This 30-minute documentary provides a wealth of fascinating information about the fear and paranoia caused by the Cold War that reigned supreme in the 1960's. "Dr. Strangelove" is aptly described as a metaphor for the reality of its time in which the people in power were worried about Russia spreading its wings over other parts of the world. Spike Lee notes that the Bush administration were every bit as dangerous in their incompetence as the people in the movie and fondly remembers ducking under desks during drills held back in grade school. Robert McNamara discusses at length the concept of deterrence while Bob Woodward admits that an all-out attack has a certain crazy logic to it. Moreover, we also learn that there's really no such thing as acceptable losses, "Dr. Strangelove" started out as a serious thriller, and the legendary climactic pie fight was indeed filmed, but ultimately cut from the picture because it quite simply didn't work. Sadly, as Roger Ebert points out "Dr. Strangelove" still remains relevant even today. Worth a watch.

This is the first of four documentaries included on the bonus DVD for "Dr. Strangelove". Included are lots of clips from the film, various interviews (including, surprisingly, Robert McNamara), production stills and never before seen footage.The documentary begins with a discussion of the context for the film. A discussion with McNamara in particular explaining the Berlin Crisis, Mutually Assured Destruction and the like occurs--which is excellent for younger viewers in order to put the feature in context. Then, others join in the discussion as clips for the film are interspersed. While it is a 'making of' film, it's much more of a film about the stupidity of nuclear war than anything else. During the documentary, various views are given ranging from Bob Woodward's sentiments that none of the White House staff he's known would actively pursue nuclear war versus Spike Lee's view that the Bush administration is about that irresponsible. It's a very interesting discussion that, unfortunately, represents only those on the left or center--making it a bit one-sided and incomplete. Still, it is compelling and very interesting.By the way, it's sad watching Roger Ebert in this film as you can see and hear that he's already showing some of the early effects of his chemotherapy to his salivary glands. As he continues to recover, we can only wish him the best.