Gary Tooze wrote:http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film5/blu-ray_reviews_72/dr_strangelove_blu-ray.htmStanley Kubrick’s painfully funny take on Cold War anxiety is one of the fiercest satires of human folly ever to come out of Hollywood. The matchless shape-shifter Peter Sellers plays three wildly different roles: Royal Air Force Captain Lionel Mandrake, timidly trying to stop a nuclear attack on the USSR ordered by an unbalanced general (Sterling Hayden); the ineffectual and perpetually dumbfounded U.S. President Merkin Muffley, who must deliver the very bad news to the Soviet premier; and the titular Strangelove himself, a wheelchair-bound presidential adviser with a Nazi past. Finding improbable hilarity in nearly every unimaginable scenario, Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is a subversive masterpiece that officially announced Kubrick as an unparalleled stylist and pitch-black ironist.
The destruction of mankind by the H-Bomb and a so-called "Doomsday Machine" scarcely seems a likely subject for comedy yet producer-director Stanley Kubrick has fashioned a fantastically satirical picture with many chuckles and a goodly amount of suspense from his zany picturization of Peter George's book, "Red Alert." Once again, Peter Sellers demonstrates his versatility and fine comedy sense with three widely varied portrayals, a mild-mannered British liaison officer, the calm, serious President of the U.S. and the heavily accented crippled German scientist, who gives the film its title (certainly the longest ever). Sellers' name, plus the title and rave magazine reviews, will attract the mature class patrons, especially in the key cities, but the picture's weird theme and the sex angle, briefly introduced by the bikini-clad Tracy Reed as an Air Force general's amorous secretary, must be heavily exploited. It may be too off-beat and filled with technical and nuclear terms for many average moviegoers. George C. Scott, as a grimacing Pentagon general, and Sterling Hayden, as the grimly realistic Gen. Jack D. Ripper, contribute fine portrayals.
Criterion Collection - Spine # 821
Runtime: 1:34:58.734
1.66:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Region 'A' - 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray
Disc Size: 48,082,470,956 bytes
Feature: 25,946,634,240 bytes
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Video Bitrate: 28.50 Mbps
LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit
DTS-HD Master Audio English 3680 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3680 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 /
48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Edition Details:
• New interviews with Stanley Kubrick scholars Mick Broderick (19:14) and Rodney Hill (17:25); archivist Richard Daniels (14:15); cinematographer and camera innovator Joe Dunton; camera operator Kelvin Pike (12:13); and David George, son of Peter George, on whose novel Red Alert the film is based (10:57)
• The Art of Stanley Kubrick (13:50)
• Inside Dr. Strangelove (46:04)
• No Fighting in the War Room (30:04)
• Best Sellers (18:28)
• Excerpts from a 1966 audio interview with Kubrick, conducted by physicist and author Jeremy Bernstein (3:06)
• Four short documentaries, about the making of the film, the sociopolitical climate of the period, the work of actor Peter Sellers, and the artistry of Kubrick
• Interviews from 1963 with Sellers and actor George C. Scott (7:16)
• Excerpt from a 1980 interview with Sellers from NBC’s Today show (4:23)
• Exhibitors Trailer (16:53)
• Theatrical Trailer (3:24)
• PLUS: An essay by scholar David Bromwich and a 1994 article by screenwriter Terry Southern on the making of the film
Blu-ray Release Date: June 28th, 2016
Transparent Blu-ray case Chapters 23
As expected Criterion totally stack the disc with over 20 Gig of supplements. There is a new 20-minute interview with Stanley Kubrick scholars Mick Broderick (Reconstructing "Strangelove") discussing Stanley Kubrick's first efforts on Dr. Strangelove as sole producer. There is also another Criterion-produced piece - running over 17-minutes with Rodney Hill (contributor, The Stanley Kubrick Archives) who delves into the archetypes present in Dr. Strangelove.
We also get to spend 1/4 hour with Richard Daniels senior-archivist, at the Stanley Kubrick Archive and coeditor of the book Stanley Kubrick : New Perspectives and he discusses the archive and the portrait of the filmmaker that emerges from its Dr. Strangelove collection. Also from Criterion - filmed in 2016 - is a 12-minute interview with cinematographer and camera innovator Joe Dunton and camera operator Kelvin Pike detailing the techniques behind the stunning visuals of Dr. Strangelove. David George, son of Peter George, on whose novel Red Alert the film is based gives an 11-minute piece for Criterion and he discusses the collaboration with his father Peter and director Stanley Kubrick, as well as his discovery of a short story that introduces the character of Dr. Strangelove.
The Art of Stanley Kubrick from 2000 runs 14-minutes and features biographer John Baxter, critic Alexander Walker, cinematographer Gilbert Taylor, and others, chronicles Stanley Kubrick's growth from still photographer to the film auteur responsible for Dr. Strangelove. Inside Dr. Strangelove is a 46-minute documentary from 2000 about the making of Dr. Strangelove featuring filmmaker James B. Harris. actor James Earl Jones, title-designer Pablo Ferro and filmmaker and writer Nile Southern, among others.
No Fighting in the War Room is a 1/2 hour piece from 2004 featuring former secretary of defense Robert McNamara and journalist Bob Woodward, among others looking into the nuclear paranoia that fueled the satire Dr. Strangelove. Best Sellers from 2004 runs almost 19-minutes shows some rarely seen home moves and interviews with critic Roger Ebert, actors Shirley MacLaine and Michael Palin. We also get some short excerpts from a 1966 audio interview with Kubrick, conducted by physicist and author Jeremy Bernstein and brief interviews from 1963 with Sellers and actor George C. Scott, an excerpt from a 1980 interview with Sellers from NBC’s Today show as well as a lengthy "Exhibitors Trailer" and a theatrical trailer. The package has a liner notes booklet with an essay by scholar David Bromwich and a 1994 article by screenwriter Terry Southern on the making of the film.
Really a no-brainer and this Blu-ray is available for both region 'A' + 'B'. This complete package is a must-own and the extras had me up till the early hours of the morning... so much great info for the Kubrick aficionado, devout fan or casual film viewer who appreciates his genius. Criterion's Blu-ray gets our very highest recommendation!
Major Kong Final Scene
