
Reconstructing Strangelove
Inside Stanley Kubrick's "Nightmare Comedy"
Michael Broderick(Author)
Wallflower Press
Will be published approx. on 3. January 2017
Book
Hardback
232 pages
978-0-231-17708-5 (ISBN)
Description
During his career Stanley Kubrick became renowned for undertaking lengthy and exhaustive research prior to the production of all his films. In the lead-up to what would eventually become Dr. Strangelove (1964), Kubrick read voraciously and amassed a substantial library of works on the nuclear age. With rare access to unpublished materials, this volume assesses Dr. Strangelove's narrative accuracy, consulting recently declassified Cold War nuclear-policy documents alongside interviews with Kubrick's collaborators. It focuses on the myths surrounding the film, such as the origins and transformation of the "straight" script versions into what Kubrick termed a "nightmare comedy." It assesses Kubrick's account of collaborating with the writers Peter George and Terry Southern against their individual remembrances and material archives. Peter Sellers's improvisations are compared to written scripts and daily continuity reports, showcasing the actor's brilliant talent and variations.
Reviews / Votes
It is Broderick's deep involvement with the history of nuclear strategy and Cold War economics and politics that allows him to demonstrate time and again how well Kubrick's bizarre, surreal, nightmare comedy captures the actualities of what was and for all intents and purposes still is the global reliance on a delicate balance of nuclear terror. -- Graham Allen * Historical Journal of Film, Radio, and Television * An insightful, rigorously researched, and well-written history of Dr. Strangelove that should be required reading for anyone interested in the origins, production, and legacy of this remarkable film and its creator. * Choice *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Columbia University Press
Product notice
Trade binding
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 159 mm
Weight
496 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-231-17708-5 (9780231177085)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
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Book
01/2017
Wallflower Press
€34.72
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E-Book
12/2016
1st Edition
Columbia University Press
from
€40.49
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Person
Mick Broderick is associate professor of media analysis in the School of Arts at Murdoch University, Western Australia. He is the author of Nuclear Movies, editor of Hibakusha Cinema: Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the Nuclear Image in Japanese Film, and coeditor of Trauma, Media, Art: New Perspectives and Interrogating Trauma: Collective Suffering in Global Art and Media.
Content
Acknowledgements Dr Strangelove Timeline Glossary Introduction: Stanley Kubrick's Atomic Antecedents 1. The Road to Strangelove: From Red Alert to The Delicate Balance of Terror and Beyond 2. Doctors Strangelove-a Character Evolution 3. 'Gentlemen, you can't fight in here': Brinksmanship Amongst the Authors and Producers of Dr Strangelove and Fail-Safe 4. Authentically Strange: Presidential Predelegation, Fail-safes and Doomsday Machines 5. Reconstructing Strangelove: Outtakes from the Cutting Room Floor Conclusion: Sons of Strangelove Bibliography Production Credits Index