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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 11:52 pm Post subject: WarGames (1983) |
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This enjoyable sci-fi movie ought to look so dated by now it couldn't possibly be enjoyable today, but director John Badham did so well that his 33-year old movie still delivers a fun experience.
Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy are a cute couple, and they do a great job of displaying all the angst a pair of teens would feel if they thought they'd started World War III.
Dabney Coleman and Barry Corbin are memorable as the dedicated civilian director of the computer system and the hawkish general, and both men struggle with their faith in a system that has gone bananas.
The set of the War Room is a gasser, a very convincing portrayal of what the military would use to orchestrate the destruction of the human race in a global nuclear war.
The way A.I. is presented in the film is still valid and intelligent, and the film doesn't make the mistake of personalizing the machine too much, striking a nice balance between being both dangerously intelligent and slavishly mechanical.
Few movies that have addressed subjects like this have held up as well after thirty years.
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_______________ WarGames Official - trailer
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Mon Oct 14, 2024 10:27 am; edited 3 times in total |
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ralfy Mission Specialist

Joined: 23 Sep 2014 Posts: 473
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2016 10:57 pm Post subject: |
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One of my favorites, including the use of BBSes and modems.
Finally, one video game in relation to the movie:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/1520/ |
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alltare Quantum Engineer

Joined: 17 Jul 2015 Posts: 349
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 12:03 am Post subject: |
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This movie featured what was probably the world's first clone personal computer. Matthew Broderick's home PC was an IMSAI 8080 (the name was covered with tape), a functional copy of the original Altair 8800. The Altair was the first commercially successful microcomputer.
Last edited by alltare on Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:44 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 3:15 pm Post subject: |
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Bulldogtrekker and I watched Short Circuit last night. While doing so I read on IMDB that John Badham directed both movies, and that it was the second time he had worked with Ally Sheedy.
I didn't know that! Cool!  _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Mon Oct 14, 2024 10:27 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 12:24 am Post subject: |
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This fun movie has some enjoyable trivia items.
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The studio had the Galaxian (1979) and Galaga (1981) arcade machines delivered to Matthew Broderick's home, where he practiced for two months to prepare for the arcade scene.
Note from me: Imagine how delighted young Matthew Broderick was when he got this little bonus!
According to John Badham, the scene of the jeep trying to crash through the gate at NORAD and turning over was an actual accident. The jeep was supposed to continue through the gate. They added the scene of the characters running from the jeep and down the tunnel and used the botched jeep stunt.
Note from me: I've always wondered if it that was staged or a real wreck!
This movie inspired congress to create and update the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1984. Representative Dan Glickman (D-Kansas), opened the proceedings by saying: "..are gonna show about four minutes from the movie 'WarGames,' which...outlines the problem fairly clearly." A House committee report solemnly intoned: "'WarGames' showed a realistic representation of the automatic dialing and access capabilities of the personal computer."
Note from me: I think they should have let Congress see the whole movie. With free popcorn.
During their extensive research for the film, writers Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes made friends with many 'hackers' and security experts. They later wrote Sneakers (1992) another film featuring 'hackers' and security experts.
Note from me: I have the DVD of Sneakers. It's enjoyable!
Crosby Stills & Nash submitted a song for the soundtrack called "Wargames", (that was originally from their "Allies" album) but was edited out of the film at the last second. However, United Artists still used the video for the song, featuring footage for the film, as a promotion video that did receive airplay on MTV.
Note from me: And by gum, here it is!
___________ Crosby, Stills & Nash - War Games
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The code for the lock of the infirmary, identified as "333-222," matches the tone for the chorus of the 1969 Edwin Starr song "War (What is it good for?)", a song also covered by Bruce Springsteen (1985) and Frankie Goes to Hollywood (1984).
Note from me: What the heck! Here's another video with a rock song!
______________________ War - Edwin Starr
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The computer name WOPR used in the movie was a joke based on a real computer once used to predict war strategies at NORAD which was called "BRGR". The Burger King "Whopper" is a "Burger".
Note from me: I suppose it was a toss up between WOPR and BIGMAC.  _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Mon Oct 14, 2024 10:28 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Maurice Starship Navigator

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 542 Location: 3rd Rock
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2017 1:08 pm Post subject: |
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____________________________________
IMDB has 82 trivia items for this movie, many of which are very interesting. Here's a few more of the best ones (in blue).
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The NORAD command center built for the movie was the most expensive set ever constructed up to that time, built at the cost of one million dollars. The producers were not allowed into the actual NORAD command center, so they had to imagine what it was like. In the DVD commentary, director John Badham notes that the actual NORAD command center isn't nearly as elaborate as the one in the movie; he refers to the movie set as "NORAD's wet dream of itself."
Note from me: How often we've seen Hollywood dazzle us with sets and equipment that eclipsed the real-life facilities they're meant to portray! And to that I say Bravo to the geniuses of Tinseltown.
The WOPR, as seen in the movie, was made of wood and painted with a metal-finish paint. As the crew filmed the displays of the WOPR, Special Effects Supervisor Michael L. Fink sat inside and entered information into an Apple II computer that drove the countdown display.
Note from me: This is hysterical. Inside the big, glitzy fake computer is brilliant man using a modest Apple computer to make the cyberb-magic look real. I love it!
The NORAD Computer System (NCS) used 1950's-era systems in 1983. After WarGames, visitors for the NORAD tour constantly asked to see the modern computer rooms. Partly driven by this, in coming years color displays (mostly on Sun workstations) started replacing the much older equipment. Incidentally, NORAD only detected threats. Strategic Air Command, until 1992, handled responses to threats.
Note from me: Wow, that's rich! The visitors walk into the real NORAD, take one look at the drab, outdated facility, and asked to the "modern computer room".
The studio had the Galaxian (1979) and Galaga (1981) arcade machines delivered to Matthew Broderick's home, where he practiced for two months to prepare for the arcade scene.
Note from me: Boy, an actor's life can be really tough, eh? Forced to practice his video game skills for two months so he can give a dramatic and convincing performance in the riveting arcade scenes! What dedication!
According to John Badham, the scene of the jeep trying to crash through the gate at NORAD and turning over was an actual accident. The jeep was supposed to continue through the gate. They added the scene of the characters running from the jeep and down the tunnel and used the botched jeep stunt.
Note from me: When life servers you lemons, make lemonade! When a stunt scene results in a wrecked jeep . . . find out if Ally Sheedy can run faster than Matthew Broderick!
A February 2016 New York Times article reported that this movie ended up having a significant effect on President Ronald Reagan's understanding of and policy on telecommunications and computer systems security, and led directly to Reagan pushing the first federal laws intended to outlaw hacking.
Note from me: This is just the first part of a long and wonderful trivia item on IMDB that I decided to shorten. Here's the link to the IMDB trivia section. I recommend reading the whole item! But the gist of the message is that what happened in the move was entirely possible and it generated very serious discussions about national security and computer hacking, back when all that stuff was brand new and scary as hell!
This next trivia item is related to the one above.
This movie inspired congress to create and update the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1984. Representative Dan Glickman (D-Kansas), opened the proceedings by saying: "..are gonna show about four minutes from the movie 'WarGames,' which...outlines the problem fairly clearly." A House committee report solemnly intoned: "'WarGames' showed a realistic representation of the automatic dialing and access capabilities of the personal computer."
Note from me: A case of not only "Life imitating art", the art actually guided life to fix a real problem!
When David makes a joke directed at his teacher about asexual reproduction the laughter heard afterwards is considered to be the rest of the kids in the classroom. But John Badham (director) said that some of the crew didn't know the punch line and laughed out loud during the scene. That laughter was left in the sound track, and if you listen closely you will hear what is clearly adults laughing out loud, rather than classroom sniggering.
Note from me: Wow, when I grow up I want to be just like John Badham and have a job where cool stuff like this can happen! He films a scene in which a shot isn't RUINED by the laugher of the off-camera crew . . . it's enhanced!
During their extensive research for the film, writers Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes made friends with many 'hackers' and security experts. They later wrote Sneakers (1992) another film featuring 'hackers' and security experts.
Note from me: I've seen (and own) the movie Sneakers, and I love for the same reasons I love WarGames. But until I read this item, I didn't know that the two movies had an important common element.
The computer in David's room is actually an IMSAI 8080. The person who supplied the computer for the film tells how Matthew Broderick saved a shooting day by figuring out a programming sequence for the keyboard on his own after instructions were lost.
Note from me: This is one more reason for me think Matthew Broderick is a talented actor and cool dude. This is part of why I love Godzilla (1998). Matthew's portrayal of a scientists with boyish charm and a strong enthusiasm for science is just what a great science fiction movie needs! _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
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The Spike Astral Engineer
Joined: 23 Sep 2014 Posts: 266 Location: Birmingham. Great Britain.
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Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2020 11:36 am Post subject: |
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Wanna play Global Thermonuclear War?
It was with much interest to me to revisit this early 80s hacker piece armed with the knowledge of just how the advent of change in the computer world had evolved. With that in mind the film could quite easily be classed as a bit clunky due to the now almost Neanderthal toys, games and computers used in the movie, but casting aside the nostalgia feelings I had with it, it still hits the spot as both a poignant piece of interest, and a damn good thriller as well.
Matthew Broderick is David Lightman, a young computer gamer geek who is something of a whizz kid on the PC. He can change his school grades and hack into various sites he shouldn't be even looking at. During one eventful sitting he hacks into a computer called Joshua and plays a game called Global Thermonuclear War, he harmlessly chooses to be The Soviet Union and proceeds to launch a nuclear attack on his own country, the U.S.A. Trouble is, is that the game is for real and the wheels are in motion for World War III!.
It helps to remember the time this film was made (for those old enough of course), for it was the time of the ever worrying cloud of the Cold War, a time when nuclear war was more than a hearsay threat. I really think that in this day and age where computers literally do run our lives, this film stands up really well not only as a warning piece about messing with technology, but also as a gentle poke in the ribs about defence systems and the people we trust to run them. Though the film is a kind of watered down and accessible 2001: A Space Odyssey for the 80s set, it impacts well and only really suffers from a pointless romantic plot strand involving the sprightly Ally Sheedy (could they not just have been pals?) and the aforementioned dated gadgets. The ending to the film is excellent as the tension builds up nicely and we are left chewing our nails watching a game of Tic-Tac-Toe, sounds simple doesn't it? Not so.
Good honest and intelligent entertainment. 7.5/10 _________________ The quality of mercy is not strnen. |
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Maurice Starship Navigator

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 542 Location: 3rd Rock
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2020 11:18 pm Post subject: |
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Bud Brewster wrote: | The WOPR, as seen in the movie, was made of wood and painted with a metal-finish paint. As the crew filmed the displays of the WOPR, Special Effects Supervisor Michael L. Fink sat inside and entered information into an Apple II computer that drove the countdown display.
Note from me: This is hysterical. Inside the big, glitzy fake computer is brilliant man using a modest Apple computer to make the cyberb-magic look real. I love it!. |
I see that related on a site or two (see here (link)), but I smell a rat.
*There'd be no reason to put someone inside the WOPR mockup. That's what cables are for.
*The flat panel display described in the above link is just the countdown and only seen in insert shots on not on the WOPR proper.  And caveat emptor about repeating trivia off the internet. So much of it is half-misremembered or bunk. The real particular of the computer graphics and simulations in Wargames took me about 20 seconds to find: The HP 9548 Project, Screen Art: WARGAMES (link)
But even then some of the info is contradicted here (link) where there's still a dubious statement about "inside". Here's the relevant quote from Mike Fink:
...Anyway, I hand carried the display on my lap from Sunnyvale to MGM, where I personally installed the display in the WOPR and then connected it to an Apple II with a prototype driver card for displaying characters on the screen.
While filming the machine, I sat huddled inside with the Apple in my lap and typed commands into it per instructions from John Badham as the camera rolled. Very high tech. The display is only seen in insert because it had not yet been installed when we shot the live action around WOPR. I remember that the driver card was not built to run at 48hz, which we needed to maintain sync with the 24 frame per second camera, so I, with the help of a fellow named Larry Barton, changed out the crystal on the board, and then trimmed it by rubbing it with a lead pencil until the scope showed us 48hz. Fun.
But there's no spot on the complete WOPR prop for the display in question. I suspect it was shot on a small panel built just for the purpose. _________________ * * *
"The absence of limitations is the enemy of art."
― Orson Welles |
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ralfy Mission Specialist

Joined: 23 Sep 2014 Posts: 473
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2020 11:25 am Post subject: |
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Thinking Outside the "Plot"!
The computer in this movie seems mighty smart, and it was given the same basic capabilities as Colossus — the ability to provide a quick response to a thermonuclear attack without the guidance or intervention of humans.
We also see WOPR rebelling against the humans the same way Colossus did by using it's capabilities to circumvent attempts to stop it when the humans try to take over.
Finally, we also see WOPR demonstrating the ability to reason when it learns about the concept of no-win scenarios by realizing that tic-tac-toe always ends in a draw if no illogical moves are made.
So, that's the situation. Now here's the question.
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~ A Question for the Members: If WOPR has the same potentially dangerous function as Colossus and some of the same AI abilities, could WORP decide to deal more aggressively with America's enemies by initiating a "first strike" on its own?
~ My Theory: Although that's a possibility, perhaps a more likely danger would be a foreign power hacking into WORP and causing it to launch missiles at targets inside the United States!
Then again, perhaps the hackers would modify WOPR so that it would not respond to incoming missiles, thus preventing us from retaliating, as well as allowing our enemies to destroy us!
Perhaps the most exciting story line would be to have the hackers think they've disabled WOPR, when it fact our intelligent computer has quietly hacked THEIR systems, causing none of their missiles to launch when they tried to initiate their sneak attack!
I suppose we could throw in a Russian version of WOPR (which they've named BIGMACSKI) that conspires with ours to prevent either side from starting a war — but perhaps that would be a little too much like a version of Colossus: The Forbin Project, except with a nice happy ending.  _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sun Nov 06, 2022 2:42 pm; edited 3 times in total |
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ralfy Mission Specialist

Joined: 23 Sep 2014 Posts: 473
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Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2020 2:24 am Post subject: |
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That'd be a very interesting story line, especially given the point that human operators wouldn't know if the computer was only pretending. |
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Maurice Starship Navigator

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 542 Location: 3rd Rock
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2020 3:32 am Post subject: |
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BTW, the title of this thread has the date of the movie off by a decade. _________________ * * *
"The absence of limitations is the enemy of art."
― Orson Welles |
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2020 12:23 pm Post subject: |
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Holy crap, you're right!
I fixed it. I'm grateful to you for pointing that out.
Next time you spot a screw-up like that, please alert me with a private message. I actually fix typos by our members frequently — but I don't call attention to them.
Thanks! _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Fri May 21, 2021 4:57 pm Post subject: |
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Story Idea #1: The opening scene of two Air Force men in the launch control room of a missile adjacent to a silo gave me several ideas for stories based on this.
As you may remember, that opening scene demonstrated that these men frequently froze up during drills which they didn't know were just simulations, because they didn't want to be responsible for millions of deaths if the event is rea!
The two men in the bunker could launch the missile if they both turned their launch keys at the same moment, once the missile had been activated by the SAC systems.
But . . . what if skilled hackers found a way to activate one or more missiles, and then two Air Force men who were co-conspirators could threaten to launch their missile if a billion dollars wasn't deposited to their Swiss numbered account!
Story Idea #2: A group of conspirators plot to destroy America (a disturbingly relevant idea in view of events in January) plot to hack into the system, reprogram the targets of several missiles, and then have their co-conspirators launch them at American cities on the same day!
The horrible brilliance of this plot is that, unlike an attack by Russia, we wouldn't respond by launching an attack against them, because we'd know that the missiles were all ours!
Being a "happy ending" kinda guy, the climax of this story would be to have the good guys figure out how to reprogram the missiles shortly after their launch so they all target Moscow!
Then the president would call the Kremlin and inform Putin that he knows what Russia did — and that Putin has 20 minutes to tell the world that Russia committed an act of war against the U.S. He must surrender unconditionally to the U.S. of be totally anniliated.
If he doesn't do this, the missiles all hit Moscow and turn Russia into a barren radioactive wasteland.
Okay, guys, I know what your thinking. This concept is ridiculous and impossible. But let's consider our current reality.
WarGames was made in 1983 — almost 40 years ago — but it convinced the Pentagon that our defense system was indeed vulnerable.
And now I'm sitting here in my living room, with a wireless keyboard in my lap and a wireless mouse next to me, posting a message on my laptop — which will display on the website I created in 2007, while I'm watching a movie on my HD TV, connected to YouTube!
God, I love living in the future!  _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sat Oct 05, 2024 3:43 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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