Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb 4K Ultra HD

Nominated for four Academy Awards® including Best Pictue (1964), Stanley Kubrick's black comedy "Dr. Stangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb" about a group of paranoia-inspired, war-happy generals who manage to initiate an "accidental" nuclear apocalypse, is horribly frightening, delightfully funny and relevant to this day. This is the saga of two psychotic generals: Joint Chief of Staff "Buck" Turgidson (Scott) and Air Force Strategic Commander Jack Ripper (Hayden), who orders a bomber squadron to attack the USSR, triggering a Soviet secret weapon, the "Doomsday Machine," a diabolical retaliatory missile system. Peter Sellers portrays a trio of men who attempt to avert this catastrophe: British Captain Lionel Mandrake, the only person with access to paranoid General Ripper; U.S. President Muffley, whose best attempt to diverting this disaster depends on convincing a boozed-up Soviet Premier it's all a silly mistake; and the President's advisor, Dr. Strangelove, a demented ex-Nazi scientist. Can any one of them possibly save the world? Based on the book "Red Alert" by Peter George.

The film was nominated for four Academy Award® nominations in 1964: Best Picture; Best Actor In A Leading Role (Peter Sellers); Best Director (Stanley Kubrick) and Best Writing, Screenplay Based On Material From Another Medium (Stanley Kubrick, Peter George and Terry Southern).

In addition to "Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb,", the Volume 1 collection features "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington," "Lawrence Of Arabia," "Gandhi" and "A League Of Their Own" and "Jerry Maguire." Each film is fully restored in 4K resolution with High Dynamic Range (HDR). The six films in the Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection are only available on 4K Ultra HD disc within this special collector's set with a limited-edition run of fewer than 8,000 units in the U.S. Included with the collection is a gorgeous hardbound 80-page book, featuring in-depth sections about the making of each film within the set via an all-new essay written by acclaimed film historian Julie Kirgo. In addition, the set also includes an exclusive disc featuring excerpts from Columbia Pictures' televised 50th anniversary special, which originally aired in 1975 and has never been officially available. These excerpts feature rare on-camera insights from such luminaries as Frank Capra, Phil Silvers and Orson Wells. This exclusive disc also includes the vintage behind-the-scene documentary "Mr. Attenborough and Mr. Gandhi," which was filmed on the set of "Gandhi" and features interviews with cast and crew. (Gary Reber)

Special features include a new featurette "Stanley Kubrick Considers The Bomb" (SD 05;38); a Mick Broderick interview (HD 19:14); an interview with Joe Dunton and Kelvin Pike (HD 12:13); a Richard Daniels interview (SD 14:15); a David George interview (HD 10:56); a Rodney Hill interview (HD 17:25); an archival Stanley Kubrick audio interview (02:50 ); "The Today Show" Clips (SD 16:38) and exhibitor trailer; and a theatrical trailer. The Blu-ray includes "The Cold War" feature-length picture-in-picture track, the featurettes "Inside Dr. Strangelove" (SD 46:04) and "No Fighting In The War Room" (SD 30:04), a Robert McNamara interview (SD 24:26), "Best Sellers" (SD 18:27), "The Art Of Stanley Kubrick" (SD 13:50), split-screen interviews with Peter Sellers and George C. Scott (SD 07:17), upfront previews and a Movies Anywhere digital code.

The 1.66:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 Ultra HD HDR10 picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, was photographed in the Academy Flat format on 35 mm film stock in black-and-white using Mitchell BNC cameras and fully restored from the original camera negative and other surviving elements. Because of overprinting and damage created at the time of its theatrical release, the film was destroyed at the laboratory. As a result, a combination of elements, including three 5mm fine-grain master positives, duplicate negatives, and prints, were used for this digital transfer, which was created in 4K resolution. Given the condition of the many elements; the fact that they represented different manufacturing generations from the original camera negative, resulting in wide variations in density and contrast; and the need to maintain the filmmakers' aesthetic intentions, it was determined that the only way to restore the film properly was in a full 4K digital space. Therefore, the film has been sourced from a 4K master Digital Intermediate format. The picture is terrifically captivating with excellent black-and-white gray scale balance. Contrast is excellent as well. The interior scenes are nicely resolved with fine detail, especially during close-ups. Gain varies from slight to intense. Grain is fine in the interior scenes and more course in exterior scenes. Image depth is excellent. For a film of its age, there are no distracting artifacts, for a result that is impressive. (Gary Reber)

The original monaural soundtrack and the alternate DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel mix were remastered and repurposed from the best surviving optical tracks. The 5.1/1.0 soundtrack is dialogue focused with excellent spatial integration and depth. Deep bass is completely lacking, Fidelity is focused in midrange frequencies. Gunfire is weak sounding. Even B-53 jet engines are rather weak in strength, as is the rocket strike on a B-52. There is is no music with the exception of brief segments comprised of radio broadcast and military rousing music, such as snare-drum driven "Marching Home" and "We'll Meet Again." At times, the sonics are a bit harsh and distorted but background hiss is virtually non-existent. The 5.1 mix is preferred, as it dramatically opens up the soundfield and delivers subtle but supportive surround envelopment, as well as an effective wide frontal soundstage with good discrete separation. (Gary Reber)