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Wargames
on DVD (1983)
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| Starring: |
Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, Barry Corbin |
| Director: |
John Badham |
| Studio: |
MGM ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time: |
108 mins |
| Certificate: |
 |
| Collections: |
100 Big Adventures |
| User collections: |
For all the 80's children., Apocalypse Cinema, Computer Movies, ecclectic classics |
| Genres: |
Action/Adventure, Thriller |
| Languages: |
English |
| Dubbed: |
French, German, Italian, Spanish |
| Hearing-impaired: |
English, German |
| Subtitles: |
Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish |
| Released: |
24/07/2000
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Brief synopsis of Wargames
In director John Badham's WARGAMES, Matthew Broderick stars as David Lightman, a young hacker who accidentally logs on to the Department of Defense's network. Thinking that he's found a cool new computer game manufacturer, David plays checkers, chess, and other more intriguing games like Global Thermonuclear War. Realizing that their system has been tampered with, military operatives arrest him. However, the computer continues to play the game of thermonuclear warfare without David and generates the very real threat of World War III. In an attempt to prevent global disaster, David and his girlfriend, Jennifer (Ally Sheedy), search desperately for the scientist who designed the system before the goverment computer initates a full-scale nuclear war.
A landmark of 1980s cinema, WARGAMES was keenly tuned into its time. Computers remained a relative mystery in the early 1980s, as they were used primarily by large corporations and government agencies, but not by many individuals at home. The general public had already been warned of the danger of computer takeover in 1968 with 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and this paranoia grew as computers became more popular. The threat of communist takeover and nuclear war loomed large in the collective consciousness, before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the cold war. Video games had become highly popular, however, and for a generation of Pac-Man and Space Invaders players WARGAMES combined the country's deepest fears with its biggest fantasies. Badham's suspenseful film brings those fears to light in an exciting, fast-paced film with a great cast (Broderick, Sheedy, John Wood, Barry Corbin, Dabney Coleman) and excellent special effects.
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Related
Critics Reviews
Radio Times
Whizzkid Matthew Broderick accidentally hacks into a Pentagon computer and starts playing a game called Global Thermonuclear War, only to discover he's inadvertently pushing the world toward destruction for real. This is an inventive nail-biter that's consistently entertaining and worryingly thought-provoking, laced by director John Badham with just the right amount of invigorating humour. Great edge-of-the-seat suspense is generated as defence specialist Dabney Coleman desperately tries to avert the impending holocaust, while preachy sentiment is kept to a minimum. Said to be one of Ronald Reagan's favourite thrillers.
Time Out
'Or How We Learned to Stop Worrying, Because Nuclear Brinksmanship Is as Simple as Tick-Tack-Toe.' Badham's movie was...
Read more on www.timeout.com
Variety
"...A terrifically exciting story charged by an irresistible idea for today's young audience..."
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