WarGames (1983)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

John Badham

Writers:

Lawrence Lasker (written by) &
Walter F. Parkes (written by)

Release Date:

3 June 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The only winning move is not to play.

Plot:

A young man finds a back door into a military central computer in which reality is confused with game-playing, possibly starting World War III.

Plot Keywords:

Computer | Military | Boyfriend Girlfriend Relationship | Backdoor | Computer Genius

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Matthew Broderick	...	David
Dabney Coleman	...	McKittrick
John Wood	...	Falken
Ally Sheedy	...	Jennifer
Barry Corbin	...	General Beringer
Juanin Clay	...	Pat Healy
Kent Williams	...	Cabot
Dennis Lipscomb	...	Watson
Joe Dorsey	...	Conley
Irving Metzman	...	Richter
Michael Ensign	...	Beringer's Aide
William Bogert	...	Mr. Lightman
Susan Davis	...	Mrs. Lightman
James Tolkan	...	Nigan
David Clover	...	Stockman

Also Known As:

War Games (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:L | South Korea:All | New Zealand:PG | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Norway:12 (1984) | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

7-Eleven Convenience Store - 41440 Big Bear Boulevard, Big Bear Lake, Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The NORAD command center built for the movie was the most expensive set ever constructed up to that time, built at the cost of one million dollars. The producers were not allowed into the actual NORAD command center, so they had to imagine what it was like. In the DVD commentary, director John Badham notes that the actual NORAD command center isn't nearly as elaborate as the one in the movie; he refers to the movie set as "NORAD's wet dream of itself."

Goofs:

Factual errors: After David is arrested, the next scene is at NORAD where a tour group is being escorted. The escort asks a woman with a camera around her neck to sit in the command chair. A visitor would not be allowed to bring a camera into NORAD.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Guard Gainsburg: [into phone] Replacement team's here, sir.
Guard Gainsburg: [pause] Right.
Guard Gainsburg: [hangs up, buzzes in team] Come on through. Twenty minutes and we were gonna start looking for you guys.
Steve Phelps: Yeah. It's really something out there.
Guard Gainsburg: You look a mess, sir.
Jerry Lawson: Yeah? Your turn's next, Gainsburg.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Alias: Out of the Box (#5.5)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Video Fever

An Old Favorite For Many

This was an old favorite for many younger baby-boomers, who were teenagers and in their twenties at the dawn of the personal computer age.

This one was a bit more than amusing, though. It opened many eyes to both the potential and the dangers we faced while coming into the computer age. The government had these marvelous machines and the internet by which they communicated for decades before the public was given access from these ancient Commodore 64's, Amigas, and Atari home computers via phone line, back in the late 1970's.

While this work is entertaining, it also bears a valid warning, even today.

Broderick and Ally Sheedy both were 21, playing 17 year olds, competently.

It rates a 7.6/10 from...

the Fiend :.