WarGames

{{Short description|1983 science-fiction film directed by John Badham}} {{Hatnote group| {{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}} }} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}} {{Infobox film | name = WarGames | image = wargames.jpg | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = John Badham | 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 |archive-date=August 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815153614/https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/67139 |url-status=live }}</ref> | writer = {{plainlist| * Lawrence Lasker * Walter F. Parkes }} | starring = {{plainlist| * Matthew Broderick * Dabney Coleman * John Wood * Ally Sheedy }} | music = Arthur B. Rubinstein | cinematography = William A. Fraker | editing = Tom Rolf | studio = {{Unbulleted list|United Artists|Sherwood Productions}} | distributor = MGM/UA Entertainment Company (United States)<br />United International Pictures (international) | released = {{film date|1983|05|07|Cannes|1983|06|03|United States}} | runtime = 114 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $12 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|access-date=October 22, 2020|archive-date=May 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502181911/https://ghc.fiu.edu/_assets/docs/3.1045-alex-crowther-cyber-threats-to-medical-community.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<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 2008 direct-to-video sequel film, and a 2018 interactive series.

==Plot== During a surprise nuclear attack drill, many USAF Strategic Missile Wing controllers prove unwilling to turn the keys required to launch a missile strike. Such refusals convince Dr. John McKittrick and other 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"<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jowrwpmIeNw |title=WOPR, The Computer in WarGames Was Named After Burger King's Whooper? |date=2024-07-11 |last=CinemaPark |access-date=2026-01-14 |via=YouTube |archive-date=April 17, 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260417215620/https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jowrwpmIeNw |url-status=live }}</ref>), 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 wardialing numbers in Sunnyvale, to find a computer game company, he connects with a system that does not identify itself. When asking for games, he finds a list that includes 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 AI 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 non-public U.S. military installation at Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, David initiates a game of Global Thermonuclear War, playing as the USSR 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, prompting them to raise the DEFCON level toward retaliation that will start WWIII.

David learns the true nature of his actions from a news broadcast, and the FBI arrests him and takes him to NORAD. He realizes that WOPR is behind the NORAD alerts, but he fails to convince McKittrick that he is not working for the Soviets and is detained to await arraignment on espionage charges. David escapes NORAD by joining a tourist group and, with Jennifer's help, travels to an island off the coast of Oregon where Falken lives under an assumed name. 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 to return to NORAD and 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 three targeted American bases report no impacts, NORAD prepares to cancel the second strike. However, WOPR locks the staff out and tries to launch the missiles itself, using a brute-force attack to obtain the launch code. Without humans in the control centers as a safeguard, WOPR will be able to launch the missiles as soon as it determines the correct code.

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 about futility and no-win scenarios. WOPR obtains the launch codes, then 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 inquires, "How about a nice game of chess?"

==Cast== {{cast listing| * Matthew Broderick as David Lightman * Dabney Coleman as Dr. John McKittrick * John Wood as Dr. Stephen Falken / WOPR (voice) * Ally Sheedy as Jennifer Mack * Barry Corbin as Gen. Jack Beringer * Juanin Clay as Patricia Healy * Dennis Lipscomb as Lyle Watson * Kent Williams as Arthur Cabot * Joe Dorsey as Col. Joe Conley * Michael Ensign as Beringer's Aide * Duncan Wilmore as Major Lem * William Bogert as Mr. Lightman, David's father * Susan Davis as Mrs. Lightman, David's mother * Irving Metzman as Paul Richter * John Spencer as Cpt. Jerry Lawson * Michael Madsen as Lt. Steve Phelps * Alan Blumenfeld as Mr. Liggett * James Tolkan as Mr. Wigan * Drew Snyder as Ayers * Maury Chaykin as Jim Sting * Eddie Deezen as Malvin * Jason Bernard as Cpt. Newton * Jesse D. Goins as Sgt. Lennon * Stephen Lee as Sgt. Schneider * Art LaFleur as NORAD Guard }}

==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.<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 |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 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.{{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 | archive-date=February 28, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160228033543/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/21/movies/wargames-and-cybersecuritys-debt-to-a-hollywood-hack.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

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> 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 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.<ref name="wired" />

===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".<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 |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 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'' 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 |archive-date=September 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922061639/https://chicagoreader.com/film/wargames-2/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===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.<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 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.<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 |archive-date = April 29, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200429222812/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl846759425/weekend/ |url-status = live }}</ref> It grossed $45 million internationally for a worldwide total of $124.6 million.<ref>{{cite magazine|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 |title=Festival de Cannes: WarGames |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/1374/year/1983.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001190951/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/1374/year/1983.html |archive-date=October 1, 2012 |access-date=June 22, 2009 |work=festival-cannes.com}}</ref>

==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."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wargames/ |title=WarGames (War Games) (1983) |website=Rotten Tomatoes |publisher=Fandango |access-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-date=December 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225142017/https://rottentomatoes.com/m/wargames |url-status=live }}</ref> On Metacritic, the film has a 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 |archive-date=May 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180520040953/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/wargames |url-status=live }}</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> 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'' 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 |archive-date=January 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116063728/http://maltinsworstratings.blogspot.com/2012/11/23-wargames-1983.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

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.”<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 |archive-date=November 12, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251112230000/https://filmstories.co.uk/news/in-1983-the-author-of-psycho-reviewed-wargames/ |url-status=live }}</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 | archive-date=July 2, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702231944/http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1983&pub=2&id=11 | url-status=live }}</ref> ''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 | archive-date=July 29, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729083900/http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1983&pub=6&id=12 | url-status=live }}</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'' 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 | issue = 8| pages =19 | publisher = TSR Hobbies (UK), Ltd. |date=November 1983}}</ref>

==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).<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 |archive-date=April 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417061511/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1984 |url-status=live }}</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 |access-date=November 15, 2020 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112040910/https://www.hp9845.net/9845/software/screenart/wargames/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== List of awards and nominations === {{Unreferenced section|date=September 2023}} {| class="wikitable" |- ! Award ! Year !Category ! Nominee ! Result |- | rowspan="3" |Academy Award | rowspan="3" |1984 |Best Original Screenplay |Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes |{{nom}} |- |Best Cinematography |William A. Fraker |{{nom}} |- |Best Sound |Michael J. Kohut, Carlos Delarios, Aaron Rochin, Willie D. Burton |{{nom}} |- |American Cinema Editors Award |1984 |Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic |Tom Rolf |{{won}} |- | rowspan="3" |British Academy Film Award | rowspan="3" |1984 |Best Production Design |Angelo P. Graham |{{nom}} |- |Best Special Visual Effects |Michael L. Fink, Joe Digaetano, Jack Cooperman, Don Hansard, Colin Cantwell, William A. Fraker |{{nom}} |- |Best Sound |Michael J. Kohut, Willie D. Burton, William Manger |{{won}} |- |Hugo Award |1984 |Best Dramatic Presentation |John Badham, Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes |{{nom}} |- | rowspan="6" |Saturn Award | rowspan="6" |1984 |Best Science Fiction Film |''WarGames'' |{{nom}} |- |Best Director |John Badham |{{won}} |- |Best Writing |Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes |{{nom}} |- |Best Actor |Matthew Broderick |{{nom}} |- |Best Actress |Ally Sheedy |{{nom}} |- |Best Supporting Actor |John Wood |{{nom}} |- |Writers Guild of America Award |1984 |Best Original Screenplay |Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes |{{nom}} |- | rowspan="2" |Young Artist Award | rowspan="2" |1984 |Best Family Feature Motion Picture |''WarGames'' |{{nom}} |- |Best Young Motion Picture Actress in a Feature Film |Ally Sheedy |{{nom}} |}

===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.{{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"/> 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 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 "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== ===Novelization=== A novelization of the film was written by David Bischoff.

===Sequel=== {{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>

===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).<ref>{{cite web |author=Delay, Chris |title=Detonating Introversion's Defcon |url=https://www.introversion.co.uk//exposure/interview_gamedev_2.jpg |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100630234814/http://www.introversion.co.uk/defcon/exposure/interview_gamedev_2.jpg |archive-date=June 30, 2010 |access-date=June 2, 2009 |publisher=Game Developer Magazine}}</ref>

Be-Rad Entertainment released a tile-matching video game, "WarGames: WOPR", for iOS and 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 |access-date=March 23, 2013 |archive-date=April 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424015621/https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.berad.wargames |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Interactive series=== {{main|WarGames (interactive media)}}

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.<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/ |archive-date=February 1, 2018 |access-date=February 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201071237/http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/wargames-interactive-video-mgm-interlude-1201616666/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<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 |access-date=April 16, 2020 |archive-date=March 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302080132/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/herocomplex/la-et-hc-her-story-creator-tackle-interactive-reboot-of-war-games-20160315-story.html |url-status=live }}</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/ |access-date=February 10, 2018 |archive-date=February 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209141054/http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/wargames-interactive-sam-barlow-eko-mgm-release-date-1202631934/ |url-status=live }}</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 |access-date=February 9, 2018 |archive-date=February 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209162810/https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/9/16992840/wargames-interactive-tv-show-sam-barlow |url-status=live }}</ref>

==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>

{{Discography list | Type = soundtrack | Name = WarGames (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)<ref name="Soundtrack Discogs">{{Cite AV media notes |title=WarGames (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) |others=Artist |year=1983 |url=http://www.discogs.com/Arthur-B-Rubinstein-Wargames-Original-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack/release/2592328 |first=Arthur B. |last=Rubinstein |page=2 |type=Album notes |publisher=United Artists / Polydor Records |id=422-815 005-1 Y-1 |location=Los Angeles and New York |access-date=May 29, 2015 |archive-date=May 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512153502/http://www.discogs.com/Arthur-B-Rubinstein-Wargames-Original-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack/release/2592328 |url-status=live }}</ref> | Other info = The Beepers ("Video Fever" and "History Lesson"): Brian Banks, Anthony Marinelli, Cynthia Morrow and Arthur B. Rubinstein | from Album =  | Released = 1983 | Format = Vinyl/LP/Album/Cassette | Label = United Artists / Polydor Records – 422–815 005-1 Y-1 | Writer = Arthur B. Rubinstein | Writers =  | Producer = Ron Eyre, George Craig | Director =  | Chart position =  | Sales =  | Certification =  | Tracks = Crosby, Stills & Nash rendition of "WarGames" released on ''Allies'' (1983) | Bonus tracks =  | Singles =  }}

{{Discography list | Type = soundtrack | Name = WarGames<ref name="Filmtracks Review">{{cite web|author1=Editorial Review|title=WarGames|url=https://www.filmtracks.com/titles/wargames.html|publisher=FilmTracks|access-date=May 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529025236/http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/wargames.html|archive-date=May 29, 2015|date=2008|quote=Overall, WarGames is among Rubenstein's most respected career works, and given its highly disparate components, it's likely best that you preview the music in the context of the highly entertaining movie before exploring the Intrada album blindly.}}</ref> | Other info = Special Collection release limited to 2500 copies. Expanded brass including extra trumpets, trombones, and baritone horns.<ref name="Intrada WarGames">{{cite web|title=WarGames|url=http://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.5797/.f|publisher=Intrada Records|access-date=May 29, 2015|archive-date=May 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529085812/http://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.5797/.f|url-status=live}}</ref> | from Album =  | Released = 1983 (2008)<ref name="Filmtracks Review"/> | Format = LP/2 disk CD | Label = Intrada Special Collection Volume ISC 65 | Writer = Arthur B. Rubinstein | Writers = | Producer = | Director =  | Chart position =  | Sales =  | Certification =  | Tracks = | Bonus tracks = "Two" Bonus Track Time = 3:39 – Total Score Time = 65:49 – Total Time: 69:18 | Singles =  }}

==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.

==See also== * 1983 Soviet nuclear false alarm incident, which occurred a few months after the release

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{Official website}} {{Dead link|date=February 2024}} * {{IMDb 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}})

{{WarGames}} {{John Badham}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Wargames}} Category:1983 American films Category:1983 English-language films Category:1983 drama films Category:1983 films Category:1983 thriller films Category:1980s science fiction thriller films Category:American science fiction thriller films Category:Cheyenne Mountain Complex Category:Cold War films Category:Fictional artificial intelligences Category:Films about artificial intelligence Category:Films about computer hacking Category:Films about nuclear war and weapons Category:Films about technological impact Category:Films about the United States Air Force Category:Films about video games Category:Films about World War III Category:Films directed by John Badham Category:Films scored by Arthur B. Rubinstein Category:Films set in Colorado Category:Films set in Oregon Category:Films set in Seattle Category:Films set in Washington (state) Category:Films shot in Colorado Category:Films shot in Washington (state) Category:Films with screenplays by Walter F. Parkes Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Category:Saturn Award–winning films Category:Techno-thriller films Category:United Artists films Category:English-language thriller films