Truth Stranger Than 'Strangelove'

NY Times ^ | October 10, 2004 | FRED KAPLAN

[neverdem]

Photofest
George C. Scott as Gen. Buck Turgidson in Kubrick's 1964 nuclear satire, "Dr. Strangelove.'' Urging an all-out pre-emptive strike on the Soviet Union, he exclaims, "I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed, but I do say no more than 10-20 million killed, tops!"

[escapefromboston]

Kubrick should have left the pie fight in at the end

[netmilsmom]

I love that movie!

[hedgie]

Well, now that every former LTJG turned hippie turned presidential candidate is advocating preemption - Gen. LeMay would be very proud. The man was a genius.

[Publius]

"There will be no fighting in the War Room!"
--President Muffley

[Askel5]

=== In its own loopy way, the movie is a remarkably fact-based and specific guide to some of the oddest, most secretive chapters of the Cold War. As was his last film ... save for the way the sex scenes featured full grown women and no one was killed as part of the more compelling act of the Pink Ballet sort of entertainment and compromising of the elite for which crowned heads, even, will roll at a moment's notice.

[thulldud]

Wonder if a print of the food fight exists anywhere? Probably not.

Rats.

[Young Werther]

I graduated '65 and received an AF commission. My eyes pooped out on me so there was no flight school. I attended Communications Officers School at Keesler AFB. We were oriented in the types of communications systems that we would be operating and maintaining. The SACCS was the Strategic Aircommand Command Control System. It was the best in computerized command control for that era. In essence it was "monster" of the Strangelovian anti war movies of that era.

During our orientation was were told that the system was a dinosaur that would never be made operational because Gen LeMay was frightened by computers gone awry!

This is why the Red phone and vocal communications and authenttication would always be the mainstay of SAC Command and Control.

"Drop Kick Drop Kick this is Looking Glass!!!!!"

[Jhensy]

I'm a longtime Kubrick buff, but Dr. Strangelove was never one of my cherished favorites (that would be 2001 and Barry Lyndon). I actually prefer Fail-Safe, Sidney Lumet's nearly identical film made simultaneously.

Fail-Safe scared the crap out of me as a teenager late one night back in the 70's. Strangelove's humor was always overpraised, and a lot of it falls flat, IMHO.

[JW Brown]

I love that movie too. My favorite character is Major Kong portrayed by Slim Pickens.

Survival kit contents check. In them you'll find: one forty-five caliber automatic; two boxes of ammunition; four days' concentrated emergency rations; one drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills; one miniature combination Russian phrase book and Bible; one hundred dollars in rubles; one hundred dollars in gold; nine packs of chewing gum; one issue of prophylactics; three lipsticks; three pair of nylon stockings. Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff.

[Boundless]

The Turner Classic Movie channel is running this movie,
introduced, amazingly, by the strategic lightweight, VP
candidate John Edwards.

[Professional Engineer]

ping

[The Loan Arranger]

Having been there in military intelligence, albeit, years later, I would tend to agree. Also, George C. Scott, in my humble opinion, was the best American actor of his generation, and despite his Academy Award(which he refused) for "Patton", he was vastly underrated. His "Ebeneezer Scrooge" in the "Christmas Carol" is head and shoulders above any I have ever seen.

[lodwick]

Classic stuff - and true.

[KarlInOhio]

And I got a fair idea the kinda personal emotions that some of you fellas may be thinkin'. Heck, I reckon you wouldn't even be human bein's if you didn't have some pretty strong personal feelin's about nuclear combat.

[Freepdonia]

Make sure that the Russian ambassador doesn't see the big board!

[Calvin Locke]

Art Bell had a woman guest (book tour) that was involved with nuclear wargaming.

One of her stories was that in one exercise, some of the gamers got so fed up with the interference from "Washington"
that they loosed a few missiles at D.C. themselves.

The overseers did not see the humor, or appreciate the possible reality, and fired the bunch.