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WarGames (25th Anniversary Edition)

25th Anniversary Edition, 5th Anniversary Edition

Matthew Broderick (Actor), Ally Sheedy (Actor) Rated:

Format: DVD

3,073 ratings

IMDb7.1/10.0

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July 29, 2008

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Editorial Reviews

A teen taps his computer into the NORAD missile-defense system and plays a video game: Global Thermonuclear War.

Product details

Aspect Ratio : 1.85:1
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
MPAA rating : s_medPG PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Product Dimensions : 7.25 x 5.25 x 0.75 inches; 2.4 Ounces
Item model number : FOXS109876DVD
Media Format : Multiple Formats, AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Run time : 1 hour and 54 minutes
Release date : July 29, 2008
Actors : Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, Barry Corbin
Dubbed: : Spanish
Subtitles: : French, Spanish, English
Language : Unqualified
Studio : MGM
ASIN : B0015NORDW
Number of discs : 1

Best Sellers Rank: #18,255 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #1,638 in Mystery & Thrillers (Movies & TV)
- #2,464 in Action & Adventure DVDs
- #4,187 in Drama DVDs

Customer Reviews:
3,073 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		82%
4 star		12%
3 star		5%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from the United States

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vac

Fun 1980s movie

Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2019

Verified Purchase

I bought this to replace my old vhs of this movie. This is a classic 1980s movie starring 2 of the "brat pack", Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy. This is the movie that as a kid in the 1980s inspired me to become a computer scientist. To this day it is one of my favorite movies.

It is fun to see the old technology in this movie, and the portrayal of pre-Internet hacking via directly dialing into the target system via modem. Yet at the same time, the main character's use of social engineering in his hacking is still prevalent (e.g., the scene when he gets himself sent to principal's office to gain access to the desk where the week's password was written or when he pretended to need to use the bathroom so he could record the door lock key sequence, among other examples).

I also like the fictional example of the relevance of the same game theory concepts to everything from board game play to political and military scenarios.

General game play (i.e., the ability to adapt knowledge learned from playing known games to playing brand new games previously not encountered) is still a grand challenge of artifical intelligence (AI). As an AI researcher, I especially enjoy this aspect of the film.

28 people found this helpful

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David M.

'War Games' only got BETTER in 36 years!

Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2019

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I haven't seen the film since it came out in 1983. I was impressed with it then, but viewing it again for the (first) time in 36 years, somehow the film has only grown more wonderful over the years. The ultimate anti-war film, and not a single life is lost. You cannot win a nuclear war; this was so then, and it will always remain so. Credit the Oscar nominated original screenplay that's SO BRILLIANTLY WRITTEN, that you wouldn't want to change a single word or sentence in it, it's perfect. When a film's script remains so polished, the film itself lasts forever. Immersive 'entertainment' for the thinking person!

21 people found this helpful

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Tigerlilly

So so

Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2019

Verified Purchase

Pros:
Well made movie, well acted, good pacing
Cons:
The protagonist is annoying; especially the fact that somewhere along the line everyone in the film (including the protagonist) forgets that this entire mess is his fault.
The denouement is unbelievable. (Spoiler Alert) If the solution was to make the computer play itself, the genius who invented the program would have tried that already - precluding the entire movie - or come up with on his own in the moment; I'm not buying that the idiot who got them into this mess was is needed to solve the problem while the genius who designed the program stands by looking to the kid for answers. Bogus.

8 people found this helpful

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Nonsense Hacking, But Endearing Results

Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2019

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An intriguing take on military protocol and technological ethics.

John Badham’s sci-fi mystery WarGames (1983) is a delightful comedic trial run about nuclear war potentially happening in America during the Cold War. WarGames takes notes from Cold War satire like Dr. Strangelove, coming of age sci-fi like Ender’s Game, Cold War comedy like The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming, and sci-fi mystery like 2001: A Space Odyssey. WarGames is fascinating in its ethos that nuclear war is futile as is the winning of the Cold War. If all people are dead after a Nuclear Winter, then what would the point of nukes be? It’s an intriguing premise dealt with smart script writing here.

Matthew Broderick is a beacon of mischief and delight as the lead hacker. His earnest beliefs and technological skill make Broderick’s character so likable. He is entertaining in his mad genius much like his slacker character Ferris Bueller. It’s funny that Broderick is known for roles wherein he’s a bad student annoying his teachers because he’s hilarious in Election as the tormented teacher.

Ally Sheedy is lovely and a radiant light of optimism and likability in WarGames. Her girlfriend character is helpful and positive as she keeps the pace going.

I genuinely liked WOPR the computer as the villain and antagonist. His complete lack of awareness towards his own ignorant as a system is interesting. He is less malevolent, but just as dangerous as HAL from 2001.

Dabney Coleman is pleasant as the military strategist, who just gets more sinister as you go along. Barry Corbin is hilarious as the stuffy general that warmongers his way through WarGames. Lastly, the very pleasant and complex performance from John Wood as Dr. Stephen Falken is endearing and intriguing simultaneously.

I must mention the silly 1980’s soundtrack that is both goofy and cool. The score has its rising moments of inspiration, but much of the music in WarGames sounds dated and generic synth riffing. The big hair is ugly, yet funny as is the bigger clothes. Thankfully, the outdated technology of floppy disks, rotary phones, and fat computers keeps you laughing throughout WarGames alongside Broderick’s compelling lead performance.

In all, WarGames is not the smartest satire of its kind, that honor going to Dr. Strangelove, but it takes its mystery in stride. All the clues being found in the library is a cute alternative to hard detective work and the science-fiction questions raised will keep you thinking about WarGames for years to come. I still think about the film’s proposal that Tic-Tac-Toe is pointless as it will always end in a tie much like no one can win a nuclear war.

6 people found this helpful

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Donna Swiniuch

Where we haven't gone

Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2017

Verified Purchase

The original, worth keeping my VCRs going. This film may seem quaint today, but I prefer it to the remake. It is an original. Plus it features two stars just starting out, Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy. This was released on VHS in1983, and besides watching the stars grow up and move on, I, like so many others are surprised and disappointed to find that after forty years, we've not moved much involving macro technology. I purchased this 'Used. Very good'. The only thing missing is the plastic wrapper. Thanks Amazon, this is in excellent condition, even the case. Well worth it, even if it didn't qualify for prime (LOL).

12 people found this helpful

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Michael A.

It still holds up and still relevant today!

Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2019

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I haven't seen this movie in ages. Noticing it was available to stream the Prime, I watched it all the way through. I was amazed at how relevant the message is, today: don't remove the humans the from the loop. I'd put it this way, what do you prefer, a human driven car hitting you in traffic or an ai driven car hitting you in traffic? Broderick, Sheedy, Coleman, John Wood, and Barry Corbin are all great and well cast.

The movie is also an enjoyable look into "high tech" of the 80s for younger folks who might have had toys with more powerful tech than what was available to the government, at that time.

4 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

D. Milne

Still holds up.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 3, 2013

Verified Purchase

This was one of my favourite movies of the '80s, but which I had somehow neglected adding to my DVD collection until now. I expected to find it juvenile, and rather naive regarding technology, but in fact found that it still holds up surprisingly well as a thriller. I had no problem believing in any of the characters or their motivations. I enjoyed it so much that I watched it again with a friend the following evening, both of us enjoying a bit of movie nostalgia.

Listening to the excellent commentary even answered one of my old minor objections to the movie: you see I was then (and still am) a computer programmer. I could see that most of his equipment was years obsolete even when the movie came out, but the commentary pointed out that this was deliberate, after all this was a schoolkid - no income, so all his kit was hand-me-downs that others were throwing away.

My personal standard for a 5 star movie is, will I still want to be watching this in a few decades time? Since this movie has already met that test the score must be automatic! So 5 stars it is.

14 people found this helpful

Isabel U

Classic 80s movie

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 8, 2019

Verified Purchase

This was a movie I had forgotten about, until a random comment reminded me of it. I searched for it on Amazon, found it at a good price, ordered & it arrived very quickly, exactly as described. Very happy & we had a very good Saturday night in watching a blast from the past.

2 people found this helpful

bob burns

A spectacularly entertaining film

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 15, 2014

Verified Purchase

It may be an old film now but its still a cracking good story that has stood the test of time very well.We are so used to computers now that its a bit easy to forget we didn't always have pcs,we may have had some sorts of computers but nothing like we have now so its a gentle reminder of how far we have progressed in technology.The U.S. DO play wargames,as do the Russians,as did we when we were a significant nuclear power.Now we are but a shadow of our former slightly aggressive and distinctly prickly selves,its somewhat reassuring to know that such wargames are practised by the one power in the world that is not totally without honour,they do at least have the sense to put themselves first and to hell with trying to please everyone,its a damn shame we don't have the courage to follow suit.

One person found this helpful

ratmonkey

80's classic

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 8, 2012

Verified Purchase

Mainly this is one of my favourite films because of nostagia. It is a very well made film and has excellent acting, cast, direction etc, etc, but the obvious flaws lie in the technological gulf between the 80's and today (2012). For me the old computers and equipment are a hazy hark back to the carefree days post mobile phones, social networking and when there were only 4 tv channels. Today it stands as a filmic stepping stone as opposed to groundbreaking but I suppose that at the time the technology was state of the art.

But then the film itself is extremely good. This was a well made action (ish) thriller blockbuster. Yes at times it seems a little too easy for Matthew Broderick's David to escape from high security govt installations but it was more of a romp than a true expose' of the times. But it was a precursor to such films as most of anything Shia Leboef has been in, as the geeky underdog wins the day. And Joshua as a character is also extremely well realised, even today.

A sub-classic of sorts, and one I will always watch fondly. But it's probably only for those who grew up in the 80s.

One person found this helpful

Scaroth, Last of the Jagaroth

Let's go crazy!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 18, 2013

Verified Purchase

There was a time when Matthew Broderick was Hollywood's go-to guy for charming teenage reprobates, and he seemed a ubiquitous presence on the big screen when I was an adolescent. Ally Sheedy was another of the unofficial `brat-packers' who was regularly cast as `kooky girl next door', a role she plays with aplomb here, as she and Broderick's character David proceed to embark upon a mischievous attempt to hack into a computer game designer's account, in the process inadvertently triggering what seems to be an imminent nuclear war between Russia and the USA.
Once the initial premise has been delivered, the film becomes all about David's attempts to escape the military compound where he is inexplicably taken after his hacking has been discovered. A race against time to track down the computer's reclusive creator tells the story of the second half of the movie, and the denouement is fairly standard. Overall then this is a daft but amusing creation by director John Badham, and a nostalgic treat for those of us who grew-up with Broderick's impish slacker in those halcyon days of 80s teen dramas.

One person found this helpful