"The hot-line suspense comedy."
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb - Movie Quotes
Memorable Quotes
Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!
— President Merkin Muffley
Context:
Spoken by President Muffley when he breaks up a physical fight between General Turgidson and the Soviet Ambassador in the Pentagon's War Room, a place designed for the highest level of strategic military planning.
Meaning:
This line is a perfect example of the film's satirical humor, highlighting the absurd disconnect between the supposed solemnity of the location and the childish, violent behavior of the world's leaders. It underscores the theme that the people in charge of humanity's fate are not as rational or in control as they should be.
Mein Führer, I can walk!
— Dr. Strangelove
Context:
After laying out his plan for post-apocalyptic survival, which involves a select group of humans breeding in mineshafts, Dr. Strangelove spontaneously rises from his wheelchair. This happens just before the film cuts to a montage of nuclear explosions, ending the world.
Meaning:
This is the film's final line, and it is deeply unsettling. Dr. Strangelove, a former Nazi, is miraculously 'healed' by the prospect of a new world order born from nuclear apocalypse. It symbolizes the re-emergence of fascistic and destructive ideologies at the moment of humanity's self-destruction.
I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.
— General Jack D. Ripper
Context:
General Ripper says this to Captain Mandrake as his justification for launching a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union without authorization.
Meaning:
This quote encapsulates the irrational paranoia that triggers the film's central crisis. It satirizes the extreme anti-communist rhetoric of the Cold War by linking it to a bizarre, pseudo-scientific, and deeply personal delusion, showing how madness can be cloaked in the language of patriotism.
Well, boys, I reckon this is it - nuclear combat toe to toe with the Roosskies.
— Major T. J. 'King' Kong
Context:
Spoken by Major Kong to his B-52 crew after they receive the order to commence their attack on the Soviet Union. He delivers the line with a sense of duty and excitement, completely unaware that the order is the result of a single general's insanity.
Meaning:
This line captures the disturbingly cheerful and patriotic attitude of the bomber crew as they head towards unleashing nuclear annihilation. It highlights the disconnect between the soldiers carrying out the orders and the catastrophic reality of their mission, treating the apocalypse like a sporting event.