dr. strangelove

this one is always hailed as a classic, but i'm not entirely sure why. the film is a comedy that features some classic bits by peter wellers, a comedian known for playing multiple parts in films. here he plays a british officer stationed in the u.s. where the head of the base has shut off all communication and send his fleet of airplanes, loaded with nuclear missiles, off to drop their load on russia. the president gathers in his war room and his men try their best to try and stop this disaster from happening. wellers also plays the president and dr. strangelove, who is advising the war room about how to stop the planes. some things go right, but there are some things that go very very wrong. i appreciate the film for what it does, but i think i may have missed something on why it is so special. it is worth watching just for sellers alone, he is hilarious in all three roles. the best part of the film is the crazy dr. strangelove, with his thick austrian accent and his inexplicable arm that seems to have a mind of its own and is usually fighting with strangelove. one thing that is pretty interesting is that even though so much has changed in the world since the film was made, the story and situation it portrays is still a very real fear. the same story has been made many times since then, movies like crimson tide are basically just a rehash of this original idea.