WarGames (1983)

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.

Director:

John Badham

Writers:

Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes

Stars:

Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, John Wood

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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	...	Wigan
David Clover	...	Stockman

Storyline

A young computer whiz kid accidentally connects into a top secret super-computer which has complete control over the U.S. nuclear arsenal. It challenges him to a game between America and Russia, and he innocently starts the countdown to World War 3. Can he convince the computer he wanted to play a game and not the real thing ?

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Plot Keywords:

game | computer | norad | teenager | high school | 

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Taglines:

The only winning move is not to play.

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Genres:

Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

Tous publics

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 December 1983 (France)

Also Known As:

Juegos de guerra

Filming Locations:

Snohomish High School - 1316 5th Street, Snohomish, Washington, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$79,568,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

United Artists, Sherwood Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The infirmary door lock keypad has 16 buttons. With a six-digit code as audibly signified as using only two of those buttons, each pressed three times in succession, there would be only 120 possible combinations. Adding the restriction that they be adjacent to each other, there would be only 24 possible combinations for David to try, and only 12 if they were known to be adjacent horizontally.

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Goofs

When David and Jennifer are on the ferry, the sky changes from a late afternoon blue sky, to sunset, then back to blue sky after they get off the ferry.

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Quotes

David Lightman: Hey, I don't believe that any system is totally secure.

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Connections

Referenced in A Bit of Fry and Laurie: Episode #2.5 (1990)

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Soundtracks

History Lesson (Long Line Leading To Man)
Performed by Arthur B. Rubinstein, Cynthia Morrow, Brian Banks and Anthony Marinelli (as The Beepers)
Lyrics by Cynthia Morrow
Music by Arthur B. Rubinstein
Produced by Anthony Marinelli (uncredited)

User Reviews

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 :.