112-405: WarGames is a 1983 American techno-thriller film 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
224-400: A BAFTA Award for Best Sound . WarGames is credited with popularizing concepts of computer hacking , information technology , and cybersecurity in wider American society. It spawned several video games, a 2008 sequel film , and a 2018 interactive series . During a surprise nuclear attack drill, many United States Air Force Strategic Missile Wing controllers prove unwilling to turn
336-561: A " wild card " than a strategic deterrent. Although he later believed in disarmament treaties slowly blunting the danger of nuclear weaponry by reducing their number and alert status, he also believed a technological solution might allow incoming ICBMs to be shot down, thus making the US invulnerable to a first strike. However, the USSR saw the SDI concept as a major threat, since a unilateral deployment of
448-549: A "force under a centralized command, adequate to deter aggression and to ensure the defense of Western Europe". Allied Command Europe was established under General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower , U.S. Army , on 2 April 1951. The Western Union Defence Organization had previously carried out Exercise Verity , a 1949 multilateral exercise involving naval air strikes and submarine attacks. Exercise Mainbrace brought together 200 ships and over 50,000 personnel to practice
560-472: 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 war dialing numbers in Sunnyvale, California , to find a computer game company, he connects with a system that does not identify itself. Asking for games, he finds
672-406: A common topic. Techno-thrillers often overlap, as far as the genre goes, with near-future science fiction, military fiction , and espionage fiction . To the extent that technology is now a dominant aspect of modern global culture, most modern thrillers are "techno-thrillers" in broad sense, and the genre is somewhat diffuse. Techno-thrillers blur smoothly into the category of hard science fiction ;
784-451: A comparable level of supporting detail on the technical side. The inner workings of technology and the mechanics of various disciplines ( espionage , martial arts , politics ) are thoroughly explored, and the plot often turns on the particulars of that exploration. This genre began to exist and establish itself in the early 20th century with further developments and focus on the genre in the mid 20th century. The genre dates back to early in
896-639: 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). Be-Rad Entertainment released a tile-matching video game , "WarGames: WOPR", for iOS and Android devices in 2012. An interactive media reboot of WarGames
1008-478: A confrontation on the stationing of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba in response to the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion , is considered as having been the closest to a nuclear exchange, which could have precipitated a third World War. The crisis peaked on 27 October, with three separate major incidents occurring on the same day: Despite what many believe to be the closest the world has come to a nuclear conflict, throughout
1120-571: A decisive role. At the time, the US nuclear arsenal was limited in size, based mostly in the United States, and depended on bombers for delivery. Dropshot included mission profiles that would have used 300 nuclear bombs and 29,000 high-explosive bombs on 200 targets in 100 cities and towns to wipe out 85% of the Soviet Union's industrial potential in a single stroke. Between 75 and 100 of
1232-594: A full-scale nuclear confrontation would completely annihilate all parties to the conflict, was developed. US and Soviet leaders worked to avoid such an outcome, though several close calls caused by faulty technology or human error still occurred, underscoring the need for restraint by both sides. Since the end of the Cold War in 1991, various military conflicts, most notably the Russian invasion of Ukraine ongoing since 2022, as well as rising geopolitical tensions between
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#17327811805341344-515: A list including 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 artificial-intelligence researcher, and guesses correctly that
1456-548: 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." 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
1568-532: A mixed task force and handle it effectively as a working unit." The Soviet Union called the exercises "war-like acts" by NATO, with particular reference to the participation of Norway and Denmark and prepared for its military maneuvers in the Soviet Zone . Exercise Strikeback was a major NATO naval exercise held in 1957, simulating a response to an all-out Soviet attack on NATO. The exercise involved over 200 warships, 650 aircraft, and 75,000 personnel from
1680-541: A mystery based on a series of video clips. Interlude rebranded itself as Eko in December 2016, and the six-episode series was released in March 2018. The film's music was composed and conducted by Arthur B. Rubinstein . 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
1792-482: A naval base without destroying the city adjacent to it, so the aim of using them was to destroy the enemy's industrial capacity to cripple their war economy. The Republic of Ireland started planning for a possible nuclear war in the late 1940s. Co-operation between the United Kingdom and Ireland would be formed in the event of WWIII, where they would share weather data, control aids to navigation, and coordinate
1904-846: A new stage in the Cultural Revolution ; that of China's thorough militarization. The 9th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party , held in the aftermath of the Zhenbao Island incident , confirmed Defense Minister Lin Biao as Mao Zedong 's heir apparent. Following the events of 1969, the Soviet Union further increased its forces along the Sino-Soviet border , and in the Mongolian People's Republic . The Yom Kippur War , also known as
2016-643: A news broadcast, and FBI special agents arrest him and take him to NORAD. He realizes that WOPR is behind the NORAD alerts, but he fails to convince McKittrick (who believes David is working for the Soviets) and is charged with espionage. David escapes NORAD by joining a tourist group and, with Jennifer's help, travels to the Oregon island where Falken lives under the alias "Robert Hume". David and Jennifer find that Falken has become despondent, believing that nuclear war
2128-552: A period of conflict escalation that culminated in a DEFCON 1 nuclear strike, some members of the Soviet Politburo and armed forces treated the events as a ruse of war concealing a genuine first strike. In response, the military prepared for a coordinated counter-attack by readying nuclear forces and placing air units stationed in the Warsaw Pact states of East Germany and Poland under high alert. However,
2240-406: A safeguard using the two-man rule , the computer will trigger a mass launch. All attempts to log in and order WOPR to cancel the countdown fail. Disconnecting the computer is discussed and dismissed, as a fail-deadly mechanism will launch all weapons if the computer is disabled. Falken and David direct the computer to play tic-tac-toe against itself. This results in a long string of draws, forcing
2352-432: 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
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#17327811805342464-423: 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
2576-544: A world war. On 24 February 2022, Russia's president Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine , marking a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War , which began in 2014. The Russian invasion started the largest war in Europe since World War II. Various experts, analysts, and others have described the invasion as heightening the risk of a third world war, while others have suggested
2688-539: Is a fresh and still developing style with it being more of a hybrid genre, more closely related to thrillers and technology. Since technology is always changing, that brings a fresh take on techno thrillers with advancement always on the scope. Techno-thrillers have at least five varieties within the genre. These are military techno-thrillers, spy techno-thrillers, crypto-techno-thrillers, disaster techno-thrillers, and science-fiction techno-thrillers. World War III World War III ( WWIII or WW3 ), also known as
2800-554: 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". 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). The company that provided
2912-657: Is engulfing the Far East and the entire world." Downs afterwards repeated this belief on ABC Evening News while reporting on the USS Pueblo incident in 1968. Secretary of State Dean Acheson later acknowledged that the Truman administration was concerned about the escalation of the conflict and that General Douglas MacArthur warned him that a U.S.-led intervention risked a Soviet response. The Berlin Crisis of 1961
3024-423: Is inevitable and as futile as a game of tic-tac-toe between two experienced players. The teenagers convince Falken that he should return to NORAD to 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
3136-411: Is not to play." WOPR relinquishes control of NORAD and the missiles and offers to play "a nice game of chess". 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
3248-424: Is one of the more inventive—and genuinely suspenseful—Cold War movies of the 1980s." On Metacritic , the film has a weighted average score of 77 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". 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. Leonard Maltin gave it
3360-691: The Civil Reserve Air Fleet . Seven Days to the River Rhine was a top-secret military simulation exercise developed in 1979 by the Warsaw Pact. It started with the assumption that NATO would launch a nuclear attack on the Vistula river valley in a first-strike scenario, which would result in as many as two million Polish civilian casualties. In response, a Soviet counter-strike would be carried out against West Germany , Belgium ,
3472-586: The Cold War (1947–1991) and spread of nuclear weapons to the Soviet Union , which was followed by their acquisition by several other countries , the risk of a third world war rose. During the Cold War, the possibility was anticipated and planned for by military and civil personnel around the world, with scenarios ranging from conventional warfare to limited or total nuclear warfare . The strategic doctrine of mutually assured destruction , which posited that
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3584-541: The Manhattan Project 's development of nuclear weapons in 1945 and their use by the United States in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II, the risk of a nuclear apocalypse causing widespread destruction and the potential collapse of civilization or extinction of humanity has become a common theme in speculation and fiction about World War III. With the advent of
3696-483: The Mediterranean Sea during 1952 to practice dislodging an enemy occupying force and amphibious assault. It involved over 170 warships and 700 aircraft under the overall command of Admiral Robert B. Carney . The overall exercise commander, Carney summarized the accomplishments of Exercise Grand Slam by stating: "We have demonstrated that the senior commanders of all four powers can successfully take charge of
3808-842: The Netherlands and Denmark , with Warsaw Pact forces invading West Germany and aiming to stop at the River Rhine by the seventh day. Other USSR plans stopped only upon reaching the French border on day nine. Individual Warsaw Pact states were only assigned their subpart of the strategic picture; in this case, the Polish forces were only expected to go as far as Germany. The Seven Days to the Rhine plan envisioned that Poland and Germany would be largely destroyed by nuclear exchanges and that large numbers of troops would die of radiation sickness . It
3920-558: The RE turn of FOR ces to GER many) was an annual exercise conducted during the Cold War by NATO . While US troops could be easily flown across the Atlantic, the heavy equipment and armor reinforcements would have to come by sea and be delivered to POMCUS (Pre-positioned Overseas Material Configured to Unit Sets) sites. These exercises tested the United States and allied abilities to carry out transcontinental reinforcement. Timely reinforcement
4032-709: The Soviet Politburo and military to believe that Able Archer 83 was a ruse of war , obscuring preparations for a genuine nuclear first strike. In response, the Soviets readied their nuclear forces and placed air units in East Germany and Poland on alert. This "1983 war scare" is considered by many historians to be the closest the world has come to nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The threat of nuclear war ended with
4144-452: The Soviet Union , triggering a false alarm that threatens to start World War III . 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
4256-474: The Soviet nuclear early warning system , showing the launch of American LGM-30 Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles from bases in the United States. A retaliatory attack was prevented by Stanislav Petrov , a Soviet Air Defence Forces officer, who realised the system had simply malfunctioned (which was borne out by later investigations). During Able Archer 83 , a ten-day NATO exercise simulating
4368-617: The Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) Headquarters in Casteau , north of the city of Mons . Able Archer's exercises simulated a period of conflict escalation , culminating in a coordinated nuclear attack . The realistic nature of the 1983 exercise, coupled with deteriorating relations between the United States and the Soviet Union and the anticipated arrival of strategic Pershing II nuclear missiles in Europe, led some members of
4480-472: The Third World War , is a hypothetical future global conflict subsequent to World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). It is widely assumed that such a war would involve all of the great powers , like its predecessors, as well as the use of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction , surpassing all prior conflicts in geographic scope, devastation and loss of life. Since
4592-783: The United States Navy , the United Kingdom's Royal Navy , the Royal Canadian Navy , the French Navy , the Royal Netherlands Navy , and the Royal Norwegian Navy . As the largest peacetime naval operation up to that time, Exercise Strikeback was characterized by military analyst Hanson W. Baldwin of The New York Times as "constituting the strongest striking fleet assembled since World War II". Exercise Reforger (from
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4704-521: The Whopper hamburger, and a general sense of something going "whop". David Lightman was modeled on David Scott Lewis, a hacking enthusiast Parkes and Lasker met. Falken 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 General James V. Hartinger ( USAF ),
4816-489: The 20th century. Invasion of the Sea by Jules Verne (1905) has been called an early techno-thriller. Many techno-thrillers are comparable to science fiction—and several modes within science-fiction. The popularity of the genre has maintained itself and evolved over the years. One of the earliest techno-thrillers is thought to be The Satan Bug (1962) by Alistair MacLean , while a lot of what counted for science fiction in
4928-558: The 300 nuclear weapons were targeted to destroy Soviet combat aircraft on the ground. The scenario was devised before the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles . It was also devised before US President John F. Kennedy and his Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara changed the US Nuclear War plan from the 'city killing' countervalue strike plan to a " counterforce " plan (targeted more at military forces). Nuclear weapons at this time were not accurate enough to hit
5040-546: The Atomic Scientists now credits the political developments resulting from the Cuban Missile Crisis with having enhanced global stability. The Bulletin posits that future crises and occasions that might otherwise escalate, were rendered more stable due to two major factors: The Sino-Soviet border conflict was a seven-month undeclared military border war between the Soviet Union and China at
5152-535: The NORAD side of the "Global Thermonuclear War" game, where the United States had 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
5264-539: The Ramadan War, or October War, began with a surprise invasion of Israeli-occupied territories by a coalition of Arab states, aided by the Soviet Union. Israel successfully counterattacked with the aid of the US. Tensions grew between the two superpowers: American and Soviet naval forces came close to firing upon each other in the Mediterranean Sea . Admiral Daniel J. Murphy of the US Sixth Fleet reckoned
5376-672: The Russians; the plane was in the region as part of the Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war , in which Turkey supported opposing forces. The incident was the first destruction of a Russian or Soviet Air Forces warplane by a NATO member state since the attack on the Sui-ho Dam during the Korean War in 1953. The incident led to numerous media and individuals commenting that it could have sparked and escalated into
5488-427: 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. The prop was broken up for scrap after production was completed. A replica was built for a 2006 AT&T commercial. WarGames did well at the box office, grossing $ 79,567,667,
5600-588: The U.S., the U.S.S.R., and China. CBS News war correspondent Bill Downs wrote in 1951, "To my mind, the answer is: Yes, Korea is the beginning of World War III. The brilliant landings at Inchon and the cooperative efforts of the American armed forces with the United Nations Allies have won us a victory in Korea. But this is only the first battle in a major international struggle which now
5712-683: The UK being a nuclear weapons state in its own right; these were mainly deployed in Germany . In peacetime , the nuclear weapons stored in non-nuclear countries are guarded by US airmen though previously some artillery and missile systems were guarded by US Army soldiers; the codes required for detonating them are under American control. In case of war, the weapons are to be mounted on the participating countries' warplanes. The weapons are under custody and control of USAF Munitions Support Squadrons co-located on NATO main operating bases that work together with
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#17327811805345824-635: The USSR launched an ultimatum demanding the withdrawal of all armed forces from Berlin, including the Western armed forces in West Berlin . The crisis culminated in the city's de facto partition with the East German erection of the Berlin Wall . This stand-off ended peacefully on 28 October following a U.S.–Soviet understanding to withdraw tanks and reduce tensions. The Cuban Missile Crisis ,
5936-537: The United Kingdom, and the United States), only the United States has provided weapons for nuclear sharing. As of November 2009 , Belgium , Germany , Italy , the Netherlands and Turkey are still hosting US nuclear weapons as part of NATO's nuclear sharing policy. Canada hosted weapons until 1984, and Greece until 2001. The United Kingdom also received US tactical nuclear weapons such as nuclear artillery and Lance missiles until 1992, despite
6048-529: The United States and China , have been perceived as potential flashpoints or triggers for a third world war. Time magazine was an early adopter, if not originator, of the term "World War III". The first usage appears in its 3 November 1941 issue (preceding the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941) under its "National Affairs" section and entitled "World War III?" about Nazi refugee Hermann Rauschning , who had just arrived in
6160-599: The United States and NATO, including US president Joe Biden and NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg , have stressed the need to prevent the conflict escalating into a third world war, while also affirming that NATO members will defend each other. The US warned Russia's government that the country would suffer "catastrophic" consequences if it used nuclear weapons against Ukraine. Former CIA Director , David Petraeus , said NATO would likely respond by destroying all Russian forces in Ukraine. Several incidents have risked
6272-403: The United States. In its 22 March 1943, issue under its "Foreign News" section, Time reused the same title "World War III?" about statements by then- US Vice President Henry A. Wallace : "We shall decide sometime in 1943 or 1944 ... whether to plant the seeds of World War III." Time continued to entitle with or mention in stories the term "World War III" for the rest of
6384-555: The Wartime Broadcasting Service that would occur after a nuclear attack. Operation Sandstone in Ireland was a top-secret British-Irish military operation. The armed forces from both states began a coastal survey of Britain and Ireland cooperating from 1948 to 1955. This was a request from the United States to identify suitable landing grounds for the US in the event of a successful Soviet invasion. By 1953,
6496-484: The chances of the Soviet squadron attempting a first strike against his fleet at 40 percent. The Pentagon moved Defcon status from 4 to 3. The superpowers had been pushed to the brink of war, but tensions eased with the ceasefire brought in under UNSC 339 . The United States made emergency retaliation preparations after NORAD systems indicated that a full-scale Soviet attack had been launched. No attempt
6608-554: The co-operation agreed upon sharing information on wartime weather and the evacuation of civilian refugees from Britain to Ireland. Ireland's Operation Sandstone ended in 1966. In January 1950, the North Atlantic Council approved NATO 's military strategy of containment . NATO military planning took on a renewed urgency following the outbreak of the Korean War in the early 1950s, prompting NATO to establish
6720-423: The computer to learn the concept of futility and no-win scenarios. WOPR obtains the launch codes, but before launching, it 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
6832-479: The conclusion of the exercise on 11 November. The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was proposed by US President Ronald Reagan on 23 March 1983. In the latter part of his presidency , numerous factors (which included watching the 1983 movie The Day After and hearing through a Soviet defector that Able Archer 83 almost triggered a Russian first strike) had turned Reagan against the concept of winnable nuclear war, and he began to see nuclear weapons as more of
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#17327811805346944-409: The connection between youth, computers, gaming, and the military. 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. Parkes and Lasker came up with several military-themed plotlines before
7056-695: The contrary. Because of the invasion, at least fifty countries have provided some kind of military aid to Ukraine , including all member states of NATO . The Russian government has threatened retaliation against countries supplying military aid to Ukraine, and said it meant NATO was waging a "proxy war" against Russia. Senior Russian politicians—including president Putin, foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and United Russia party leader Dmitry Medvedev —have made statements widely seen as nuclear blackmail . They have implied that Russia may use nuclear weapons if certain "red lines" are crossed, such as helping Ukraine to strike back at mainland Russia. Officials from
7168-447: The decade and onwards: 1944, 1945, 1946 ("bacterial warfare"), 1947, and 1948. Time persists in using this term, for example, in a 2015 book review entitled "This Is What World War III Will Look Like". Military strategists have used war games to prepare for various war scenarios and to determine the most appropriate strategies. War games were utilized for World War I and World War II. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
7280-544: The defense of Denmark and Norway from the Soviet attack in 1952. It was the first major NATO exercise. The exercise was jointly commanded by Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic Admiral Lynde D. McCormick , United States Navy , and Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Matthew B. Ridgeway , U.S. Army , during the autumn of 1952. The United States, the United Kingdom, Canada , France , Denmark, Norway, Portugal , Netherlands , and Belgium participated. Exercises Grand Slam and Longstep were naval exercises held in
7392-406: The defining characteristics of techno-thriller are an emphasis on real-world or plausible near-future technology. There is often a focus on military or military-political action. Techno-thrillers also overlap with conspiracy fiction and apocalyptic fiction . While techno-thrillers borrow concepts and ideas from other forms and styles of other genres, notably science-fiction and its subcategories, it
7504-633: The entire standoff, the Doomsday Clock , which is run by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists to estimate how close the end of the world, or doomsday, is, with midnight being the apocalypse, stayed at a relatively stable seven minutes to midnight. This has been explained as being due to the brevity of the crisis since the clock monitored more long-term factors such as the leadership of countries, conflicts, wars, and political upheavals, as well as societies' reactions to said factors. The Bulletin of
7616-552: 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. Techno-thriller A techno-thriller or technothriller is a hybrid genre drawing from science fiction , thrillers , spy fiction , action , and war novels . They include a disproportionate amount (relative to other genres) of technical details on their subject matter (typically military technology); only hard science fiction tends towards
7728-476: The fifth-highest of 1983 in the United States and Canada. It grossed $ 45 million internationally for a worldwide total of $ 124.6 million. The film was screened out of competition at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival . 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
7840-505: The film as "Very funny, excruciatingly suspenseful, and endlessly inventive, this movie is right on the mark; authentic even when highly improbable". 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". Colin Greenland in Imagine stated that " Wargames
7952-550: 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." Hosoda later stated that Our War Game "kind of started my idea for [his 2009 film] Summer Wars ," noting that Summer Wars "became
8064-529: 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. WarGames (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) ( The Beepers ("Video Fever" and "History Lesson"): Brian Banks, Anthony Marinelli , Cynthia Morrow and Arthur B. Rubinstein ) WarGames (Special Collection release limited to 2500 copies. Expanded brass including extra trumpets, trombones, and baritone horns.) Critics have cited
8176-449: The film is credited with leading to the enactment 18 months later of NSDD-145 , the first Presidential directive on computer security. A novelization of the film was written by David Bischoff . In November 2006, preproduction 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. MGM released
8288-433: The film to "Computer hobbyists of all kinds". 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
8400-438: 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. Director John Badham coined the name "WOPR", feeling that the name of NORAD's Single Integrated Operational Plan was "boring, and told you nothing". The name "WOPR" played off
8512-467: 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. He invited what Wired described as "a small army of computer whizzes on set" to advise on accuracy. Tom Mankiewicz says he wrote some additional scenes during shooting that were used. Walon Green
8624-519: The height of the Sino-Soviet split in 1969. The most serious of these border clashes, which brought the world's two largest communist states to the brink of war, occurred in March 1969 in the vicinity of Zhenbao (Damansky) Island on the Ussuri (Wusuli) River , near Manchuria . The conflict resulted in a ceasefire, with a return to the status quo. Critics point out that the Chinese attack on Zhenbao
8736-474: The host nation forces. As of 2005, 180 tactical B61 nuclear bombs of the 480 US nuclear weapons believed to be deployed in Europe fall under the nuclear sharing arrangement. The weapons are stored within a vault in hardened aircraft shelters , using the USAF WS3 Weapon Storage and Security System . The delivery warplanes used are F-16 Fighting Falcons and Panavia Tornados . With
8848-474: The initiation of the Cold War arms race in the 1950s, an apocalyptic war between the United States and the Soviet Union became a real possibility. During the Cold War era (1947–1991), several military events have been described as having come close to potentially triggering World War III. Even after the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, some incidents afterward have been described as close calls as well. The Korean War
8960-454: The keys required to launch a missile strike. Such refusals convince John McKittrick and other North American Aerospace Defense Command (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"), or Joshua, programmed to continuously run war simulations and learn over time. David Lightman,
9072-694: The large screens 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.) 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
9184-552: The name of Falken's deceased son (Joshua) is the password. Unaware that the Sunnyvale phone number connects to WOPR at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex , David initiates a game of Global Thermonuclear War, playing as the Soviet Union 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
9296-504: The potential for the " WarGames scenario" to exist in reality. This focus contributed to the creation of the first U.S. federal internet policy, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986. 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. The scenes showing Lightman's computer dialing every number in Sunnyvale led to
9408-566: The pre-war and early post-war Soviet Union were essentially techno-thrillers, full of technical details and featuring complex spy-rich plots, one of the most enduring example being the Grigory Adamov 's The Mystery of the Two Oceans (1939). Michael Crichton and Tom Clancy are considered to be the fathers of the "modern techno-thriller"; Crichton's book The Andromeda Strain and Clancy's book The Hunt for Red October set out
9520-474: The radar signature of the launch of a Trident SLBM missile. In response, Russian President Boris Yeltsin was summoned and the Cheget nuclear briefcase was activated for the first and only time. However, the high command was soon able to determine that the rocket was not entering Russian airspace, and promptly aborted plans for combat readiness and retaliation. It was retrospectively determined that, while
9632-479: The radio, but he followed Jackson's orders to encircle the airfield instead and later said in an interview that even without Jackson's intervention he would have refused to follow Clark's order. On 24 November 2015, at the border between Turkey and Syria, the Turkish Air Force shot down a Russian Sukhoi attack aircraft. The Turks claimed that the aircraft violated Turkish airspace , a claim denied by
9744-605: The rocket scientists had informed thirty states including Russia about the test launch, the information had not reached Russian radar technicians. On 12 June 1999, the day following the end of the Kosovo War , some 250 Russian peacekeepers occupied the Pristina International Airport ahead of the arrival of NATO troops and were to secure the arrival of reinforcements by air. American NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Wesley Clark ordered
9856-407: The screens from behind using 16-mm film, so they were visible to the actors and no post-production work was needed. WarGames was the first mass-consumed, visual media 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 . In the wake of the film, major news media focused on
9968-513: 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. 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 played similarly to
10080-474: 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, pushing them to increase the DEFCON level toward a retaliation that will start World War III . David learns the true nature of his actions from
10192-541: The state of Soviet preparation for retaliation ceased upon completion of the Able Archer exercises. The Norwegian rocket incident was the first World War III close call to occur after the Cold War had ended. This incident occurred when Russia's Olenegorsk early warning station accidentally mistook the radar signature from a Black Brant XII research rocket (being jointly launched by Norwegian and US scientists from Andøya Rocket Range ), as appearing to be
10304-405: The supposed attack until actual weapons impacts are confirmed. When the targeted American bases ( Elmendorf Air Force Base , Grand Forks Air Force Base , and Loring Air Force Base ) report back unharmed, NORAD prepares to cancel the retaliatory second strike. WOPR tries to launch the missiles on its own using a brute-force attack to obtain the launch codes. Without humans in the control centers as
10416-454: The system would allow the US to launch a massive first strike on the Soviet Union without any fear of retaliation. The SDI concept was to use ground-based and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles . The initiative focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic offense doctrine of mutually assured destruction (MAD). The Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO)
10528-460: The term " War dialing " (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 ". President Ronald Reagan , a family friend of Lasker's, watched the film and discussed the plot with members of Congress, his advisers, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff . Reagan's interest in
10640-488: The then- commander-in-chief of NORAD, whom Parkes and Lasker met while visiting the base, and who, like Beringer, favored keeping humans in the decision loop . Martin Brest was originally hired as the director, but was dismissed after 12 days of shooting because of a disagreement with the producers, and replaced with John Badham . Several of the scenes shot by Brest remain in the final film. Badham said that Brest had "taken
10752-443: The type example which defined the genre, although many authors had been writing similar material earlier, such as Craig Thomas , whom BBC News also credits as an early innovator. Techno-thrillers focus strongly on details, especially on the technology, which is frequently of military origin. Techno-thrillers tend to have a broad scope in the narrative, and can often be regarded as contemporary speculative fiction ; world wars are
10864-584: The use of force against the Russians. Mike Jackson , a British Army general who contacted the Russians during the incident, refused to enforce Clark's orders, famously telling him "I'm not going to start the Third World War for you". Captain James Blunt, the lead officer at the front of the NATO column in the direct armed stand-off against the Russians, received the "Destroy!" orders from Clark over
10976-473: The use of their nuclear weapons. Exercise Able Archer was an annual exercise by the U.S. European Command that practiced command and control procedures, with emphasis on the transition from solely conventional operations to chemical, nuclear, and conventional operations during a time of war. "Able Archer 83" was a five-day North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) command post exercise starting on 7 November 1983, that spanned Western Europe , centered on
11088-631: Was "to impose upon Russia the will of the United States and the British Empire ". The plan was rejected by the British Chiefs of Staff Committee as militarily unfeasible. Operation Dropshot was the 1950s United States contingency plan for a possible nuclear and conventional war with the Soviet Union in the Western European and Asian theaters. Although the scenario made use of nuclear weapons, they were not expected to play
11200-481: Was a critical part of the NATO reinforcement exercises. The United States needed to be able to send active-duty army divisions to Europe within ten days as part of a wartime NATO general deployment. In addition to assessing the capabilities of the United States, Reforger also monitored the personnel, facilities, and equipment of the European countries playing a significant role in the reinforcement effort. The exercise
11312-485: Was a political-military confrontation between the armed forces of the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. at Checkpoint Charlie with both several American and Soviet/East German tanks and troops at the stand-off at each other only 100 yards on either side of the checkpoint. The reason behind the confrontation was the occupational status of the German capital city, Berlin , and of post–World War II Germany . The Berlin Crisis started when
11424-598: Was a war between two coalitions fighting for control over the Korean Peninsula : a communist coalition including North Korea , the People's Republic of China, and the Soviet Union , and a capitalist coalition including South Korea , the United States and the United Nations Command . Many then believed that the conflict was likely to soon escalate into a full-scale war between the three countries,
11536-577: Was also an uncredited script doctor . 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. 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
11648-407: 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. 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
11760-534: Was concerned that, with the enormous size of Soviet Red Army forces deployed in Central and Eastern Europe at the end of World War II and the unreliability of the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin , there was a serious threat to Western Europe . In April–May 1945, the British Armed Forces developed Operation Unthinkable , thought to be the first scenario of the Third World War. Its primary goal
11872-432: Was estimated that NATO would fire nuclear weapons behind the advancing Soviet lines to cut off their supply lines and thus blunt their advance. While this plan assumed that NATO would use nuclear weapons to push back any Warsaw Pact invasion, it did not include nuclear strikes on France or the United Kingdom. Newspapers speculated when this plan was declassified, that France and the UK were not to be hit to get them to withhold
11984-482: Was intended to ensure that NATO could quickly deploy forces to West Germany in the event of a conflict with the Warsaw Pact . The Warsaw Pact outnumbered NATO throughout the Cold War in conventional forces, and especially in tanks and armoured vehicles. Therefore, in the event of a Soviet invasion, in order not to resort to tactical nuclear strikes , NATO forces defending against a Warsaw Pact armored spearhead would have to be quickly resupplied and replaced. Reforger
12096-536: Was made to use the Moscow–Washington hotline to clarify the situation with the USSR and it was not until early-warning radar systems confirmed no such launch had taken place that NORAD realized that a computer system test had caused the display errors. A senator inside the NORAD facility at the time described an atmosphere of absolute panic. A GAO investigation led to the construction of an off-site test facility to prevent similar mistakes. A false alarm occurred on
12208-616: Was not merely a show of force. In the event of a conflict, it would be the actual plan to strengthen the NATO presence in Europe. In that instance, it would have been referred to as Operation Reforger. The political goals of Reforger were to promote extended deterrence and foster NATO cohesion. Important components in Reforger included the Military Airlift Command , the Military Sealift Command , and
12320-576: Was set up in 1984 within the United States Department of Defense to oversee the Strategic Defense Initiative. NATO operational plans for a Third World War have involved NATO allies who do not have their nuclear weapons, using nuclear weapons supplied by the United States as part of a general NATO war plan, under the direction of NATO's Supreme Allied Commander . Of the three nuclear powers in NATO (France,
12432-496: 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. 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
12544-417: Was to deter any potential future Soviet invasions; that by killing some Soviets, China demonstrated that it could not be 'bullied'; and that Mao wanted to teach them 'a bitter lesson'. China's relations with the USSR remained sour after the conflict, despite the border talks, which began in 1969 and continued inconclusively for a decade. Domestically, the threat of war caused by the border clashes inaugurated
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