WarGames: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|1983 science-fiction film directed by John Badham}} | {{Short description|1983 science-fiction film directed by John Badham}} | ||
{{Hatnote group| | {{Hatnote group| | ||
{{About|the 1983 film|the 2002 short film|War Game (film)|the 1966 television film|The War Game|other uses|War game (disambiguation){{!}}War game}} | {{About|the 1983 film|the 2002 short film|War Game (2002 film)|the 1966 television film|The War Game|other uses|War game (disambiguation){{!}}War game}} | ||
{{Redirect|WOPR|the radio station|Old Paths Radio Network}} | {{Redirect|WOPR|the radio station|Old Paths Radio Network}} | ||
}} | }} | ||
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| caption = Theatrical release poster | | caption = Theatrical release poster | ||
| director = [[John Badham]] | | director = [[John Badham]] | ||
| producer = | | producer = Harold Schneider<ref name=afi>{{Cite web |title=WarGames |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/67139 |access-date=September 14, 2023 |website=AFI Catalog}}</ref> | ||
| writer = {{plainlist| | | writer = {{plainlist| | ||
* [[Lawrence Lasker]] | * [[Lawrence Lasker]] | ||
| Line 34: | Line 34: | ||
| gross = $124.6 million | | gross = $124.6 million | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''''WarGames''''' is a 1983 American [[techno-thriller]] film<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cyber Threats and Opportunities|url=https://ghc.fiu.edu/_assets/docs/3.1045-alex-crowther-cyber-threats-to-medical-community.pdf}}</ref> directed by [[John Badham]], written by [[Lawrence Lasker]] and [[Walter F. Parkes]], and starring [[Matthew Broderick]], [[Dabney Coleman]], [[John Wood (English actor)|John Wood]] and [[Ally Sheedy]]. Broderick plays David Lightman, a young [[Security hacker|computer hacker]] who unwittingly accesses a United States military [[supercomputer]] programmed to simulate, predict and execute [[nuclear war]] against the [[Soviet Union]], triggering a [[false alarm]] that threatens to start [[World War III]]. [[Martin Brest]] was originally the film's director, but was fired early into production. | |||
The film premiered at the [[1983 Cannes Film Festival]], and was released by [[MGM/UA Communications Co.|MGM/UA Entertainment]] on June 3, 1983. It was a widespread critical and commercial success, grossing $125 million worldwide against a $12 million budget. At the [[56th Academy Awards]], the film was nominated for three [[Oscars]], including [[Best Original Screenplay]]. It also won a [[BAFTA Award]] for [[BAFTA Award for Best Sound|Best Sound]]. | |||
''WarGames'' is credited with popularizing concepts of [[computer hacking]], [[information technology]], and [[cybersecurity]] in wider American society.<ref name="wired" /><ref name="wargames" /><ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last1=Schulte |first1=Stephanie |date=November 2008 |title=The WarGames Scenario: Regulating Teenagers and Teenaged Technology |journal=Television and New Media |volume=9 |issue=6 |pages=487–513 |doi=10.1177/1527476408323345 |s2cid=146669305}}</ref> It spawned several video games, a [[WarGames: The Dead Code|2008 direct-to-video sequel film]], and a [[WarGames (interactive media)|2018 interactive series]]. | |||
==Plot== | |||
== Plot == | |||
During a surprise nuclear attack drill, many [[United States Air Force]] Strategic Missile Wing controllers prove unwilling to turn the keys required to launch a missile strike. Such refusals convince John McKittrick and other [[North American Aerospace Defense Command]] (NORAD) systems engineers that missile launch control centers must be [[Doomsday device|automated, without human intervention]]. Control is given to a NORAD supercomputer known as WOPR (War Operation Plan Response, pronounced "whopper"), or Joshua, programmed to continuously run war simulations and learn over time. | During a surprise nuclear attack drill, many [[United States Air Force]] Strategic Missile Wing controllers prove unwilling to turn the keys required to launch a missile strike. Such refusals convince John McKittrick and other [[North American Aerospace Defense Command]] (NORAD) systems engineers that missile launch control centers must be [[Doomsday device|automated, without human intervention]]. Control is given to a NORAD supercomputer known as WOPR (War Operation Plan Response, pronounced "whopper"), or Joshua, programmed to continuously run war simulations and learn over time. | ||
David Lightman, a bright but unmotivated [[Seattle]] high school student and hacker, uses his [[IMSAI 8080]] computer and [[modem]] to access the school district's computer system and change the grades for himself and his friend and classmate, Jennifer Mack. Later, while [[war dialing]] numbers in [[Sunnyvale, California]], to find a computer game company, he connects with a system that does not identify itself. Asking for games, he finds a list including [[chess]], [[checkers]], [[backgammon]] and [[poker]], along with titles such as "Theaterwide Biotoxic and Chemical Warfare" and "Global Thermonuclear War", but cannot proceed further. Two hacker friends explain the concept of a [[Backdoor (computing)|backdoor]] password and suggest tracking down the Falken referenced in "Falken's Maze", the first game listed. David discovers that Stephen Falken was an early [[ | David Lightman, a bright but unmotivated [[Seattle]] high school student and hacker, uses his [[IMSAI 8080]] computer and [[modem]] to access the school district's computer system and change the grades for himself and his friend and classmate, Jennifer Mack. Later, while [[war dialing]] numbers in [[Sunnyvale, California]], to find a computer game company, he connects with a system that does not identify itself. Asking for games, he finds a list including [[chess]], [[checkers]], [[backgammon]] and [[poker]], along with titles such as "Theaterwide Biotoxic and Chemical Warfare" and "Global Thermonuclear War", but cannot proceed further. Two hacker friends explain the concept of a [[Backdoor (computing)|backdoor]] password and suggest tracking down the Falken referenced in "Falken's Maze", the first game listed. David discovers that Stephen Falken was an early [[artificial-intelligence]] researcher and guesses correctly that the name of Falken's deceased son (Joshua) is the password. | ||
Unaware that the Sunnyvale phone number connects to WOPR at the [[Cheyenne Mountain Complex]], David initiates a game of Global Thermonuclear War, playing as the [[Soviet Union]] while targeting American cities. The computer starts a simulation that briefly convinces NORAD military personnel that actual Soviet nuclear missiles are inbound. While they defuse the situation, WOPR nonetheless continues the simulation to trigger the scenario and win the game, as it does not understand the difference between reality and simulation. It continuously feeds false data such as Soviet bomber incursions and submarine deployments to NORAD, pushing them to increase the [[DEFCON]] level toward a retaliation that will start [[World War III]]. | Unaware that the Sunnyvale phone number connects to WOPR at the [[Cheyenne Mountain Complex]], David initiates a game of Global Thermonuclear War, playing as the [[Soviet Union]] while targeting American cities. The computer starts a simulation that briefly convinces NORAD military personnel that actual Soviet nuclear missiles are inbound. While they defuse the situation, WOPR nonetheless continues the simulation to trigger the scenario and win the game, as it does not understand the difference between reality and simulation. It continuously feeds false data such as Soviet bomber incursions and submarine deployments to NORAD, pushing them to increase the [[DEFCON]] level toward a retaliation that will start [[World War III]]. | ||
David learns the true nature of his actions from a news broadcast, and [[ | David learns the true nature of his actions from a news broadcast, and [[FBI]] [[special agent]]s arrest him and take him to NORAD. He realizes that WOPR is behind the NORAD alerts, but he fails to convince McKittrick (who believes David is working for the Soviets) and is charged with espionage. David escapes NORAD by joining a tourist group and, with Jennifer's help, travels to the [[Oregon]] island where Falken lives under the alias "Robert Hume". David and Jennifer find that Falken has become despondent, believing that nuclear war is inevitable and as futile as a game of [[tic-tac-toe]] between two experienced players. The teenagers convince Falken that he should return to NORAD to stop WOPR. | ||
WOPR stages a massive Soviet [[First strike (nuclear strategy)|first strike]] with hundreds of missiles, submarines, and bombers. Believing the attack to be genuine, NORAD prepares to retaliate. Falken, David, and Jennifer convince military officials to delay the [[second strike]] and ride out the supposed attack until actual weapons impacts are confirmed. When the targeted American bases ([[Elmendorf Air Force Base]], [[Grand Forks Air Force Base]], and [[Loring Air Force Base]]) report back unharmed, NORAD prepares to cancel the retaliatory second strike. However, WOPR tries to launch the missiles on its own using a [[brute-force attack]] to obtain the launch codes. Without humans in the control centers as a safeguard using the [[two-man rule]], the computer will trigger a mass launch. All attempts to log in and order WOPR to cancel the countdown fail. Disconnecting the computer is discussed and dismissed, as a [[fail-deadly]] mechanism will launch all weapons if the computer is disabled. | WOPR stages a massive Soviet [[First strike (nuclear strategy)|first strike]] with hundreds of missiles, submarines, and bombers. Believing the attack to be genuine, NORAD prepares to retaliate. Falken, David, and Jennifer convince military officials to delay the [[second strike]] and ride out the supposed attack until actual weapons impacts are confirmed. When the targeted American bases ([[Elmendorf Air Force Base]], [[Grand Forks Air Force Base]], and [[Loring Air Force Base]]) report back unharmed, NORAD prepares to cancel the retaliatory second strike. However, WOPR tries to launch the missiles on its own using a [[brute-force attack]] to obtain the launch codes. Without humans in the control centers as a safeguard using the [[two-man rule]], the computer will trigger a mass launch. All attempts to log in and order WOPR to cancel the countdown fail. Disconnecting the computer is discussed and dismissed, as a [[fail-deadly]] mechanism will launch all weapons if the computer is disabled. | ||
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Falken and David direct the computer to play tic-tac-toe against itself. This results in a long string of draws, forcing the computer to learn the concept of futility and no-win scenarios. WOPR obtains the launch codes, but before launching, it cycles through all the nuclear war scenarios it has devised, finding that they all result in draws as well. Having discovered the concept of [[mutual assured destruction]] ("WINNER: NONE"), the computer tells Falken it has concluded that nuclear war is "a strange game" in which "the only winning move is not to play." WOPR relinquishes control of NORAD and the missiles and offers to play "a nice game of chess". | Falken and David direct the computer to play tic-tac-toe against itself. This results in a long string of draws, forcing the computer to learn the concept of futility and no-win scenarios. WOPR obtains the launch codes, but before launching, it cycles through all the nuclear war scenarios it has devised, finding that they all result in draws as well. Having discovered the concept of [[mutual assured destruction]] ("WINNER: NONE"), the computer tells Falken it has concluded that nuclear war is "a strange game" in which "the only winning move is not to play." WOPR relinquishes control of NORAD and the missiles and offers to play "a nice game of chess". | ||
== Cast == | ==Cast== | ||
{{cast listing| | {{cast listing| | ||
* [[Matthew Broderick]] as David Lightman | * [[Matthew Broderick]] as David Lightman | ||
| Line 66: | Line 65: | ||
* Joe Dorsey as Col. Joe Conley | * Joe Dorsey as Col. Joe Conley | ||
* [[Michael Ensign]] as Beringer's Aide | * [[Michael Ensign]] as Beringer's Aide | ||
* Duncan Wilmore as Major Lem | |||
* [[William Bogert]] as Mr. Lightman, David's father | * [[William Bogert]] as Mr. Lightman, David's father | ||
* Susan Davis as Mrs. Lightman, David's mother | * Susan Davis as Mrs. Lightman, David's mother | ||
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}} | }} | ||
== Production == | ==Production== | ||
=== Development === | ===Development=== | ||
Development on ''WarGames'' began in 1979, when writers Walter F. Parkes and [[Lawrence Lasker]] developed an idea for a script called ''The Genius'', about "a dying scientist and the only person in the world who understands | Development on ''WarGames'' began in 1979, when writers Walter F. Parkes and [[Lawrence Lasker]] developed an idea for a script called ''The Genius'', about "a dying scientist and the only person in the world who understands him — a rebellious kid who's too smart for his own good". Lasker was inspired by a television special presented by [[Peter Ustinov]] on several geniuses, including [[Stephen Hawking]]. Lasker said, "I found the predicament Hawking was in fascinating — that he might one day figure out the [[unified field theory]] and not be able to tell anyone, because of his progressive [[ALS]]. So, there was this idea that he'd need a successor. And who would that be? Maybe this kid, a juvenile delinquent whose problem was that nobody realized he was too smart for his environment." The concept of computers and hacking as part of the film was not yet present.<ref name="wired">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/magazine/16-08/ff_wargames?currentPage=all |title=WarGames: A Look Back at the Film That Turned Geeks and Phreaks Into Stars |access-date=May 1, 2009 |author=Brown, Scott |date=July 21, 2008 |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110712221432/http://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/magazine/16-08/ff_wargames?currentPage=all |archive-date=July 12, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | ||
''The Genius'' began its transformation into ''WarGames'' when Parkes and Lasker met [[Peter Schwartz (futurist)|Peter Schwartz]] from the [[SRI International|Stanford Research Institute]]. "There was a new subculture of extremely bright kids developing into what would become known as hackers," said Schwartz. Schwartz made the connection between youth, computers, gaming, and the military.{{r|wired}} Parkes and Lasker also met with computer-security expert [[Willis Ware]] of [[RAND Corporation]], who assured them that even a secure military computer might have remote access enabling [[remote work]] on weekends, encouraging the screenwriters to continue with the project.<ref name="kaplan20160221">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/21/movies/wargames-and-cybersecuritys-debt-to-a-hollywood-hack.html | title=Cybersecurity's Debt to a Hollywood Hack | work=The New York Times | date=February 21, 2016 | access-date=February 28, 2016 | author=Kaplan, Fred | pages=AR24}}</ref> | ''The Genius'' began its transformation into ''WarGames'' when Parkes and Lasker met [[Peter Schwartz (futurist)|Peter Schwartz]] from the [[SRI International|Stanford Research Institute]]. "There was a new subculture of extremely bright kids developing into what would become known as hackers," said Schwartz. Schwartz made the connection between youth, computers, gaming, and the military.{{r|wired}} Parkes and Lasker also met with computer-security expert [[Willis Ware]] of [[RAND Corporation]], who assured them that even a secure military computer might have remote access enabling [[remote work]] on weekends, encouraging the screenwriters to continue with the project.<ref name="kaplan20160221">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/21/movies/wargames-and-cybersecuritys-debt-to-a-hollywood-hack.html | title=Cybersecurity's Debt to a Hollywood Hack | work=The New York Times | date=February 21, 2016 | access-date=February 28, 2016 | author=Kaplan, Fred | pages=AR24}}</ref> | ||
Parkes and Lasker came up with several military-themed | Parkes and Lasker came up with several military-themed plot lines before the final story. One version of the script had an early version of the WOPR named "Uncle Ollie", or Omnipresent Laser Interceptor (OLI), a space-based defensive laser run by an intelligent program, but this idea was discarded, because it was too speculative.<ref name="wired" /> Director [[John Badham]] coined the name "WOPR", feeling that the name of NORAD's [[Single Integrated Operational Plan]] was "boring, and told you nothing".<ref name="wargames">[[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] "WarGames 25th Anniversary Edition DVD"</ref> The name "WOPR" played off the [[Whopper]] hamburger, and a general sense of something going "whop".<ref name="wargames" /> | ||
David Lightman was modeled on David Scott Lewis, a hacking enthusiast Parkes and Lasker met.<ref name="wired" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://venturebeat.com/2008/08/12/a-qa-that-is-25-years-late-david-scott-lewis-the-inspiration-behind-the-film-war-games/ |title=A Q&A that is 25 years late: David Scott Lewis, the mystery hacker who inspired the film "War Games" |access-date=May 1, 2009 |author=Takahashi, Dean |date=August 12, 2008 |work=VentureBeat |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110602035734/http://venturebeat.com/2008/08/12/a-qa-that-is-25-years-late-david-scott-lewis-the-inspiration-behind-the-film-war-games/ |archive-date=June 2, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Falken was inspired by and named after [[Stephen Hawking]]; [[John Lennon]] was interested in playing the role, but [[murder of John Lennon|was murdered in New York]] while the script was in development. General Beringer was based on | David Lightman was modeled on David Scott Lewis, a hacking enthusiast Parkes and Lasker met.<ref name="wired" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://venturebeat.com/2008/08/12/a-qa-that-is-25-years-late-david-scott-lewis-the-inspiration-behind-the-film-war-games/ |title=A Q&A that is 25 years late: David Scott Lewis, the mystery hacker who inspired the film "War Games" |access-date=May 1, 2009 |author=Takahashi, Dean |date=August 12, 2008 |work=VentureBeat |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110602035734/http://venturebeat.com/2008/08/12/a-qa-that-is-25-years-late-david-scott-lewis-the-inspiration-behind-the-film-war-games/ |archive-date=June 2, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Dr. Stephen Falken<ref>The German word "Falken" means "[[falcon]]", which, like a [[hawk]], is also a raptor. Thus, "Stephen Falken" is an oblique reference to "Stephen Hawking".</ref> was inspired by and named after [[Stephen Hawking]]; [[John Lennon]] was interested in playing the role, but [[murder of John Lennon|was murdered in New York]] while the script was in development. General Beringer was based on [[United States Air Force|USAF]] General [[James V. Hartinger]], the then-[[commander-in-chief]] of NORAD, whom Parkes and Lasker met while visiting the base, and who, like Beringer, favored keeping humans in the [[Decision cycle|decision loop]].<ref name="wired" /> | ||
=== Filming === | ===Filming=== | ||
[[Martin Brest]] was originally hired as the director, but was | [[Martin Brest]] was originally hired as the director for ''WarGames.'' Brest said that he spent one and a half years working full time on the film, but shortly before the beginning of production, disagreement arose between him and one of the producers who had developed the script and he was fired after three weeks of production. According to Brest the disagreement stemmed from a question about authorial control. As Brest described it, the producer was more used to television "where the director is a bricklayer, essentially".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Gilchrist |first=Todd |date=July 18, 2023 |title=Director Martin Brest Revisits the Triumphs of 'Beverly Hills Cop' and 'Midnight Run,' and Reflects On His Post-'Gigli' Hollywood Exile |url=https://variety.com/2023/film/features/martin-brest-director-beverly-hills-cop-gigli-1235672428/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230718182316/https://variety.com/2023/film/features/martin-brest-director-beverly-hills-cop-gigli-1235672428/ |archive-date=July 18, 2023 |access-date=February 6, 2023 |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |language=en-US}}</ref> | ||
[[ | He was then replaced with [[John Badham]]. Several of the scenes shot by Brest remain in the final film. Badham said that Brest had "taken a somewhat dark approach to the story and the way it was shot. It was like [Broderick and Sheedy] were doing some [[Nazism|Nazi]] undercover thing, so it was my job to make it seem like they were having fun, and that it was exciting." According to Badham, Broderick and Sheedy were "stiff as boards" when they came onto the sound stage, having both Brest's dark vision and the idea that they would soon be fired. Badham did 12 to 14 takes of the first shot to loosen the actors up. At one point, Badham decided to race with the two actors around the sound stage, with the one who came last having to sing a song to the crew. Badham lost and sang "[[The Happy Wanderer]]", the silliest song he could think of.<ref name="thi">{{cite web|url=https://thehollywoodinterview.blogspot.com/2008/08/john-badham-hollywood-interview.html |title=John Badham: The Hollywood Interview |access-date=May 1, 2009 |author=Simon, Alex |date=August 2, 2008 |publisher=The Hollywood Interview |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708070846/http://thehollywoodinterview.blogspot.com/2008/08/john-badham-hollywood-interview.html |archive-date=July 8, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He invited what ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'' described as "a small army of computer whizzes on set" to advise on accuracy.{{r|wired}} | ||
[[Tom Mankiewicz]] says he wrote some additional scenes during shooting that were used.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mankiewicz |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Mankiewicz |title=My Life as a Mankiewicz: An Insider's Journey Through Hollywood |date=2012 |publisher=[[University Press of Kentucky]] |others=with Robert Crane |pages=253–254}}</ref> [[Walon Green]] was also an uncredited [[script doctor]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kehr |first=Dave |date=October 26, 1985 |title=WarGames |url=http://chicagoreader.com/film/wargames-2/ |access-date=September 14, 2023 |website=Chicago Reader |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
== Release == | ===Design=== | ||
''WarGames'' did well at the box office, grossing $79,567,667, the fifth-highest of 1983 in the United States and Canada.<ref name="wired"/><ref>{{cite web |title = WarGames (1983) |url = https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl846759425/weekend/ |work = [[Box Office Mojo]] |publisher = [[ | The WOPR computer, as seen in the film, was a [[prop]] created in [[Culver City, California]], by members of the [[International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees]] Local 44.<ref name="prop">{{cite web |author=Mike Fink |date=March 5, 2006 |title=What happened to the WOPR? |url=https://www.imsai.net/movies/wargames.htm#WOPR |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103025355/https://www.imsai.net/movies/wargames.htm#WOPR |archive-date=January 3, 2020 |access-date=March 27, 2009 |work=The Wargames IMSAI}}</ref> It was designed by [[production designer]] (credited as a visual consultant) [[Geoffrey Kirkland]] on the basis of some pictures he had of early [[tabulating machine]]s, and metal furniture, consoles, and cabinets used particularly in the U.S. military in the 1940s and 1950s. Art director [[Angelo P. Graham]] adapted them in drawings and concepts. The WOPR was operated by a crewmember sitting inside the computer, entering commands into an [[Apple II]] at the director's instruction.<ref name="prop" /> The prop was broken up for scrap after production was completed. A replica was built for a 2006 AT&T commercial.<ref>{{cite web |title=wargames2 |url=https://www.imsai.net/wargames2/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920195124/https://www.imsai.net/wargames2/ |archive-date=September 20, 2020 |access-date=September 20, 2020 |work=imsai.net}}</ref> | ||
==Release== | |||
''WarGames'' did well at the box office, grossing $79,567,667, the fifth-highest of 1983 in the United States and Canada.<ref name="wired"/><ref>{{cite web |title = WarGames (1983) |url = https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl846759425/weekend/ |work = [[Box Office Mojo]] |publisher = [[Internet Movie Database]] |access-date = December 22, 2010}}</ref> It grossed $45 million internationally for a worldwide total of $124.6 million.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=September 11, 1995|page=92|title=UIP's $25M-Plus Club}}</ref> | |||
The film was screened out of competition at the [[1983 Cannes Film Festival]].<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/1374/year/1983.html |title=Festival de Cannes: WarGames |access-date=June 22, 2009 |work=festival-cannes.com}}</ref> | The film was screened out of competition at the [[1983 Cannes Film Festival]].<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/1374/year/1983.html |title=Festival de Cannes: WarGames |access-date=June 22, 2009 |work=festival-cannes.com}}</ref> | ||
== Reception == | ==Reception== | ||
=== Critical response === | ===Critical response=== | ||
On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], ''WarGames'' received an approval rating of 94% based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 7.60/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Part delightfully tense techno-thriller, part refreshingly unpatronizing teen drama, ''WarGames'' is one of the more inventive—and genuinely suspenseful—Cold War movies of the 1980s."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wargames/ |title=WarGames (War Games) (1983) |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]] |access-date=August 21, 2023}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a [[weighted arithmetic mean|weighted average]] score of 77 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/wargames |title=WarGames Reviews |website=[[Metacritic]] |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |access-date=May 6, 2018}}</ref> | On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], ''WarGames'' received an approval rating of 94% based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 7.60/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Part delightfully tense techno-thriller, part refreshingly unpatronizing teen drama, ''WarGames'' is one of the more inventive—and genuinely suspenseful—Cold War movies of the 1980s."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wargames/ |title=WarGames (War Games) (1983) |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]] |access-date=August 21, 2023}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a [[weighted arithmetic mean|weighted average]] score of 77 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/wargames |title=WarGames Reviews |website=[[Metacritic]] |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |access-date=May 6, 2018}}</ref> | ||
[[Roger Ebert]] gave ''WarGames'' four out of four stars, calling it "an amazingly entertaining thriller" and "one of the best films so far this year", with a "wonderful" ending.<ref name="ebert">{{cite news |title=WarGames review |first=Roger |last=Ebert |author-link=Roger Ebert |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/wargames-1983 |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |date=June 3, 1983 |access-date=December 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701054930/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19830603%2FREVIEWS%2F306030301%2F1023 |archive-date=July 1, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Leonard Maltin]] gave it a mixed review calling it "''[[Fail Safe (1964 film)|Fail Safe]]'' for the [[Pac-Man]] Generation" and "Entertaining to a point". He concluded, "Incidentally, it's easy to see why this was so popular with kids: most of the adults in the film are boobs."<ref>{{cite web |first=Leonard |last=Maltin |author-link=Leonard Maltin |title=23. WarGames (1983) |url= | [[Roger Ebert]] gave ''WarGames'' four out of four stars, calling it "an amazingly entertaining thriller" and "one of the best films so far this year", with a "wonderful" ending.<ref name="ebert">{{cite news |title=WarGames review |first=Roger |last=Ebert |author-link=Roger Ebert |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/wargames-1983 |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |date=June 3, 1983 |access-date=December 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701054930/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19830603%2FREVIEWS%2F306030301%2F1023 |archive-date=July 1, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> Robert Denerstein of the ''[[Rocky Mountain News]]'' gave it three stars, writing that "for a long time, Badham sustains a playful mood, a combination of [[Hardy Boys]] enthusiasm, good-natured humor and high-tech adventure", but he said that he "found [himself] seriously let down by the fact that the adults don't seem to ask the obvious questions and thorny spots in the script are so conveniently resolved that the movie deteriorates in retrospect."<ref>{{cite news |last=Denerstein |first=Robert |date=June 3, 1983 |title='WarGames': Of nuclear war and other diversions |url=https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=RMD19830603-01.2.428 |work=[[Rocky Mountain News]] |location=Denver, Colorado, United States |publisher= |access-date=September 27, 2025}}</ref> [[Leonard Maltin]] gave it a mixed review calling it "''[[Fail Safe (1964 film)|Fail Safe]]'' for the [[Pac-Man]] Generation" and "Entertaining to a point". He concluded, "Incidentally, it's easy to see why this was so popular with kids: most of the adults in the film are boobs."<ref>{{cite web |first=Leonard |last=Maltin |author-link=Leonard Maltin |title=23. WarGames (1983) |url=https://maltinsworstratings.blogspot.com/2012/11/23-wargames-1983.html |website=Leonard Maltin's Worst Ratings |access-date=January 9, 2016}}</ref> | ||
American fiction writer [[Robert Bloch]], author of ''[[Psycho (novel)|Psycho]]'', reviewed ''WarGames'' for ''[[Starlog]]'' magazine in 1983. Bloch was generally complimentary of the film, writing, "Let me say, up front, that ''WarGames'' is an outstanding film. Its production values are impressive. Its script, direction, editing and cinematography are deft. The performances of Matthew Broderick as David and Ally Sheedy as Jennifer are outstanding.” However, although Bloch wrote, “I accept ''WarGames'' as an entertaining fantasy," he added, "...I cannot accept the unchallenged notion that there’s anything ‘heroic’ about a young man who devotes his skills to totally immoral and amoral ends; who seems to think that lying and cheating are merely part of a ‘game’ which all intelligent human beings must play in order to get a free ride through life at others’ expense.”<ref>{{cite web|last=Lambie |first=Ryan |url=https://filmstories.co.uk/news/in-1983-the-author-of-psycho-reviewed-wargames/ |title=In 1983, the author of Psycho reviewed WarGames |publisher=filmstories.co.uk |date=2025-08-29 |access-date=2025-11-11}}</ref> | |||
''[[Computer Gaming World]]'' stated that "''Wargames'' is plausible enough to intrigue and terrifying enough to excite ... [it] makes one think, as well as feel, all the way", raised several moral questions about technology and society, and recommended the film to "Computer hobbyists of all kinds".<ref name="wilson19830708">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1983&pub=2&id=11 | title=Movie Micro Review / "WarGames" | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=Jul–Aug 1983 | access-date=July 6, 2014 | author=Wilson, Dr. Johnny L. | page=43}}</ref> ''[[Softalk|Softline]]'' described the film as being "completely original"; unlike other computer-related films like ''[[Tron]]'' that "could (and do) exist in substantially the same form with some other plot", ''WarGames'' "could not exist if the microcomputer did not exist ... It takes the micro and telecommunications as a given—part of the middle-class American landscape" | ''[[Computer Gaming World]]'' stated that "''Wargames'' is plausible enough to intrigue and terrifying enough to excite ... [it] makes one think, as well as feel, all the way", raised several moral questions about technology and society, and recommended the film to "Computer hobbyists of all kinds".<ref name="wilson19830708">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1983&pub=2&id=11 | title=Movie Micro Review / "WarGames" | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=Jul–Aug 1983 | access-date=July 6, 2014 | author=Wilson, Dr. Johnny L. | page=43}}</ref> ''[[Softalk|Softline]]'' described the film as being "completely original"; unlike other computer-related films like ''[[Tron]]'' that "could (and do) exist in substantially the same form with some other plot", ''WarGames'' "could not exist if the microcomputer did not exist ... It takes the micro and telecommunications as a given—part of the middle-class American landscape." The magazine praised the film as "Very funny, excruciatingly suspenseful, and endlessly inventive, this movie is right on the mark; authentic even when highly improbable."<ref name="softline19830708">{{cite news | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1983&pub=6&id=12 | title=Games at War | work=Softline | date=Jul–Aug 1983 | access-date=July 28, 2014 | pages=31–32}}</ref> Christopher John in ''[[Ares Magazine]]'' commented that "The movie cloaked itself in a standard message, but then set out to take something we have seen many times before and retell it in a new, interesting fashion. ''War Games'' is highly entertaining, fast-moving, colorful, and mentally stimulating."<ref name="Ares">{{cite journal | last=John | first=Christopher | title=Film | journal=[[Ares Magazine]] | publisher=[[TSR, Inc.]] | date=Fall 1983| issue=15 | pages=11–12}}</ref> [[Colin Greenland]] in ''[[Imagine (game magazine)|Imagine]]'' stated that "''Wargames'' is a tense, tight film, sharply acted, funny, sane, and with a plot twist for every chilling sub-routine in WOPR's scenarios for World War III."<ref name="Imagine8">{{cite journal | last = Greenland|first = Colin |author-link=Colin Greenland| title =Film Review | type = review | journal = [[Imagine (AD&D magazine)|Imagine]] | issue = 8| pages =19 | publisher = TSR Hobbies (UK), Ltd. |date=November 1983}}</ref> | ||
==Accolades== | |||
''WarGames'' was nominated for three [[Academy Awards]]: [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]] ([[William A. Fraker]]), [[Academy Award for Best Sound|Sound]] ([[Michael J. Kohut]], [[Carlos Delarios]], [[Aaron Rochin]], [[Willie D. Burton]]), and [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen]] (Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes).<ref name="wired" /><ref name="Oscars1984">{{cite web |title=The 56th Academy Awards (1984) Nominees and Winners |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1984 |access-date=October 9, 2011 |work=oscars.org}}</ref> The company that provided the large [[video wall]] used to display the tactical situations seen in the NORAD set employed a new design that was super-bright, enabling the displays to be filmed live. (The set was more visually impressive than the actual NORAD facilities at the time.)<ref name="wired" /> The animations seen on the NORAD displays, produced by [[Colin Cantwell]], were created using Hewlett Packard [[HP 9845C]] computers driving monochrome HP 1345A vector displays, which were still-filmed through successive color-filters. Each frame took approximately one minute to produce, and 50,000 feet of negatives were produced over seven months. The animations were projected "live" onto the screens from behind using [[16 mm film]], so they were visible to the actors and no post-production work was needed.<ref>{{cite web |title=Screen Art: War Games |url=https://www.hp9845.net/9845/software/screenart/wargames/ |work=hp9845.net}}</ref> | ''WarGames'' was nominated for three [[Academy Awards]]: [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]] ([[William A. Fraker]]), [[Academy Award for Best Sound|Sound]] ([[Michael J. Kohut]], [[Carlos Delarios]], [[Aaron Rochin]], [[Willie D. Burton]]), and [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen]] (Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes).<ref name="wired" /><ref name="Oscars1984">{{cite web |title=The 56th Academy Awards (1984) Nominees and Winners |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1984 |access-date=October 9, 2011 |work=oscars.org}}</ref> The company that provided the large [[video wall]] used to display the tactical situations seen in the NORAD set employed a new design that was super-bright, enabling the displays to be filmed live. (The set was more visually impressive than the actual NORAD facilities at the time.)<ref name="wired" /> The animations seen on the NORAD displays, produced by [[Colin Cantwell]], were created using Hewlett Packard [[HP 9845C]] computers driving monochrome HP 1345A vector displays, which were still-filmed through successive color-filters. Each frame took approximately one minute to produce, and 50,000 feet of negatives were produced over seven months. The animations were projected "live" onto the screens from behind using [[16 mm film]], so they were visible to the actors and no post-production work was needed.<ref>{{cite web |title=Screen Art: War Games |url=https://www.hp9845.net/9845/software/screenart/wargames/ |work=hp9845.net}}</ref> | ||
=== List of awards and nominations === | |||
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2023}} | {{Unreferenced section|date=September 2023}} | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
| Line 126: | Line 130: | ||
! Result | ! Result | ||
|- | |- | ||
| rowspan="3" |[[ | | rowspan="3" |[[Academy Award]] | ||
| rowspan="3" |[[56th Academy Awards|1984]] | | rowspan="3" |[[56th Academy Awards|1984]] | ||
|[[ | |[[Best Original Screenplay]] | ||
|[[Lawrence Lasker]], [[Walter F. Parkes]] | |[[Lawrence Lasker]], [[Walter F. Parkes]] | ||
|{{nom}} | |{{nom}} | ||
| Line 142: | Line 146: | ||
|[[American Cinema Editors|American Cinema Editors Award]] | |[[American Cinema Editors|American Cinema Editors Award]] | ||
|1984 | |1984 | ||
|[[ | |[[Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic]] | ||
|[[Tom Rolf]] | |[[Tom Rolf]] | ||
|{{won}} | |{{won}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
| rowspan="3" |[[ | | rowspan="3" |[[British Academy Film Award]] | ||
| rowspan="3" |[[37th British Academy Film Awards|1984]] | | rowspan="3" |[[37th British Academy Film Awards|1984]] | ||
|[[BAFTA Award for Best Production Design|Best Production Design]] | |[[BAFTA Award for Best Production Design|Best Production Design]] | ||
| Line 166: | Line 170: | ||
|{{nom}} | |{{nom}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
| rowspan="6" |[[ | | rowspan="6" |[[Saturn Award]] | ||
| rowspan="6" |[[11th Saturn Awards|1984]] | | rowspan="6" |[[11th Saturn Awards|1984]] | ||
|[[Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film|Best Science Fiction Film]] | |[[Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film|Best Science Fiction Film]] | ||
| Line 192: | Line 196: | ||
|{{nom}} | |{{nom}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
|[[ | |[[Writers Guild of America Award]] | ||
|[[36th Writers Guild of America Awards|1984]] | |[[36th Writers Guild of America Awards|1984]] | ||
|[[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]] | |[[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]] | ||
|Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes | |Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes | ||
|{{ | |{{nom}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
| rowspan="2" |[[Young Artist Award]] | | rowspan="2" |[[Young Artist Award]] | ||
| Line 209: | Line 213: | ||
|} | |} | ||
=== Influence === | ===Influence=== | ||
''WarGames'' was the first mass-consumed, visual | ''WarGames'' was the first mass-consumed, visual medium with the central theme of remote computing as well as hacking, and it served as both an amplifier vehicle and framework for America's earliest discussion of [[information technology]].{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}<ref name="chin19830905">{{Cite magazine |last=Chin |first=Kathy |date=September 5, 1983 |title=Los Alamos computer system break-in |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sC8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1 |access-date=April 30, 2025 |magazine=InfoWorld |pages=1,4 |volume=5 |issue=36}}</ref> | ||
When [[The 414s]] hacker group penetrated systems at [[Los Alamos National Laboratory]] later in 1983, news media described the affair as "the 'WarGames' case"<ref name="chin19830905">{{Cite magazine |last=Chin |first=Kathy |date=September 5, 1983 |title=Los Alamos computer system break-in |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sC8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1 |access-date=April 30, 2025 |magazine=InfoWorld |pages=1,4 |volume=5 |issue=36}}</ref> and speculated about the potential for the film's scenario to exist in reality. | |||
President [[Ronald Reagan]], a family friend of Lasker's, watched the film and discussed the plot with members of Congress,<ref name="wired" /> his advisers, and the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]]. Reagan ordered a full national security review. Within a week, the Joint Chiefs of Staff returned an answer: "Yes, the premise was technically possible". Reagan's interest in the film is credited with leading to the enactment 18 months later of [[National security directive|NSDD-145]], the first [[Presidential directive]] on computer security.{{r|kaplan20160221}} | |||
[[Bulletin board system]] (BBS) operators reported an unusual rise in activity in 1984, which at least one [[sysop]] attributed to ''WarGames'' introducing viewers to modems.<ref name="yakal198411">{{cite news |author=Yakal, Kathy |date=November 1984 |title=Bulletin Board Fever |page=16 |work=Compute!'s Gazette |url=https://archive.org/stream/1984-11-computegazette/Compute_Gazette_Issue_17_1984_Nov#page/n17/mode/2up |access-date=July 6, 2014}}</ref> The scenes showing Lightman's computer dialing every number in Sunnyvale led to the term "[[ | [[Bulletin board system]] (BBS) operators reported an unusual rise in activity in 1984, which at least one [[sysop]] attributed to ''WarGames'' introducing viewers to modems.<ref name="yakal198411">{{cite news |author=Yakal, Kathy |date=November 1984 |title=Bulletin Board Fever |page=16 |work=Compute!'s Gazette |url=https://archive.org/stream/1984-11-computegazette/Compute_Gazette_Issue_17_1984_Nov#page/n17/mode/2up |access-date=July 6, 2014}}</ref> The scenes showing Lightman's computer dialing every number in Sunnyvale led to the term "[[wardialing]]" (earlier known as "[[demon dialing]]"), a technique of using a modem to scan a list of telephone numbers in search of unknown computers, and indirectly to the newer term, "[[wardriving]]".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ryan |first=Patrick S. |date=Summer 2004 |title=War, Peace, or Stalemate: Wargames, Wardialing, Wardriving, and the Emerging Market for Hacker Ethics |journal=[[Virginia Journal of Law and Technology]] |volume=9 |ssrn=585867 |number=7}}</ref> | ||
The film also led to the first U.S. federal internet policy: the [[Computer Fraud and Abuse Act]] of 1986.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
== Related media == | ==Related media== | ||
===Novelization=== | ===Novelization=== | ||
A novelization of the film was written by [[David Bischoff]]. | A novelization of the film was written by [[David Bischoff]]. | ||
=== Sequel === | ===Sequel=== | ||
{{main|WarGames: The Dead Code}} | {{main|WarGames: The Dead Code}} | ||
In November 2006, pre-production began on a sequel, titled ''WarGames: The Dead Code''. It was directed by Stuart Gillard, and starred [[Matt Lanter]] as a hacker named Will Farmer facing off with a government supercomputer called RIPLEY.<ref>{{cite web |title=WarGames 2 Casting |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2006/11/09/war-games-2-casting |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725210139/http://movies.ign.com/articles/744/744962p1.html |archive-date=July 25, 2012 |access-date=November 9, 2006 |work=Stax |publisher=IGN}}</ref> MGM released the sequel directly to DVD on July 29, 2008, along with the 25th Anniversary Edition DVD of ''WarGames''. To promote the sequel, the original film returned to selected theaters as a one-night-only 25th-anniversary event on July 24, 2008.<ref>{{cite web |date=July 24, 2008 |title=WarGames 25th Anniversary |url=https://www.fathomevents.com/sci-fiandhorror/event/war_games_25th.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101103235619/http://www.fathomevents.com/about/ |archive-date=November 3, 2010 |access-date=December 22, 2010 |publisher=NCM Fathom}}</ref> | In November 2006, pre-production began on a sequel, titled ''WarGames: The Dead Code''. It was directed by Stuart Gillard, and starred [[Matt Lanter]] as a hacker named Will Farmer facing off with a government supercomputer called RIPLEY.<ref>{{cite web |title=WarGames 2 Casting |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2006/11/09/war-games-2-casting |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725210139/http://movies.ign.com/articles/744/744962p1.html |archive-date=July 25, 2012 |access-date=November 9, 2006 |work=Stax |publisher=IGN}}</ref> MGM released the sequel directly to DVD on July 29, 2008, along with the 25th Anniversary Edition DVD of ''WarGames''. To promote the sequel, the original film returned to selected theaters as a one-night-only 25th-anniversary event on July 24, 2008.<ref>{{cite web |date=July 24, 2008 |title=WarGames 25th Anniversary |url=https://www.fathomevents.com/sci-fiandhorror/event/war_games_25th.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101103235619/http://www.fathomevents.com/about/ |archive-date=November 3, 2010 |access-date=December 22, 2010 |publisher=NCM Fathom}}</ref> | ||
=== Video games === | ===Video games=== | ||
A video game, ''[[WarGames (video game)|WarGames]]'', was released for the [[ColecoVision]] in 1983 and ported to the [[Atari 8-bit computers]] and [[Commodore 64]] in 1984. It | A video game, ''[[WarGames (video game)|WarGames]]'', was released for the [[ColecoVision]] in 1983 and ported to the [[Atari 8-bit computers]] and [[Commodore 64]] in 1984. It plays similarly to the NORAD side of the "Global Thermonuclear War" game, where the United States has to be defended from a Soviet strike by placing bases and weapons at strategic points. ''[[WarGames: Defcon 1]]'', a real-time strategy game only loosely related to the film, was released for the [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]] and PC in 1998. | ||
A game inspired by the film, called "Computer War" from [[Thorn EMI]], in which the player must track and shoot down [[intercontinental ballistic missile]]s, as well as crack a computer code, was released for the Atari 8-bit, [[TI-99/4A]], and [[VIC-20]] in 1984. The same year, Australian developer Gameworx released ''Thermonuclear Wargames'', an illustrated text adventure in which the player must stop a NORDAD computer called M.A.S.T.A. from initiating World War III. | A game inspired by the film, called "Computer War" from [[Thorn EMI]], in which the player must track and shoot down [[intercontinental ballistic missile]]s, as well as crack a computer code, was released for the Atari 8-bit, [[TI-99/4A]], and [[VIC-20]] in 1984. The same year, Australian developer Gameworx released ''Thermonuclear Wargames'', an illustrated text adventure in which the player must stop a NORDAD computer called M.A.S.T.A. from initiating World War III. | ||
| Line 233: | Line 242: | ||
[[Be-Rad Entertainment]] released a [[tile-matching video game]], "WarGames: WOPR", for [[iOS]] and [[Android (operating system)|Android]] devices in 2012.<ref>{{cite web |title=WarGames: WOPR for iOS |url=https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wargames-wopr/id528382306 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120620003934/http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wargames-wopr/id528382306 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 20, 2012 |website=[[iTunes]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=WarGames: WOPR for Android |url=https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.berad.wargames}}</ref> | [[Be-Rad Entertainment]] released a [[tile-matching video game]], "WarGames: WOPR", for [[iOS]] and [[Android (operating system)|Android]] devices in 2012.<ref>{{cite web |title=WarGames: WOPR for iOS |url=https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wargames-wopr/id528382306 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120620003934/http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wargames-wopr/id528382306 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 20, 2012 |website=[[iTunes]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=WarGames: WOPR for Android |url=https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.berad.wargames}}</ref> | ||
=== Interactive series === | ===Interactive series=== | ||
{{main|WarGames (interactive media)}} | {{main|WarGames (interactive media)}} | ||
An [[interactive media]] reboot of ''WarGames'' was announced by MGM in 2015, with [[Interlude (interactive video)|Interlude]] serving as its co-production company. The project was described as an "audience-driven story experience", with anticipated launch in 2016.<ref>{{cite news |last=Spangler |first=Todd |date=October 13, 2015 |title=MGM Rebooting 'WarGames' as Interactive Video Experience (Exclusive) |newspaper=Variety |url=https://variety.com/2015/digital/news/wargames-interactive-video-mgm-interlude-1201616666/}}</ref> In March 2016, [[Sam Barlow (game designer)|Sam Barlow]] announced he had joined Interlude and would be serving as a creative lead in the series, on the basis of his work from his video game, "[[Her Story (video game)|Her Story]]", which required the player to piece together a mystery based on a series of video clips.<ref>{{cite web |last=Martens |first=Todd |date=March 15, 2016 |title='Her Story' creator to tackle interactive reboot of 'WarGames' |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/herocomplex/la-et-hc-her-story-creator-tackle-interactive-reboot-of-war-games-20160315-story.html |website=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> Interlude rebranded itself as Eko in December 2016, and the six-episode series was released in March 2018.<ref>{{cite web |last=Spangler |first=Todd |date=December 6, 2017 |title='WarGames' Interactive Series from Sam Barlow Sets Early 2018 Release Date |url=https://variety.com/2017/digital/news/wargames-interactive-sam-barlow-eko-mgm-release-date-1202631934/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=February 9, 2018 |title=WarGames gets rebooted as an interactive hacking TV show |url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/9/16992840/wargames-interactive-tv-show-sam-barlow}}</ref> | An [[interactive media]] reboot of ''WarGames'' was announced by MGM in 2015, with [[Interlude (interactive video)|Interlude]] serving as its co-production company. The project was described as an "audience-driven story experience", with anticipated launch in 2016.<ref>{{cite news |last=Spangler |first=Todd |date=October 13, 2015 |title=MGM Rebooting 'WarGames' as Interactive Video Experience (Exclusive) |newspaper=Variety |url=https://variety.com/2015/digital/news/wargames-interactive-video-mgm-interlude-1201616666/}}</ref> In March 2016, [[Sam Barlow (game designer)|Sam Barlow]] announced he had joined Interlude and would be serving as a creative lead in the series, on the basis of his work from his video game, "[[Her Story (video game)|Her Story]]", which required the player to piece together a mystery based on a series of video clips.<ref>{{cite web |last=Martens |first=Todd |date=March 15, 2016 |title='Her Story' creator to tackle interactive reboot of 'WarGames' |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/herocomplex/la-et-hc-her-story-creator-tackle-interactive-reboot-of-war-games-20160315-story.html |website=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> Interlude rebranded itself as Eko in December 2016, and the six-episode series was released in March 2018.<ref>{{cite web |last=Spangler |first=Todd |date=December 6, 2017 |title='WarGames' Interactive Series from Sam Barlow Sets Early 2018 Release Date |url=https://variety.com/2017/digital/news/wargames-interactive-sam-barlow-eko-mgm-release-date-1202631934/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=February 9, 2018 |title=WarGames gets rebooted as an interactive hacking TV show |url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/9/16992840/wargames-interactive-tv-show-sam-barlow}}</ref> | ||
== Soundtrack == | ==Soundtrack== | ||
The film's music was composed and conducted by [[Arthur B. Rubinstein]] and performed by the [[Hollywood Studio Symphony]]. A soundtrack album including songs and dialogue excerpts was released by [[Polydor Records]]. [[Intrada Records]] issued an expanded release in 2008 with the complete score, with expanded horn sections and without the film dialogue. In 2018, Quartet Records issued a 35th anniversary expanded 2-CD edition containing the score as presented in the film, and the 1983 Polydor album on disc 2.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://quartetrecords.com/wargames-2-cd.html |title=WarGames (2-CD) |website=QuartetRecords.com |access-date=November 15, 2020 |archive-date=February 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190225223547/http://www.quartetrecords.com/wargames-2-cd.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> | The film's music was composed and conducted by [[Arthur B. Rubinstein]] and performed by the [[Hollywood Studio Symphony]]. A soundtrack album including songs and dialogue excerpts was released by [[Polydor Records]]. [[Intrada Records]] issued an expanded release in 2008 with the complete score, with expanded horn sections and without the film dialogue. In 2018, Quartet Records issued a 35th anniversary expanded 2-CD edition containing the score as presented in the film, and the 1983 Polydor album on disc 2.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://quartetrecords.com/wargames-2-cd.html |title=WarGames (2-CD) |website=QuartetRecords.com |access-date=November 15, 2020 |archive-date=February 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190225223547/http://www.quartetrecords.com/wargames-2-cd.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> | ||
| Line 255: | Line 265: | ||
| Sales = <!-- "3 million sold as of 2005" or such --> | | Sales = <!-- "3 million sold as of 2005" or such --> | ||
| Certification = <!-- "Gold" or such --> | | Certification = <!-- "Gold" or such --> | ||
| Tracks = [[ | | Tracks = [[Crosby, Stills & Nash]] rendition of "WarGames" released on [[Allies (Crosby, Stills & Nash album)|''Allies'']] (1983) | ||
| Bonus tracks = <!-- "Four" (Japan edition) --> | | Bonus tracks = <!-- "Four" (Japan edition) --> | ||
| Singles = <!-- " "Single", "Other Single" ", etc. --> | | Singles = <!-- " "Single", "Other Single" ", etc. --> | ||
| Line 280: | Line 290: | ||
}} | }} | ||
== Legacy == | ==Legacy== | ||
Critics have cited the film as an influence on [[Mamoru Hosoda]]'s 2000 short film ''[[Digimon Adventure: Our War Game!]]'', with critic Geoffrey G. Thew, writing in ''Anime Impact: The Movies and Shows that Changed the World of Japanese Animation,'' noting that both films share a title and a plot of "a rogue AI hijacking the Internet to spread chaos and potentially destroy the world, only to be stopped by some kids on their computers."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stuckmann |first=Chris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dFxZDwAAQBAJ |title=Anime Impact: The Movies and Shows that Changed the World of Japanese Animation |date=May 15, 2018 |publisher=Mango Media |isbn=978-1-63353-733-0 |language=en}}</ref> Hosoda later stated that ''Our War Game'' "kind of started my idea for [his 2009 film] ''[[Summer Wars]]''," noting that ''Summer Wars'' "became the feature-length version of that idea" and allowed him to explore material he was unable to in ''Our War Game'''s 40 minute runtime. | Critics have cited the film as an influence on [[Mamoru Hosoda]]'s 2000 short film ''[[Digimon Adventure: Our War Game!]]'', with critic Geoffrey G. Thew, writing in ''Anime Impact: The Movies and Shows that Changed the World of Japanese Animation,'' noting that both films share a title and a plot of "a rogue AI hijacking the Internet to spread chaos and potentially destroy the world, only to be stopped by some kids on their computers."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stuckmann |first=Chris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dFxZDwAAQBAJ |title=Anime Impact: The Movies and Shows that Changed the World of Japanese Animation |date=May 15, 2018 |publisher=Mango Media |isbn=978-1-63353-733-0 |language=en}}</ref> Hosoda later stated that ''Our War Game'' "kind of started my idea for [his 2009 film] ''[[Summer Wars]]''," noting that ''Summer Wars'' "became the feature-length version of that idea" and allowed him to explore material he was unable to in ''Our War Game'''s 40 minute runtime. | ||
== See also == | ==See also== | ||
* [[1983 Soviet nuclear false alarm incident]], which occurred a few months after the release | * [[1983 Soviet nuclear false alarm incident]], which occurred a few months after the release | ||
== References == | ==References== | ||
{{Reflist}} | {{Reflist}} | ||
== External links == | ==External links== | ||
* {{Official website}} {{Dead link|date=February 2024}} | |||
* {{Official website}}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 | |||
* {{IMDb title}} | * {{IMDb title}} | ||
* {{TCMDb title}} | * {{TCMDb title}} | ||
* {{ | * {{AFI film}} | ||
* [http://www.imsai.net/movies/wargames.htm The IMSAI computer used in the film] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301180145/http://www.imsai.net/movies/wargames.htm |date=March 1, 2009}}) | * [http://www.imsai.net/movies/wargames.htm The IMSAI computer used in the film] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301180145/http://www.imsai.net/movies/wargames.htm|date=March 1, 2009}}) | ||
{{WarGames}} | {{WarGames}} | ||
{{John Badham}} | {{John Badham}} | ||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wargames}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Wargames}} | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:1983 American films]] | ||
[[Category:1980s English-language films]] | [[Category:1980s English-language films]] | ||
[[Category:1983 drama films]] | [[Category:1983 drama films]] | ||
Latest revision as of 20:41, 28 December 2025
Template:Short description Template:Hatnote group Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox film/short descriptionScript error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "[". WarGames is a 1983 American techno-thriller film[1] directed by John Badham, written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes, and starring Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood and Ally Sheedy. Broderick plays David Lightman, a young computer hacker who unwittingly accesses a United States military supercomputer programmed to simulate, predict and execute nuclear war against the Soviet Union, triggering a false alarm that threatens to start World War III. Martin Brest was originally the film's director, but was fired early into production.
The film premiered at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival, and was released by MGM/UA Entertainment on June 3, 1983. It was a widespread critical and commercial success, grossing $125 million worldwide against a $12 million budget. At the 56th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for three Oscars, including Best Original Screenplay. It also won a BAFTA Award for Best Sound.
WarGames is credited with popularizing concepts of computer hacking, information technology, and cybersecurity in wider American society.[2][3][4] It spawned several video games, a 2008 direct-to-video sequel film, and a 2018 interactive series.
Plot
During a surprise nuclear attack drill, many United States Air Force Strategic Missile Wing controllers prove unwilling to turn the keys required to launch a missile strike. Such refusals convince John McKittrick and other North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) systems engineers that missile launch control centers must be automated, without human intervention. Control is given to a NORAD supercomputer known as WOPR (War Operation Plan Response, pronounced "whopper"), or Joshua, programmed to continuously run war simulations and learn over time.
David Lightman, a bright but unmotivated Seattle high school student and hacker, uses his IMSAI 8080 computer and modem to access the school district's computer system and change the grades for himself and his friend and classmate, Jennifer Mack. Later, while war dialing numbers in Sunnyvale, California, to find a computer game company, he connects with a system that does not identify itself. Asking for games, he finds a list including chess, checkers, backgammon and poker, along with titles such as "Theaterwide Biotoxic and Chemical Warfare" and "Global Thermonuclear War", but cannot proceed further. Two hacker friends explain the concept of a backdoor password and suggest tracking down the Falken referenced in "Falken's Maze", the first game listed. David discovers that Stephen Falken was an early artificial-intelligence researcher and guesses correctly that the name of Falken's deceased son (Joshua) is the password.
Unaware that the Sunnyvale phone number connects to WOPR at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, David initiates a game of Global Thermonuclear War, playing as the Soviet Union while targeting American cities. The computer starts a simulation that briefly convinces NORAD military personnel that actual Soviet nuclear missiles are inbound. While they defuse the situation, WOPR nonetheless continues the simulation to trigger the scenario and win the game, as it does not understand the difference between reality and simulation. It continuously feeds false data such as Soviet bomber incursions and submarine deployments to NORAD, pushing them to increase the DEFCON level toward a retaliation that will start World War III.
David learns the true nature of his actions from a news broadcast, and FBI special agents arrest him and take him to NORAD. He realizes that WOPR is behind the NORAD alerts, but he fails to convince McKittrick (who believes David is working for the Soviets) and is charged with espionage. David escapes NORAD by joining a tourist group and, with Jennifer's help, travels to the Oregon island where Falken lives under the alias "Robert Hume". David and Jennifer find that Falken has become despondent, believing that nuclear war is inevitable and as futile as a game of tic-tac-toe between two experienced players. The teenagers convince Falken that he should return to NORAD to stop WOPR.
WOPR stages a massive Soviet first strike with hundreds of missiles, submarines, and bombers. Believing the attack to be genuine, NORAD prepares to retaliate. Falken, David, and Jennifer convince military officials to delay the second strike and ride out the supposed attack until actual weapons impacts are confirmed. When the targeted American bases (Elmendorf Air Force Base, Grand Forks Air Force Base, and Loring Air Force Base) report back unharmed, NORAD prepares to cancel the retaliatory second strike. However, WOPR tries to launch the missiles on its own using a brute-force attack to obtain the launch codes. Without humans in the control centers as a safeguard using the two-man rule, the computer will trigger a mass launch. All attempts to log in and order WOPR to cancel the countdown fail. Disconnecting the computer is discussed and dismissed, as a fail-deadly mechanism will launch all weapons if the computer is disabled.
Falken and David direct the computer to play tic-tac-toe against itself. This results in a long string of draws, forcing the computer to learn the concept of futility and no-win scenarios. WOPR obtains the launch codes, but before launching, it cycles through all the nuclear war scenarios it has devised, finding that they all result in draws as well. Having discovered the concept of mutual assured destruction ("WINNER: NONE"), the computer tells Falken it has concluded that nuclear war is "a strange game" in which "the only winning move is not to play." WOPR relinquishes control of NORAD and the missiles and offers to play "a nice game of chess".
Cast
Production
Development
Development on WarGames began in 1979, when writers Walter F. Parkes and Lawrence Lasker developed an idea for a script called The Genius, about "a dying scientist and the only person in the world who understands him — a rebellious kid who's too smart for his own good". Lasker was inspired by a television special presented by Peter Ustinov on several geniuses, including Stephen Hawking. Lasker said, "I found the predicament Hawking was in fascinating — that he might one day figure out the unified field theory and not be able to tell anyone, because of his progressive ALS. So, there was this idea that he'd need a successor. And who would that be? Maybe this kid, a juvenile delinquent whose problem was that nobody realized he was too smart for his environment." The concept of computers and hacking as part of the film was not yet present.[2]
The Genius began its transformation into WarGames when Parkes and Lasker met Peter Schwartz from the Stanford Research Institute. "There was a new subculture of extremely bright kids developing into what would become known as hackers," said Schwartz. Schwartz made the connection between youth, computers, gaming, and the military.Template:R Parkes and Lasker also met with computer-security expert Willis Ware of RAND Corporation, who assured them that even a secure military computer might have remote access enabling remote work on weekends, encouraging the screenwriters to continue with the project.[5]
Parkes and Lasker came up with several military-themed plot lines before the final story. One version of the script had an early version of the WOPR named "Uncle Ollie", or Omnipresent Laser Interceptor (OLI), a space-based defensive laser run by an intelligent program, but this idea was discarded, because it was too speculative.[2] Director John Badham coined the name "WOPR", feeling that the name of NORAD's Single Integrated Operational Plan was "boring, and told you nothing".[3] The name "WOPR" played off the Whopper hamburger, and a general sense of something going "whop".[3]
David Lightman was modeled on David Scott Lewis, a hacking enthusiast Parkes and Lasker met.[2][6] Dr. Stephen Falken[7] was inspired by and named after Stephen Hawking; John Lennon was interested in playing the role, but was murdered in New York while the script was in development. General Beringer was based on USAF General James V. Hartinger, the then-commander-in-chief of NORAD, whom Parkes and Lasker met while visiting the base, and who, like Beringer, favored keeping humans in the decision loop.[2]
Filming
Martin Brest was originally hired as the director for WarGames. Brest said that he spent one and a half years working full time on the film, but shortly before the beginning of production, disagreement arose between him and one of the producers who had developed the script and he was fired after three weeks of production. According to Brest the disagreement stemmed from a question about authorial control. As Brest described it, the producer was more used to television "where the director is a bricklayer, essentially".[8]
He was then replaced with John Badham. Several of the scenes shot by Brest remain in the final film. Badham said that Brest had "taken a somewhat dark approach to the story and the way it was shot. It was like [Broderick and Sheedy] were doing some Nazi undercover thing, so it was my job to make it seem like they were having fun, and that it was exciting." According to Badham, Broderick and Sheedy were "stiff as boards" when they came onto the sound stage, having both Brest's dark vision and the idea that they would soon be fired. Badham did 12 to 14 takes of the first shot to loosen the actors up. At one point, Badham decided to race with the two actors around the sound stage, with the one who came last having to sing a song to the crew. Badham lost and sang "The Happy Wanderer", the silliest song he could think of.[9] He invited what Wired described as "a small army of computer whizzes on set" to advise on accuracy.Template:R
Tom Mankiewicz says he wrote some additional scenes during shooting that were used.[10] Walon Green was also an uncredited script doctor.[11]
Design
The WOPR computer, as seen in the film, was a prop created in Culver City, California, by members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 44.[12] It was designed by production designer (credited as a visual consultant) Geoffrey Kirkland on the basis of some pictures he had of early tabulating machines, and metal furniture, consoles, and cabinets used particularly in the U.S. military in the 1940s and 1950s. Art director Angelo P. Graham adapted them in drawings and concepts. The WOPR was operated by a crewmember sitting inside the computer, entering commands into an Apple II at the director's instruction.[12] The prop was broken up for scrap after production was completed. A replica was built for a 2006 AT&T commercial.[13]
Release
WarGames did well at the box office, grossing $79,567,667, the fifth-highest of 1983 in the United States and Canada.[2][14] It grossed $45 million internationally for a worldwide total of $124.6 million.[15]
The film was screened out of competition at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival.[16]
Reception
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, WarGames received an approval rating of 94% based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 7.60/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Part delightfully tense techno-thriller, part refreshingly unpatronizing teen drama, WarGames is one of the more inventive—and genuinely suspenseful—Cold War movies of the 1980s."[17] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 77 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[18]
Roger Ebert gave WarGames four out of four stars, calling it "an amazingly entertaining thriller" and "one of the best films so far this year", with a "wonderful" ending.[19] Robert Denerstein of the Rocky Mountain News gave it three stars, writing that "for a long time, Badham sustains a playful mood, a combination of Hardy Boys enthusiasm, good-natured humor and high-tech adventure", but he said that he "found [himself] seriously let down by the fact that the adults don't seem to ask the obvious questions and thorny spots in the script are so conveniently resolved that the movie deteriorates in retrospect."[20] Leonard Maltin gave it a mixed review calling it "Fail Safe for the Pac-Man Generation" and "Entertaining to a point". He concluded, "Incidentally, it's easy to see why this was so popular with kids: most of the adults in the film are boobs."[21]
American fiction writer Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, reviewed WarGames for Starlog magazine in 1983. Bloch was generally complimentary of the film, writing, "Let me say, up front, that WarGames is an outstanding film. Its production values are impressive. Its script, direction, editing and cinematography are deft. The performances of Matthew Broderick as David and Ally Sheedy as Jennifer are outstanding.” However, although Bloch wrote, “I accept WarGames as an entertaining fantasy," he added, "...I cannot accept the unchallenged notion that there’s anything ‘heroic’ about a young man who devotes his skills to totally immoral and amoral ends; who seems to think that lying and cheating are merely part of a ‘game’ which all intelligent human beings must play in order to get a free ride through life at others’ expense.”[22]
Computer Gaming World stated that "Wargames is plausible enough to intrigue and terrifying enough to excite ... [it] makes one think, as well as feel, all the way", raised several moral questions about technology and society, and recommended the film to "Computer hobbyists of all kinds".[23] Softline described the film as being "completely original"; unlike other computer-related films like Tron that "could (and do) exist in substantially the same form with some other plot", WarGames "could not exist if the microcomputer did not exist ... It takes the micro and telecommunications as a given—part of the middle-class American landscape." The magazine praised the film as "Very funny, excruciatingly suspenseful, and endlessly inventive, this movie is right on the mark; authentic even when highly improbable."[24] Christopher John in Ares Magazine commented that "The movie cloaked itself in a standard message, but then set out to take something we have seen many times before and retell it in a new, interesting fashion. War Games is highly entertaining, fast-moving, colorful, and mentally stimulating."[25] Colin Greenland in Imagine stated that "Wargames is a tense, tight film, sharply acted, funny, sane, and with a plot twist for every chilling sub-routine in WOPR's scenarios for World War III."[26]
Accolades
WarGames was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Cinematography (William A. Fraker), Sound (Michael J. Kohut, Carlos Delarios, Aaron Rochin, Willie D. Burton), and Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes).[2][27] The company that provided the large video wall used to display the tactical situations seen in the NORAD set employed a new design that was super-bright, enabling the displays to be filmed live. (The set was more visually impressive than the actual NORAD facilities at the time.)[2] The animations seen on the NORAD displays, produced by Colin Cantwell, were created using Hewlett Packard HP 9845C computers driving monochrome HP 1345A vector displays, which were still-filmed through successive color-filters. Each frame took approximately one minute to produce, and 50,000 feet of negatives were produced over seven months. The animations were projected "live" onto the screens from behind using 16 mm film, so they were visible to the actors and no post-production work was needed.[28]
List of awards and nominations
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Influence
WarGames was the first mass-consumed, visual medium with the central theme of remote computing as well as hacking, and it served as both an amplifier vehicle and framework for America's earliest discussion of information technology.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".[29]
When The 414s hacker group penetrated systems at Los Alamos National Laboratory later in 1983, news media described the affair as "the 'WarGames' case"[29] and speculated about the potential for the film's scenario to exist in reality.
President Ronald Reagan, a family friend of Lasker's, watched the film and discussed the plot with members of Congress,[2] his advisers, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Reagan ordered a full national security review. Within a week, the Joint Chiefs of Staff returned an answer: "Yes, the premise was technically possible". Reagan's interest in the film is credited with leading to the enactment 18 months later of NSDD-145, the first Presidential directive on computer security.Template:R
Bulletin board system (BBS) operators reported an unusual rise in activity in 1984, which at least one sysop attributed to WarGames introducing viewers to modems.[30] The scenes showing Lightman's computer dialing every number in Sunnyvale led to the term "wardialing" (earlier known as "demon dialing"), a technique of using a modem to scan a list of telephone numbers in search of unknown computers, and indirectly to the newer term, "wardriving".[31]
The film also led to the first U.S. federal internet policy: the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986.[4]
Related media
Novelization
A novelization of the film was written by David Bischoff.
Sequel
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In November 2006, pre-production began on a sequel, titled WarGames: The Dead Code. It was directed by Stuart Gillard, and starred Matt Lanter as a hacker named Will Farmer facing off with a government supercomputer called RIPLEY.[32] MGM released the sequel directly to DVD on July 29, 2008, along with the 25th Anniversary Edition DVD of WarGames. To promote the sequel, the original film returned to selected theaters as a one-night-only 25th-anniversary event on July 24, 2008.[33]
Video games
A video game, WarGames, was released for the ColecoVision in 1983 and ported to the Atari 8-bit computers and Commodore 64 in 1984. It plays similarly to the NORAD side of the "Global Thermonuclear War" game, where the United States has to be defended from a Soviet strike by placing bases and weapons at strategic points. WarGames: Defcon 1, a real-time strategy game only loosely related to the film, was released for the PlayStation and PC in 1998.
A game inspired by the film, called "Computer War" from Thorn EMI, in which the player must track and shoot down intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as crack a computer code, was released for the Atari 8-bit, TI-99/4A, and VIC-20 in 1984. The same year, Australian developer Gameworx released Thermonuclear Wargames, an illustrated text adventure in which the player must stop a NORDAD computer called M.A.S.T.A. from initiating World War III.
The film also inspired the Introversion game DEFCON (2006).[34]
Be-Rad Entertainment released a tile-matching video game, "WarGames: WOPR", for iOS and Android devices in 2012.[35][36]
Interactive series
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An interactive media reboot of WarGames was announced by MGM in 2015, with Interlude serving as its co-production company. The project was described as an "audience-driven story experience", with anticipated launch in 2016.[37] In March 2016, Sam Barlow announced he had joined Interlude and would be serving as a creative lead in the series, on the basis of his work from his video game, "Her Story", which required the player to piece together a mystery based on a series of video clips.[38] Interlude rebranded itself as Eko in December 2016, and the six-episode series was released in March 2018.[39][40]
Soundtrack
The film's music was composed and conducted by Arthur B. Rubinstein and performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony. A soundtrack album including songs and dialogue excerpts was released by Polydor Records. Intrada Records issued an expanded release in 2008 with the complete score, with expanded horn sections and without the film dialogue. In 2018, Quartet Records issued a 35th anniversary expanded 2-CD edition containing the score as presented in the film, and the 1983 Polydor album on disc 2.[41]
WarGames (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)[42] (The Beepers ("Video Fever" and "History Lesson"): Brian Banks, Anthony Marinelli, Cynthia Morrow and Arthur B. Rubinstein)
- Released: 1983
- Format: Vinyl/LP/Album/Cassette
- Label: United Artists / Polydor Records – 422–815 005-1 Y-1
- Writer: Arthur B. Rubinstein
- Producer: Ron Eyre, George Craig
- Tracks: Crosby, Stills & Nash rendition of "WarGames" released on Allies (1983)
WarGames[43] (Special Collection release limited to 2500 copies. Expanded brass including extra trumpets, trombones, and baritone horns.[44])
- Released: 1983 (2008)[43]
- Format: LP/2 disk CD
- Label: Intrada Special Collection Volume ISC 65
- Writer: Arthur B. Rubinstein
- Bonus tracks: "Two" Bonus Track Time = 3:39 – Total Score Time = 65:49 – Total Time: 69:18
Legacy
Critics have cited the film as an influence on Mamoru Hosoda's 2000 short film Digimon Adventure: Our War Game!, with critic Geoffrey G. Thew, writing in Anime Impact: The Movies and Shows that Changed the World of Japanese Animation, noting that both films share a title and a plot of "a rogue AI hijacking the Internet to spread chaos and potentially destroy the world, only to be stopped by some kids on their computers."[45] Hosoda later stated that Our War Game "kind of started my idea for [his 2009 film] Summer Wars," noting that Summer Wars "became the feature-length version of that idea" and allowed him to explore material he was unable to in Our War Game's 40 minute runtime.
See also
- 1983 Soviet nuclear false alarm incident, which occurred a few months after the release
References
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer "WarGames 25th Anniversary Edition DVD"
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ The German word "Falken" means "falcon", which, like a hawk, is also a raptor. Thus, "Stephen Falken" is an oblique reference to "Stephen Hawking".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
External links
- Script error: No such module "Official website".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- Template:First word/ Template:Trim at IMDbTemplate:EditAtWikidataScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Template:Wikidata/enwp Template:PAGENAMEBASE at the TCM Movie DatabaseTemplate:EditAtWikidata
- Template:AFI film
- The IMSAI computer used in the film (Template:Webarchive)
- Pages with script errors
- Pages using infobox film with flag icon
- 1983 American films
- 1980s English-language films
- 1983 drama films
- 1983 films
- 1983 thriller films
- 1980s science fiction thriller films
- American science fiction thriller films
- Cheyenne Mountain Complex
- Cold War films
- Fictional artificial intelligences
- Films about artificial intelligence
- Films about computer hacking
- Films about nuclear war and weapons
- Films about technological impact
- Films about the United States Air Force
- Films about video games
- Films about World War III
- Films directed by John Badham
- Films scored by Arthur B. Rubinstein
- Films set in Colorado
- Films set in Oregon
- Films set in Seattle
- Films set in Washington (state)
- Films shot in Colorado
- Films shot in Washington (state)
- Films with screenplays by Walter F. Parkes
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
- Saturn Award–winning films
- Techno-thriller films
- United Artists films
- English-language thriller films