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| Wargames [1983] | ![Wargames [1983]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51AT1F8FWML._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: John Badham
Actors: Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, John Wood, Dabney Coleman, Barry Corbin
Studio: MGM Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: £12.99
Buy New: £4.00
You Save: £8.99 (69%)
Buy New/Used from £2.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  (14 reviews)
Sales Rank: 8269
Format: Anamorphic, Dubbed, Full Screen, Pal, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), German (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), German (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Italian (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Swedish (Subtitled), Danish (Subtitled), Dutch (Subtitled)
Rating: Parental Guidance
Media: DVD
Running Time: 108 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5050070001839
ASIN: B00004TT7C
Release Date: July 24, 2000
Theatrical Release Date: June 3, 1983
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
Cute but silly, this 1983 cautionary fantasy stars Matthew Broderick as a teenage computer genius who hacks into the Pentagon's defence system and sets World War III into motion. All the fun is in the film's set-up, as Broderick befriends Ally Sheedy and starts the international crisis by pretending while online to be the Soviet Union. After that, it's not hard to predict what's going to happen: government agents swoop in, but the story ends up in the "hands" of machines talking to one another. Thus we're stuck with flashing lights, etc. John Badham (ISaturday Night Fever/I) directs in strict potboiler mode. Children still like this movie, though. --ITom Keogh, Amazon.com/I
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 The absurdity of war December 29, 2008
Remember Ronald Reagan, the actor-president, the acting president, the president-actor, we will never know. Was he serious about his empire of evil or was he joking one of these good words produced by black humor, or at least very dark grey humor? No one will even know, because Reagan himself did probably not know. The film is a direct reflection on that period from that period. If we entrust our own security to machines what would happen? Machines have no sense of life and death and for them everything is nothing but an exercise, a game, a playground dare or challenge or discussion because they have no ethical sense at all. The film, or rather this question is at the basis of the Terminator series too. Machines, if we let them develop too much, will take over and destroy or try to destroy the human species that would stand in their way. We also remember it is the fundamental element of the Dune series and that the survival of the human species was due to the Butlerian revolution that banned all intelligent machines and made it a crime to develop such machines. What is the originality of this film then that goes back to the command-line computers that no one knows how to use any more. That was the good old time before the invention of the GUI (Graphical User's Interface). That was a beautiful time when computers were an elite tool and when the Internet was still nothing but an intranet of the military establishment. That was then a field of mystery that we were just discovering and it took little imagination to understand that it could only be child play to penetrate such a system because it was only based on declarative identities and passwords and human beings are very simple-minded as for passwords since they want THE password they will never forget, as if it were possible. So it is simple to think of birth dates, death dates of close relatives, names of one's children, etc. That's exactly what a 17 year old teenager does: he penetrates the computer that governs the whole defense of the USA in case of a thermo-nuclear war and finds out that the computer considers it is a game, a game he is willing to play but he plays it for real and he can absolutely fool all commanding levels of the security system because they trust the machines and do not even ask their own eyes to check what is happening. The worst point about this film is that security rules make the commanding chain decide at one point to lock the system so that no change can be introduced that could change the management of the situation, or the orders given to the military by anyone in the chain of command. But the film remains entertaining and yet very moralistic indeed. So the game cannot be stopped but the military commander can be persuaded that it is a game played by the machine, but, and then it becomes rather sickening, the machine can by-pass that human chain of command and give the orders itself. At this moment there is no way to escape the apocalypse, except by playing another game the machine accepts as the key to make it think, if it can think, in the right direction. So why not try tic-tac-toe, a game that cannot be won at all. And that leads the dear machine of ours to the conclusion that, after examining all scenarios, a thermo nuclear war cannot be won except by not engaging in one. And we can only wonder why human beings are dumb enough to start wars all the time if there is no winner in present day war. McCain who knew how to win a war lost the election that should have been his major battle. Bush who was not prepared for a war, got into one desperately and stubbornly, and even into two for good measure. If he had been prepared he definitely would not even have hesitated with Iran or North Korea and maybe two or three more. Is a machine more intelligent than the human species? Probably. At least this film is trying to tell us so.br /br /Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelinesbr /
One of the most memorable films of the 80s February 4, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Looking back on my formative years, several theatrical releases stand out above all others, films such as the Star Wars trilogy (of course), E.T., Grease, and - yes - Wargames. Back in 1983, this film was incredible. Home computers were still mysterious contraptions I knew little about (I doubt I even had my Commodore 64 yet), and here was a guy hacking into other computers to change his grades, play cool new games, and who knew what else. And if that weren't enough, his computer actually talked. Looking back now, I have to wonder how many hackers became hackers because of Wargames. I know the film produced plenty of kids just like me who suddenly wanted a computer more than anything else in the world. Younger generations might not appreciate Wargames as much as I do - many will never have seen an old school computer room, computer tapes, an external modem that actually holds the phone receiver, gigantic floppy disks, or even an old-timey command prompt, nor will they know what it was like to grow up in the shadow of a possible full-scale nuclear was between America and the Evil Empire - but I have to believe they will enjoy this film nonetheless. It had been many years since I last watched Wargames, and I'm actually a little surprised at how well the film holds up all these years later.br /br /In the event of a first strike nuclear attack by the Soviet Union, response time is of the essence if you want to live up to your end of the mutually assured destruction bargain, so it makes sense to let a computer handle as much of the response action as possible - especially when that computer is the W.O.P.R. (War Operation Plan Response). After all, the W.O.P.R. spends all of its time calculating different nuclear war scenarios, and - more importantly - it does not fall subject to the fallibility of human beings, the kind of unpredictability that sees 22% of nuclear launch commanders failing to release their birds during the most realistic of tests. Unfortunately, the W.O.P.R. has a secret backdoor that no one knows about - until, that is, a geeky teenager manages to get in through that backdoor. While trying to hack into a software company's computers to sneak a peek at their upcoming games, David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) manages to gain entry into a much more interesting game server. He and would-be girlfriend Jennifer Mack (Ally Sheedy) get a kick out of targeting American cities for destruction in a game of Global Thermonuclear War, having no idea that the folks at NORAD are staining their shorts over reports of incoming missiles from the Soviet Union - not until the three-minute scare makes the news the next day. When the W.O.P.R. actually calls back, David realizes that the game he started is still running - and that it is much more than just a game. br /br /There's plenty of excitement and suspense as the wargame races toward an end-game scenario which could well result in the very real deaths of hundreds of millions of people. It's going to take more than a kid to convince the brass at NORAD that the incoming missiles they see on all of their screens are actually illusory, especially when that kid is suspected of treasonous espionage. Broderick, Ally Sheedy, and Dabney Coleman turn in excellent performances, but my props have to go to Barry Corbin, whose character, the eminently quotable General Jack Beringer, gets all the best lines, such as "I'd piss on a spark plug if I thought it'd do any good!" and "after very careful consideration, sir, I've come to the conclusion that your new defense system sucks." br /br /Man, I love the 80s - and Wargames is one of the true classics from that greatest of decades.
 NEARLY WW3 October 24, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Computer geek, Mathew Broderick (aged 7) accesses a top US military program and converses with a super computer, tasked with the nuclear defence of the USA.br /br /The computer learns from it's activity and decides to launch a full nuclear war against the USSR (bearded men with vodka breath). Only Broderick and the computer's creator can save mankind from a fate worse than Dale Winton.
enjoyable thriller November 2, 2006
1 out of 6 found this review helpful
When reading the description I wasn't too sure but this 1983 Sci-Fi thriller turned out to be an enjoyable watch. br /br /Broderick (Ferris Bueller) stars along side breakfast club star Sheedy and the two are juxtaposed in an engaging plot about a teenager who is caught up in a very realistic game of war and destruction. br /br /Apart from the beginning the film justifies the genre perfectly by being fats, flowing and consistent throughout with many ideologies of social and government security encoded to justify an unsafe environment to add a nervous plot to the story. br /br /The acting is average but the two young stars deliver what was required. Having older characters juxtaposed with teenagers allows for different opinions about what is happening allowing for a quicker scenario to the story. br /br /Its is fast flowing and very exciting throughout. There are twists used to add to the tension and the concept f the unknown also builds up pace. br /br /The ending was a let down because it was too confusing. Regardless if you like fast stories involving computer games then this is the one for you. br /br /8/10
 A bit average May 19, 2006
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
War Games is a film starring a very young Matthew Broderick as a computer geek in the early '80's when computers were not the every day item that we see today. His obsession with computers and the latest technology lead him to try and hack into the network of a computer company who have been advertising their new never before seen games. The only thing is there is a wait for it to be released and he doesn't want to wait.br /Unfortunately, he manages to inadvertently hack into the wrong system ending up instead in a top secret military computer system that has been designed to create war situations on a program deciding strategies and casualty figures in case America ever ended up in a nuclear war situation with Russia. So where as he thinks he's playing a game, he nearly launches a ton of nuclear weapons.br /The best thing about this film is looking at the computers that in 1983 were classed as being high-tech. Check out the size of the floppy discs!! The film is okay in theory but unfortunately I did feel that it was incredibly slow especially round the middle where it did seem to meander along for about half an hour without much at all happening. It did buck up a bit towards the end but I had near enough lost interest by then. I felt that it wasn't the sort of film that really displayed Matthew Broderick's talent. He did spend the majority of the film looking decidedly glum which simply does not suit him.br /The end of the film was pure Hollywood cheese ending with a moral you could see coming a mile off. It's certainly not up there with The Goonies as one reviewer has suggested.br /It's worth watching though for the rubbish computers alone. (And I thought my old Commodore 64 was bad!)
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