WarGames (1983)

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 | Super Computer | Biology | United States Army

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:

First cinematic reference to a "firewall" - a security measure used in computer networking and Internet security. This does not predate the existence of the Internet, however, which is considered to have started in 1969.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When it is stated that "22 Typhoon class" submarines are departing. Only 6 Soviet Nuclear Ballistic Missile Submarines of this class were made. ("Typhoon class" were officially called "Project 941) were ever built. In 1983, the number would've been even fewer, as these six were built over an 8 years period (1981 - 1989). All of the Typhoon Class were based at Zapadnaya Litsa (Nerpichya Base) about 45 miles from the Norwegian border.

Quotes:

David Lightman: [typing] Is this a game... or is it real?
Joshua: What's the difference?
David Lightman: [muttering] Oh wow.
Joshua: You are a hard man to reach. Could not find you in Seattle and no terminal is in operation at your classified address.
David Lightman: [typing] What classified address?
Joshua: D.O.D. pension files indicate current mailing as: Dr. Robert Hume, a.k.a. Stephen W. Falken, 5 Tall Cedar Road, Goose Island, Oregon 97...

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Video Fever

Interesting, original idea that delivers for the most part...

I enjoyed this movie quite a bit. Matthew Broderick is the teenager computer nerd who hacks into a military database through a "back door" and starts to unintentionally play games--which are, quite surprisingly, not games after all. He's really controlling the military! With WWIII nearing, the movie takes some twists and turns and it's all good fun.

Broderick is well-cast and this is probably one of the roles, along with Ferris Bueller, that stereotyped him as a continual teenager--which makes it hard for him to get adult roles nowadays. (He's in the upcoming remake of "The Producers"--yay!)

Ally Sheedy and Dabney Coleman both have supporting roles.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film and rate it a solid "4" of five stars.

Trivia note: Sheedy and Broderick both appeared in separate movies by John Hughes: "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "The Breakfast Club."