“Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” (1964)

Stanley Kubrick’s response to idea that the species was on the brink of self destruction was to produce an absurdest farce in the best satirical traditions of Jonathan Swift.  All ideological positions are mocked in a tale about an insane American air force officer who single-handedly initiates World War III by deliberately exceeding his authority and sending bombers into Soviet airspace.

Kubrick’s original idea was to use Peter Sellers in four roles, a thematic decision as much as an exploitation of the comic genius’ talent.  As it turned out Sellers undermined the director, content merely to play a RAF pilot, the US president and the title role, a parody of the type of former Nazi scientist seconded to the American nuclear programme after the war.  The fourth character, that of the cowboy bomber commander whose missile riding antics initiate oblivion, is impeccably performed by wheezy yokel Slim Pickens.

As hilarious as “Strangelove” is in conception and execution, as brimming in priceless one liners (”you can’t fight here: this is the war room!”) and inspired, over the top performers from both veterans (Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn) and emerging stars (George C Scott, James Earl Jones), Kubrick never lets you forget the extent to which humanity has betrayed itself.  The irony of using Vera Lynn’s anthem “We’ll Meet Again” to serenade the apocalypse is a bitter one.