Great info about Dr. Strangelove in James B. Harris's words,how it was developed and imagined by Kubrick,why he choose Slim Pickens to pilot's role after tried Peter Sellers which didn't work,how about the giant and expensive set of war's room and the airplaine's cockpit,James Earl Jones interview and much more!!!Resume:First watch: 2018 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7

This 46-minute retrospective documentary covers a lot of interesting and informative ground on the making of Stanley Kubrick's black comedy classic "Dr. Strangelove." Made at the height of the Cold War, "Dr. Strangelove" was originally intended to be a straight thriller until Terry Southern was brought in to make it more darkly humorous. Moreover, over 150 tradesman were involved in building the sprawling war room set, the B-52 bomber proved to be a bit too realistic and accurate for comfort, Peter Sellers did a lot of improvisation, Slim Pickens was cast at the last minute (Pickens was initially going to play Major 'King' Kong), Sterling Hayden came out of retirement to portray Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper, Kubrick filed a lawsuit against the makers of "Fail Safe" in order to prevent the rival film from hurting his movie's chances at cleaning up at the box office, and the theatrical release of the picture was postponed due to JFK's assassination. In addition, there's some especially compelling stuff about the infamous crème pie fight sequence that was done in a single take and ultimately cut from the movie. Essential viewing for fans of the film.

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.

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.