Inside: 'Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb'

It's been more than half a century since the release of "Dr. Strangelove" and yet references to it still crop up in vernacular culture from time to time. It's made that much of an impression, illustrating the tragedy and the comedy implicit in the concept of Mutual Assured Destruction. Each side is afraid to launch, knowing that the other side will also launch, and the insects will inherit the earth.

Yet, I wonder exactly how much of that initial impression has faded, and how very selective the lesson has become. We no longer have great big bombers circling at Fail-Safe points or myriad nuclear missiles pointed at one another, but we are building wall, shields, missiles, and seem to be readying ourselves for the next Cold War. Our attempts at suppressing nuclear proliferation in unstable areas are sometimes ridiculed as foolhardy. Is there something in us that ENJOYS the rush of danger? Is tranquility boring?

Enough of the lectern. This neatly produced documentary about the making of the film begins at the beginning, Kubrik's discovery of the novel that the movie is based on, and ends with a celebratory recounting of the film's merchandising, like the sale of cheap radioactive counters modeled on that used by Dr. Strangelove.

If you haven't looked into the production before, you'll find some new stuff, like a misspelling in the opening titles. If you already know something about it, you'll learn still more from the interviews with surviving participant, most of the principals, alas, having passed on.

"Dr. Strangelove" is a brilliant film, from the sexy opening shots of B-52s refueling in midair, to the closing exclamation from Peter Seller's sinister character.

This is one of four documentaries included on the DVD of extras for "Dr. Strangelove". One focuses on the political context for the film, one on the films of Stanley Kubrick, one on the work of Peter Sellers and the final one (this film) a so-called 'making of' movie exploring the creation and marketing of the full-length film. Of these four films "Inside" seemed to be the best, as it was very comprehensive and couldn't have been much better.

"Inside: 'Dr. Stranglove'" is made up of what such films usually consist of--interviews, footage from the feature, archival interviews and still photographs. While none of this was atypical, it made the film tougher to make in that many of the principals involved in making the film were deceased--some very prematurely (Peter Sellers) and some due to old age and ill health (the director, Stanley Kubrick, Sterling Hayden, George C. Scott and others). Because of this, I really could not give the featurette a score of 10--though otherwise it was excellent and well worth watching--particularly if you adore "Dr. Strangelove"---and it's hard not to! Well worth seeing.

A documentary that looks at the creation and filming of the film Dr Strangelove. This uses footage and interviews to build up the story behind the scenes – the problems, the errors, the motivation behind what they did and the areas of improvisation.

This documentary has it's weaknesses but for me it did the one thing a `making of…..' film should do, and that is to surprise me with things I didn't know about the film and how it was put together. Things like the fact that Sellers improvised many of the really funny scenes, that the word Dallas was replaced in a Slim Picken's speech, a planned pie fight at the end, even how the credits were thought up. At nearly every stage of this I was captivated at how much I didn't know!

The documentary only lasts 45 minutes but there's so much information that it feels longer. The two main failures of the documentary are sadly biggies! The first is that the narrator is terrible – he's just cheesy and sounds a bit wooden with a slice of fake sincerity. The second problem is that many of those telling the stories are not those directly involved. Now in many cases the producers etc are still all alive, but there's too many friends, daughters and sons who pass it all on second hand. This doesn't take away from the fact that it's a very enlightening documentary.

Overall this is a really good watch. It'll make you want to watch the film again and appreciate the creative processes that went into making such a great piece of art.

"Inside... Strangelove" is, as the title states, an account of the making of Kubrick's jet-black cold war opus. Covering topics as diverse as Pablo Ferro's dazzling handwritten titles, to Laurie Johnson's musical adaptations, to Gilbert Taylor's striking black-and-white camerawork, to Terry Southern's kinky sense of humor, no subject pertaining to Strangelove has been neglected. Even Kubrick's lawsuit against the makers of the thematically similar "Fail Safe" is recounted, with "Fail Safe" helmer Sidney Lumet adding comments! This picture is a model of economy. Lasting only 45 minutes in length, the creators crammed an astonishing amount of information, and interview subjects, within a relatively short running time. If you have a Bachelors in "Strangelove", this documentary will give you a Masters.

The only liability is the somewhat annoying narration, which could be an homage to the equally annoying narration in The Killing (1956). Aside from this minor problem, "Inside... Strangelove" beautifully documents an important work by one of America's finest directors. Don't miss this one!

As the title promises, this is a making of feature on Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. With a 44 and a half minute running time and 1 and a half minute of end credits(done in the same style as its subject!), this covers a lot of ground - not even shying away from a few things that paint Kubrick in a negative light, such as suing Fail Safe, on account of its similar concept, to ensure that it didn't overshadow his picture.

This consists of sitdown interviews with cast and crew alike(the ones still alive - R.I.P.), behind the scenes photos and narration. It covers the entire process, including how this went from the originally intended thriller(!) to the beloved comedy it is today, Peter Sellers' multiple roles and priceless improvisation(such as the call between the US and USSR presidents - for my money, one of the funniest bits), to problems editing, the PR campaign and even the awards it has been given, both when it came out and over the decades.

We'll learn how the unforgettable lines about "purity" and "essences" came about, additional details about Stanley being difficult to work with, how he handled the notoriously intimidating George C. Scott, the creation of the iconic War Room, the B-52 bomber interior being too realistic(!), Slim Pickens, how riding the bomb almost didn't happen(!), the sexual opening and, of course, the famously cut cream-pie fight climax.

There is some strong language and disturbing content in this. I recommend this to fans of the movie and those who worked on it. 8/10