WarGames

This article is about the 1983 film. For the 2002 short film, see War Game (film). For the 1966 television film, see The War Game. For other uses, see War Game. "WOPR" redirects here. For the radio station, see Old Paths Radio Network.

WarGames
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Badham
Written by
Produced byHarold Schneider[1]
Starring
CinematographyWilliam A. Fraker
Edited byTom Rolf
Music byArthur B. Rubinstein
Production
companies
Distributed byMGM/UA Entertainment Company (United States)
United International Pictures (international)
Release dates
  • May 7, 1983 (1983-05-07) (Cannes)
  • June 3, 1983 (1983-06-03) (United States)
Running time
114 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$12 million
Box office$124.6 million

WarGames is a 1983 American techno-thriller film[2] 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.

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.[3][4][5] It spawned several video games, a 2008 sequel film, and a 2018 interactive series.

  1. ^ "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  2. ^ "Cyber Threats and Opportunities" (PDF).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference wired was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference wargames was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Schulte, Stephanie (November 2008). "The WarGames Scenario: Regulating Teenagers and Teenaged Technology". Television and New Media. 9 (6): 487–513. doi:10.1177/1527476408323345. S2CID 146669305.