I know that Dr. Strangelove is nearly out of us teenagers, short attention-spans but I have been unable to post anything the last couple of days because I was doing stuff for college, and then last night I didn't get home from my track meet until after 10:30 PM so I didn't have time but there was one thought that I wanted to make about something that Mr. Bennett mentioned during the film. (Almost all of my other ideas were covered during our 1.5 day long discussion on the film.)
When Major Kong was speaking on the plane and he says "Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff." Now, as Mr. Bennett said, the original screenplay said the city Dallas, but because it was released the month after Kennedy's assassination they didn't want to bring back memories of the city where he was killed. However, throughout the film, at least twice, as Mr. Bennett also stated, the movie referenced a Gap, like the mine-shaft gap and a doomsday gap. Now, I felt that if they were trying to avoid breaching the topic of Kennedy then why did they include these two references to Kennedy.
It just seemed odd personally that they would include some references to Kennedy that would be fresh on people's minds since his Presidency had just ended, but remove the line about Dallas, unless they felt that was too close to home. I don't know, maybe someone could enlighten me on the quasi and selective censorship of the Kennedy dialogue. It was just something I had thought about since we finished the film.
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I guess it wasn't as bad because a Gap would be referring to something he did during his Presidency, whereas Dallas is immediately connected with his assassination.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm surprised Mr Bennett never mentioned the famous pie fighting scene that was cut from the final print of the film. The pie fighting scene would have taken place between everybody in the War Room, and although it was filmed (and a picture of it can be seen on wikipedia), it was destroyed after. There are several theories as to why. The two I have heard are these:
1)Kubrick stated that he removed the scene because it was too much of a farce, and it didn't fit in with the satirical nature of the film.
2) There is a moment in the filmed scene where President Merkin Muffley is hit in the face with a pie, which leads to General Turgidson saying "Gentlemen! Our gallant young president has been struck down in his prime!" This obviously would not have been received well because of Kennedy's assassination. (This one seems more likely the actual reason)
To have Slim Pickens dub the soundtrack of a completed film in order to change a single word is very easy. To change entire lines of dialogue is much harder. Also, as Nick mentioned, the "missile gap" was not necessarily tied to JFK, although he used it in his campaign. Thus, a reference to Dallas is distracting, and easily changed. References to the missile gap is not distracting and is hard to change.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the pie fight goes, I agree with Kubrick's assessment. While the film is hilarious, there is almost nothing that happens that is truly ridiculous in that way. In fact, much of the film's humor comes from the dead-pan way in which the humor is delivered. For instance, while Strangelove is wrestling mightily with his errant arm, Turdidson, asks him about the future of monogamy, ignoring the former's plight. But, an out and out pie fight would tend to push the film over into a different realm. It's a satire, not a parody.
I also agree that the pie fighting scene was probably too silly, but I think the second reason was probably what convinced the production company to pull the scene.
ReplyDeleteThere is a timing problem here, though, isn't there? If JFK was killed on NOvember 22nd, and the film came out in January, that leaves only six weeks in which to change things around. If the scene can simply be cut with a scissors, leaving everyhting else intact, then fine. But, if it required more complex editing, then I have my doubts. Also, Muffly, hardly looks young, nor does he appear gallant.
ReplyDeleteThe whole story sounds dubious to me.
The pie fighting scene would have been far too much, however, the timing I agree does seem interesting and difficult to achieve if that story is in fact true.
ReplyDelete