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Dr. Strangelove Movie Poster
Plot, Details & Awards

Dr. Strangelove

Not Rated In Theaters 01/29/1964 , 93min.
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Plot & Details

In 1964, with the Cuban Missile Crisis fresh in viewers' minds, the Cold War at its frostiest, and the hydrogen bomb relatively new and frightening, Stanley Kubrick dared to make a film about what could happen if the wrong person pushed the wrong button -- and played the situation for laughs. Dr. Strangelove's jet-black satire (from a script by director Stanley Kubrick, Peter George, and Terry Southern) and a host of superb comic performances (including three from Peter Sellers) have kept the film fresh and entertaining, even as its issues have become (slightly) less timely. Loaded with thermonuclear weapons, a U.S. bomber piloted by Maj. T.J. "King" Kong (Slim Pickens) is on a routine flight pattern near the Soviet Union when they receive orders to commence Wing Attack Plan R, best summarized by Maj. Kong as "Nuclear combat! Toe to toe with the Russkies!" On the ground at Burpleson Air Force Base, Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake (Peter Sellers) notices nothing on the news about America being at war. Gen. Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) calmly informs him that he gave the command to attack the Soviet Union because it was high time someone did something about fluoridation, which is sapping Americans' bodily fluids (and apparently has something to do with Ripper's sexual dysfunction). Meanwhile, President Merkin Muffley (Sellers again) meets with his top Pentagon advisors, including super-hawk Gen. Buck Turgidson (George C. Scott), who sees this as an opportunity to do something about Communism in general and Russians in particular. However, the ante is upped considerably when Soviet ambassador de Sadesky (Peter Bull) informs Muffley and his staff of the latest innovation in Soviet weapons technology: a "Doomsday Machine" that will destroy the entire world if the Russians are attacked.
  • MPAA Rating: Not Rated
  • Genre(s): Comedy
  • Run Time: 93min.
  • Theatrical Release Date: 01/29/1964
  • DVD Release Date: 09/10/1997
  • Status: In Theaters
  • Distributor(s): Columbia Pictures
  • Director(s): Stanley Kubrick
  • Starring: Peter Sellers , George C. Scott , Sterling Hayden , Keenan Wynn , Slim Pickens
  • Themes: Renegade Body Parts,War in the Sky,End of the World,Race Against Time
  • Tone: Deadpan,Biting,Literate,Witty,Cautionary,Cynical,Irreverent,Satirical
  • Keywords: General,President,Soviet,airplane,bomb,mad-scientist,mental-illness,military,military-crisis,nuclear-weapon,paranoia,pilot,politician,war,wheelchair
  • Country of Origin: USA (01-30-1964)
  • Language: English

Awards

Academy Awards

Year Award CategoryCast & Crew Result
1964 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director Stanley Kubrick Nominated
1964 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Actor Peter Sellers Nominated
1964 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Screenplay Peter George Nominated
1964 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Screenplay Terry Southern Nominated
1964 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Screenplay Stanley Kubrick Nominated
1964 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture Stanley Kubrick Nominated

British Academy of Film and Television Arts

Year Award CategoryCast & Crew Result
1964 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Film - Any Source Stanley Kubrick Won
1964 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best British Film Stanley Kubrick Won