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.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.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.
- Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 4 wins & 14 nominations total
- Director
- Writers
- Lawrence Lasker
- Walter F. Parkes
- Walon Green(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to John Badham, the jeep trying to crash through the gate at NORAD and turning over was an actual accident. The jeep was supposed to continue through the gate. They added the scene of the characters running from the jeep and down the tunnel, and used the botched jeep stunt.
- GoofsWhen WOPR is searching for the launch code, it is shown to be able to lock onto each digit individually. In which case, it would only take 360 tries (one for each letter and digit), to definitely find the entire code.
- Quotes
[after playing out all possible outcomes for Global Thermonuclear War]
Joshua: Greetings, Professor Falken.
Stephen Falken: Hello, Joshua.
Joshua: A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess?
- Alternate versionsIn the International-dubbed prints and the U.S. TV premiere, in the scene where the female airmen is counting down to Impact, there is more background music that plays than in the original version.
- ConnectionsEdited into Crosby, Stills & Nash: War Games (1983)
- SoundtracksVideo Fever
Performed by Arthur B. Rubinstein, Cynthia Morrow, Brian Banks and Anthony Marinelli (as The Beepers)
Lyrics by Cynthia Morrow
Music by Arthur B. Rubinstein
Produced by Anthony Marinelli (uncredited)
Featured review
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."
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."
helpful•3212
- MovieAddict2016
- Feb 29, 2004
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- War Games
- Filming locations
- Anderson Island, Washington, USA(Goose Island scenes)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $12,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $79,567,667
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $6,227,804
- Jun 5, 1983
- Gross worldwide
- $79,567,667
- Runtime1 hour 54 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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