Moviegasm Podcast Requests, and Dr. Strangelove

For this week’s Moviegasm, Craig Kennedy, Ryan Adams and I were thinking of selecting the Oscar year 1964/1965 when My Fair Lady beat Dr. Strangelove. Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Becket, Mary Poppins and Zorba the Greek. I was but a mere embryo during this year and I would be born March of 1965, so this is my Oscar year. Do you ever look at the Oscar year you were born?

First off, the Academy gets major props for nominating Kubrick’s masterpiece for four crucial Oscars: Picture, Director, Screenplay and Actor (the superb Peter Sellers). Depending on your point of view, the Strangelove script was the most deserving in retrospect — but Becket was a fine choice for more traditional Academy temperaments of the day.

Dr. Strangelove is one of the most memorable scripts ever written. And one of the best films ever made. It’s always a big letdown to discover that the Academy missed the boat (but you may disagree). It’s easy to see their making this crucial error because Dr. Strangelove wasn’t “lofty” enough, even if it did echo the sentiments of its time. It has become timeless, however. It has more resonance today as it ever did. In fact, you might find a lot in common with some of the talking heads this year, some of whom won in elections last week, sounding not unlike Jack D. Ripper.

Please use this space to toss out questions or requests for Craig, Ryan and I and we will do our best to fulfill them.

“You ever see a communist drink a glass of water?”