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 | 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:

Graphics on the large NORAD war room screens were rendered in advance by an HP 9845C desktop computer running BASIC. In 1982 the 9845C was comprised of a base with built-in keyboard and a 14" color monitor that mounted on top. Cost of a 9845C was about $90,000 (inflation-adjusted) and the entire "desktop" computer weighed about 100 pounds. The computer's resolution was not good enough to project on a large screen or to be filmed from directly, so a high-resolution monochromatic display was connected. The images were filmed from the display, one frame at a time, one color at a time, using filters for red, green, and blue. The process took about 1 minute per frame of film.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When receiving and sending text from his home computer, the modem RD and SD lights do not flash. On a 300-1200 baud modem, the flashes would be very visible.

Quotes:

Jim Sting: Remember you told me to tell you when you were acting rudely and insensitively? Remember that? You're doing it right now.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (2001) (VG)

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."