Dr. Strangelove [40th Anniversary Special Edition]

says "the art of stanley kubrick" is the new feature but it was on the special ed. this is basically the same, but how can it be 2 discs?

As you point out, Jim, trying to judge the video on the various DVD transfers of "Strangelove" is a tedious chore. Originally, the movie was shot at a ratio of 1.37:1, and when it was initially shown in theaters Kubrick matted a few selected scenes to 1.66:1. So, it was a variable-ratio showing. However, in the first two DVD editions, Columbia pretty much left all the scenes close to 1.33:1 (or, oddly, more like a 1.45:1 compromise, with a small black bar visible at the bottom of the screen). Now, you say the whole movie is at 1.66:1? That, I believe, is the way the film was later matted for theatrical rerelease.

Kubrick, of course, wanted all of the films he shot at 1.37:1 to be transferred to video in their original camera-negative aspect ratio, but with "Strangelove" it looks like he still hasn't gotten his way. Oh, well.

John

Great review but no 10 for Strangelove? Man, Jim, you are one tough cookie! :)

For some reason, this was the last Kubrick film (and I do worship Kubrick) to open up to me. It took me about four viewings when all of the sudden I couldn't hold back the laughter anymore. "Mein fuhrer, I can walk!" has to be the funniest last line a film has ever had. And "We'll Meet Again" over the mushroom clouds is the finest use of pop music as ironic counterpoint I have ever seen.

I measure my own admiration for Kubrick by this: I think Strangelove is one of the greatest films ever made. I'm not sure I think it's one of Kubrick's five best.

At least this sounds like a much better package than the horribly disappointing "special edition" of 2001. I guess I'm off to the store next week!

The general brilliance of this movie has an unfortunate side effect--that of burying public awareness of a movie called "Fail Safe", which is basically "Strangelove" as a pure drama. "Fail Safe" is a near-great movie in its own right, and I recommend it to anyone who bothers to listen to me. :)

The whole movie is in 1.66:1 on this edition. Thanks for the background, John. It adds a lot to the discussion.

Chris, if we had "halves," I would have given it a 9 1/2 because I think the humor has slipped just a bit over time, though I was actually thinking, as I slept on it after filing my review, that I could just as easily have rounded up, not down. Though the jokes are no longer as laugh-out-loud funny, we're now, as a result, able to even better appreciate the performances and Kubrick's nuclear "noir" aesthetics. So maybe I'm unfairly weighing the impact of the film then versus now. Can you imagine seeing this in the theater for the first time, the impact it had when Slim Pickens rode that bomb down??? Man, were WE blown away!

"I recommend it to anyone who bothers to listen to me." --posters5

Hey, I listen. I don't pay a lot of attention, but I listen.

Wait. What did you say?

John

I dunno, I "laugh out loud" at this movie more than all but two or three others I can think of. Of course, the problem is that, after what we've endured the last four years, people might not realize that President Muffley and his generals were actually meant to be caricatures ... :(

DR STRANGELOVE OR HOW I LEARNED HOW TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB.

I love you and let me count the ways. I bought this movie first as part of the STANLEY KUBRICK COLLECTION, then again as it was included in the REMASTERED STANLEY KUBRICK COLLECTION, and then again with COLUMBIA'S SPECIAL EDITION of this title.
Somewhere along the line there was a single disk edition that had Slim Pickens riding the bomb on the cover.

Enough is Enough. This is one of the movies I was fortunate to see on the big screen and was one of the first hundred DVDs I purchased. Now this. I can not afford to re-buy every movie Please convince me why this 40th Anniversary Special Edition is worth my extra expense. How many more editions are yet to be manufactured before the 45th for 50th Anniversary?

If I didn't have the other copies I would lurch for it. I can't believe some of my movie collector friends and co-workers never saw it. It's one of those movies that can never be duplicated. If home video didn't kill the movie repertory theatre, I would urge everyone to see this on the largest screen possible.
If I ever get around to writing an article about movies that disturbed me, the ending of Dr Strangelove will be included.