WarGames

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.