Stanley Kubrick's 1964 satire centres on a bizarre situation in which a rogue American military man is able to launch a nuclear strike on Russia at the height of the Cold War. It's a film of ridiculous incompetence caused by a terrifyingly shambolic authority. In its most famous moment, a Texas airman is given one of the most euphoric send-offs in the history of the movies. Major Kong is the pilot in charge of the B-52 bomber which fails to receive the government's stop code, barrelling on towards its Russian target carrying a lethal nuclear payload. A malfunction prevents the doors from opening to drop the bomb, so Kong goes down below to open them himself. As the plane passes over its target, Kong releases the bomb and rides it, rodeo-style into oblivion. Kong's death is excellent for a number of reasons. Firstly, there's the phallic imagery. In a film that's full of subtle and not-so-subtle sexual references, this is the perfect way to skewer America's fetishisation of big armies and big weaponry. There's also the misguided motive of it all. Kong dies happily because he genuinely believes he has sacrificed himself for the good of his country and the free world. Instead, he instigates the end of the planet by virtue of the Soviet doomsday device. Now that, Alanis Morissette, is a little too ironic, don't you think?
Freelance film journalist and fan of professional wrestling. Usually found in a darkened screening room looking for an aisle seat and telling people to put away their mobile phones. Also known to do a bit of stand-up comedy, so I'm used to the occasional heckle.
