821 Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Discuss releases by Criterion and the films on them. Threads may contain spoilers!
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swo17
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#51 Post by swo17 » Wed Mar 16, 2016 6:15 pm


Jameson281
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#52 Post by Jameson281 » Wed Mar 16, 2016 6:17 pm

No mention of this being a new transfer (and no mention of changing aspect ratios), so this looks like it's essentially the Sony disc with a few new extras.

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Ribs
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#53 Post by Ribs » Wed Mar 16, 2016 6:19 pm

Two written supplements? Does this mean we might get a real booklet?!?

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domino harvey
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#54 Post by domino harvey » Wed Mar 16, 2016 6:21 pm

Disappointed it didn't come with a branded Nalgene for holding precious bodily fluids

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movielocke
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#55 Post by movielocke » Wed Mar 16, 2016 6:34 pm

Ribs wrote:Two written supplements? Does this mean we might get a real booklet?!?
probably, and probably unfortunately a cardboard release too. :(

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Lemmy Caution
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#56 Post by Lemmy Caution » Wed Mar 16, 2016 7:24 pm

domino harvey wrote:Disappointed it didn't come with a branded Nalgene for holding precious bodily fluids
Or at least one issue of prophylactics ...

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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#57 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Wed Mar 16, 2016 7:27 pm

So what's the overlap from the laserdisc?

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jwo17
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#58 Post by jwo17 » Wed Mar 16, 2016 7:31 pm

Lemmy Caution wrote:
domino harvey wrote:Disappointed it didn't come with a branded Nalgene for holding precious bodily fluids
Or at least one issue of prophylactics ...
Guess we'll have to stay tuned for the 55th Anniversary Special Edition.

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Ashirg
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#59 Post by Ashirg » Wed Mar 16, 2016 7:33 pm

So I guess no pies will be included...

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The Fanciful Norwegian
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#60 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian » Wed Mar 16, 2016 8:00 pm

flyonthewall2983 wrote:So what's the overlap from the laserdisc?
Nothing except the trailer. Most of the LD extras (an early draft of the screenplay and assorted Cold War ephemera like the infamous "Duck and Cover" cartoon) were removed after the first pressing because Kubrick didn't want them on there, so it wasn't too likely they would return for the Blu.

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manicsounds
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#61 Post by manicsounds » Wed Mar 16, 2016 8:29 pm

The picture in picture feature and the McNamara interview from the Sony release are not listed (possibly a few others). Wonder what the chances of those being included. Has Criterion done anything with picture in picture function in the past? Devils Backbone had something but can't remember if it was actual picture in picture or not

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swo17
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#62 Post by swo17 » Wed Mar 16, 2016 8:34 pm

The only feature I remember is the storyboards for Watership Down.

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djproject
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#63 Post by djproject » Wed Mar 16, 2016 10:08 pm

I'm glad for the Criterion additions and the streamlining of the original Sony features (somehow the trivia track is not exactly Criterion's style ... plus the video interviews would interrupt the film and then resume afterward).

Hopefully the booklet will give some information about the source of it given its odd history of the source (according to Stanley).

The cover was not what I was expecting. Yet I liked the use of the original title design ... and made to look like a vandalized high school textbook/desk/wall doodle ... or something found in Alex's flat complex =D

And in general, I have come to call this - and I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought of this - as the modern Lysistrata ... except it's now the *abundance* of sex that leads to war.

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cdnchris
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#64 Post by cdnchris » Thu Mar 17, 2016 3:21 am

swo17 wrote:The only feature I remember is the storyboards for Watership Down.
The Devil's Backbone Blu-ray also had a similar storyboards feature. But neither were technically picture-in-picture, and instead were alternate subtitle tracks, which sucked for Backbone since you couldn't have the English subs play at the same time.

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manicsounds
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#65 Post by manicsounds » Fri Apr 29, 2016 3:03 am


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Manny Karp
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#66 Post by Manny Karp » Sat May 07, 2016 4:17 am

I hope this edition finally puts to rest whether or not William Daniels played the navigator.

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FrauBlucher
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#67 Post by FrauBlucher » Thu May 26, 2016 11:30 am


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Drucker
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#68 Post by Drucker » Thu May 26, 2016 11:47 am

It's nearly imperceptible, but the Criterion definitely shows a slight different shade of B&W than the Sony.

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tenia
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#69 Post by tenia » Thu May 26, 2016 2:03 pm

Drucker wrote:It's nearly imperceptible, but the Criterion definitely shows a slight different shade of B&W than the Sony.
Providing that Beaver caps are 100% reliable when it comes to RGB capture, Paint Shop Pro 7 tells me that the Criterion has pure B&W RGB values while the Sony has a quite frequent B push (by about +2 compared to RG values, for instance 185 185 187) but also a lesser G value when it comes to darker shades (for instance 10 8 11).

The Criterion disc is obviously correct, but I highly doubt a 2-3 DeltaE value would be noticeable except on a perfectly calibrated set.
Last edited by tenia on Thu May 26, 2016 4:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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DeprongMori
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#70 Post by DeprongMori » Thu May 26, 2016 2:58 pm

Providing that Beaver caps are 100% reliable when it comes to RGB capture, Paint Shop Pro 7 tells me that the Sony has pure B&W RGB values while the Sony has a quite frequent B push (by about +2 compared to RG values, for instance 185 185 187) but also a lesser G value when it comes to darker shades (for instance 10 8 11).
Your quote seems to be comparing the Sony against the Sony.

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tenia
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#71 Post by tenia » Thu May 26, 2016 4:37 pm

My bad. I corrected the typo : the Criterion has pure B&W RGB values while the Sony has a quite frequent B push.

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djproject
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#72 Post by djproject » Wed Jun 15, 2016 6:22 am

Regarding the pie fight scene:

I don't think I'm alone in thinking that it was for the better it was left out of the film. (And while there is something to be said about seeing it for yourself - and I have not - it's been talked about so much that it's probably not worth seeing it.) In addition to the one take option ruined from the start and that eerie bit of serendipity ("Our president has been struck down in his prime!"), I fear the pie fight would have lopsided an otherwise perfect - or at least near-perfect - blend of two different films: an anarchic and irreverent satire concerning power systems and humanity's propensity to follow base impulses and a "thermonuclear procedural" (mostly found in the B-52 scenes, though also scattered in the other sequences). The pie fight would have made the satire too obvious/OTN and would have veered the comedy into slapstick. (Granted the Coca-Cola spray on Col. Guano could be seen as nice set-up but that was its own gag that worked on its own =] ).
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And given its placement, it would have overshadowed the already brilliant "100 year mineshaft plan" proposed by Dr. Strangelove and not really allow for the nuclear explosion montage underscored to Vera Lynn singing about meeting again some sunny day.

P.S. The spoiler tag is to avoid being yelled at for not using a spoiler tag ... despite being an over fifty year old film with many elements used early and often in pop culture =p =D.

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Roger Ryan
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#73 Post by Roger Ryan » Fri Jun 17, 2016 11:11 am

You're not alone. I'd like to see the damn footage, but fully believe Kubrick was right to delete it as the still photos and script give the impression that it would have tipped the satire too far into physical comedy. Comparing the first draft of the script and the finished film, and knowing some of the choices he made on the set in regards to characterizations, it appears Kubrick came to the realization that Strangelove would be both funnier and more suspenseful if played straighter. Cutting the pie fight became a logical consequence of this.

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djproject
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#74 Post by djproject » Wed Jun 29, 2016 12:56 pm

There are a few Russian phrases in the Russian phrase book. No Bible verses though.

I really enjoyed the newer supplement additions. I had mentioned how it was two different films: an off-beat irreverent satire and a "thermonuclear procedural thriller" and how if one was overdone, it would have completely lopsided it and derailed it. I mentioned how the comedy/satire could have done this (the President's headcold and the pie fight) but I also didn't realize how much the other would have lopsided it. Apparently there was a lot more expository dialogue and "bigger picture" scenes about its main topic.

The only one I didn't care for too much was the archetype discussion, though it did make a point that his understanding of Jungian archetypes may have helped make his films more than just relevant zeitgeist material. I still stand by describing this film as the modern Lysistrata ...
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where clearly *no one* dared to try to initiate the abstinence option. And it's no wonder there was a global, er, "petit mort" ... understatement of the century if ever there could have been one =D

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The Fanciful Norwegian
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Re: 821 Dr. Strangelove

#75 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian » Thu Jun 30, 2016 2:13 pm

djproject wrote:Apparently there was a lot more expository dialogue and "bigger picture" scenes about its main topic.
You should check out the early draft of the script, written by Kubrick and Peter George before Southern came aboard. I know dialogue can be a lot punchier in the hands of actors than it looks on the page (and Strangelove's dialogue in particular needs Peter Sellers' voice), but geez, it just goes on and on. The Ambassador's explanation of the Doomsday Machine reads like someone presenting a paper at a conference. Kubrick had this same draft (and a few other extras not directly related to the film) removed from the Criterion laserdisc, and I can easily understand why.

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