22:21Z")
Lordy lordy.what to say. Yes the film was of its time but come on! Do we not still worry about military uñderlings overstepping their bounds? About powerful people disregarding the fate of the cannon fodder? Leaders being utterly disconnected from their actions ( Leaffan, this may not have spoke to you, but i would have bet everyone involved in writing Airplane loved Dr strange love ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/76 "2015-02-21T07:31:36Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > …Leaffan, this may not have spoke to you, but i would have bet everyone involved in writing Airplane loved Dr strange love Hey, yeah. They probably did. I can’t account for personal taste. The film left me flat. I like these discussions though. I’m not pontificating anything at all; I’m just giving my brash opinion. Peter Sellers in The Party and The Pink Panther, from the same era, were wonderful films. To each his own. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/77 "2015-02-21T07:39:58Z")
To each his own for sure. But I have to say:: Airplane! is a lower version of the same type of comedy as Dr S.L. And I know “lower” is loaded but I liked Airplane! so please don’t take it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/78 "2015-02-21T11:53:33Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > My sister, who is eight years older than I am, doesn’t like to watch B&W movies. (I showed her a photograph I made that I was rather proud of. She said, ‘Why is it black and white?’ I told her, ‘Um… Because I used black and white film.’) Someone I worked with, who is young enough to be my daughter, said she doesn’t like B&W movies. I love B&W films. Some modern films made by excellent directors (like Stanley Kubrick who directed Dr. Strangelove and Mel Brooks who directed Young Frankenstein) just don’t feel the same way to me as older B&W films. I’m not sure exactly why it is, but those earlier films transport me to the time and place shown in the film. I think I should just shut up now and list some of my favorites. Many involve James Mason or Humphrey Bogart. For anyone interested, here is a list of some of my favorite B&W films. Many of these can be classed as “Film Noir”. If you are ever in the mood for a B&W film, I hope you will enjoy some of these. I just picked some of my favorite. This list is by no means complete. 1941 The Maltese Falcon (Bogart) 1942 Across The Pacific (Bogart) 1948 The Treasure Of Sierra Madre (Bogart) 1954 Sabrina (Bogart) 1947 Odd Man Out (James Mason) 1951 The Desert Fox (James Mason) 1952 5 Fingers (James Mason) 1959 North By Northwest (James Mason) 1962 Lolita (James Mason) 1932 I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang 1940 Virginia City 1941 49th Parallel 1941 The Little Foxes 1942 Once Upon A Honeymoon 1942 Saboteur 1944 Double Indemnity 1944 Laura 1944 Murder My Sweet 1946 Green For Danger 1946 The Best Years Of Our Lives 1946 The Killers (Robert Mitchum) 1946 The Postman Always Rings Twice 1946 The Razors Edge 1947 Lady In The Lake 1947 Monsieur Verdoux (Charlie Chaplin) 1947 Out of The Past (Robert Mitchum) 1948 The Naked City 1949 White Heat 1949 Impact 1949 The Big Steal 1950 Caged 1950 Mystery Street 1950 Sunset Blvd 1950 The Asphalt Jungle (Sterling Hayden) 1950 Winchester 73 1952 Kansas City Confidential 1953 Stalag 17 1956 Invasion Of T Body Snatchers 1956 The Killing 1957 12 Angry Men 1959 On The Beach 1960 The Apartment 1962 To Kill A Mockingbird 1964 Dr. Strangelove 1965 In Harm’s Way 1984 Broadway Danny Rose 1993 Schlindler’s List ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/79 "2015-02-21T13:11:33Z")
> [@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. Well actually if you don’t mind my saying so that’s a very funny way of looking at it, I mean… [checks **Leaffan’s** thread starting history in Cafe Society] Oh… ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158/80 "2015-02-21T14:58:00Z")
I thought Failsafe, which I liked, was a better movie than Dr. Strangelove, which I didn’t. But part of it is that I’m not really a fan of Kubrick’s, maybe. The only films of his I liked were Spartacus and Barry Lyndon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-dr-strangelove-for-the-first-time/713158.md?page=5)