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

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

196495 minutesPG
7
Arcplot Score
⭐ Excellent
Unverified
⭐ 8.3IMDb
🍅 98%Rotten Tomatoes
Ⓜ️ 97/100Metacritic
🎬 8.1TMDb
📊 3.7Popularity
🏆Nominated for 4 Oscars. 14 wins & 11 nominations total
Genre: Comedy, War
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
Paranoid Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper of Burpelson Air Force Base, believing that fluoridation of the American water supply is a Soviet plot to poison the U.S. populace, is able to deploy through a back door mechanism a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union without the knowledge of his superiors, including the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Buck Turgidson, and President Merkin Muffley. Only Ripper knows the code to recall the B-52 bombers and he has shut down communication in and out of Burpelson as a measure to protect this attack. Ripper's executive officer, RAF Group Captain Lionel Mandrake (on exchange from Britain), who is being held at Burpelson by Ripper, believes he knows the recall codes if he can only get a message to the outside world. Meanwhile at the Pentagon War Room, key persons including Muffley, Turgidson and nuclear scientist and adviser, a former Nazi named Dr. Strangelove, are discussing measures to stop the attack or mitigate its blow-up into an all out nuclear war with the Soviets. Against Turgidson's wishes, Muffley brings Soviet Ambassador Alexi de Sadesky into the War Room, and get his boss, Soviet Premier Dimitri Kisov, on the hot line to inform him of what's going on. The Americans in the War Room are dismayed to learn that the Soviets have an as yet unannounced Doomsday Device to detonate if any of their key targets are hit. As Ripper, Mandrake and those in the War Room try and work the situation to their end goal, Major T.J. "King" Kong, one of the B-52 bomber pilots, is working on his own agenda of deploying his bomb where ever he can on enemy soil if he can't make it to his intended target.

Box Office

Budget:$1.8M
Revenue:$9.5M
Profit:$7.7M

Arcplot Score Breakdown

Beat Timing Precision4/10
Emotional Arc Impact10/10
Thematic Consistency7/10
Overall Score7/10

Beat Sheet

15 plot points

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Arcplot
1
Opening Image
1 min
2
Theme Stated
5 min
3
Set-Up
10 min
4
Catalyst
20 min
5
Debate
35 min
6
Break Into Two
45 min
7
B Story
50 min
8
Fun and Games
60 min
9
Midpoint
70 min
10
Bad Guys Close In
80 min
11
All Is Lost
85 min
12
Dark Night of the Soul
90 min
13
Break Into Three
92 min
14
Finale
93 min
15
Final Image
95 min

Emotional Arc

+100-10

Plot Points

#1

Opening Image

1 min

Cold War military base. Tension, absurdity introduced. Maj. Kong flying bomber. Satirical tone immediately evident.

#2

Theme Stated

5 min

Theme of nuclear paranoia, human folly, political absurdity. Leaders powerless, irrationality dominates.

#3

Set-Up

10 min

General Jack D. Ripper orders nuclear strike. Air Force base chaos. Introduces President Muffley, Gen. Turgidson, Dr. Strangelove. Satire of authority.

#4

Catalyst

20 min

Bombers en route to USSR. Inability to recall strike triggers full-scale nuclear crisis. Stakes immediately global.

#5

Debate

35 min

Military and political leaders debate solutions. Absurd strategies, misunderstandings. Can catastrophe be averted? Tension vs. comedy.

#6

Break Into Two

45 min

Decision to attempt communication with Maj. Kong and abort mission. Characters forced into action. Comedy and suspense entwined.

#7

B Story

50 min

Dr. Strangelove’s bizarre behavior, President’s counsel, and human absurdity provide thematic counterpoint. Satirical commentary on science and politics.

#8

Fun and Games

60 min

Maj. Kong rides bomb to target. Escalating absurdity, visual comedy, and suspense. Cold War critique amplified through humor.

#9

Midpoint

70 min

Bomb inevitably reaches target. False hope of stopping catastrophe gone. Emotional tension meets satirical climax.

#10

Bad Guys Close In

80 min

Leaders realize inevitability of Doomsday Machine. Absurdity heightens; comedy becomes dark, existential threat undeniable.

#11

All Is Lost

85 min

Global annihilation imminent. Characters powerless. Humor gives way to grim reality. Ultimate low point.

#12

Dark Night of the Soul

90 min

Reflection on human folly, irrationality, and fate. Political and military hubris exposed. No salvation possible.

#13

Break Into Three

92 min

Final moments: characters accept fate, absurdity peaks. Satire resolves action through resignation.

#14

Finale

93 min

Doomsday Machine detonates. Airplane footage and countdown juxtaposed with musical comedy. Human folly fully realized.

#15

Final Image

95 min

Nuclear explosions. End credits with satirical music. Humanity’s absurdity and fragility highlighted. Darkly comic closure.