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WarGames
MGM
- Cert:
- Cat.no: 15928 DVD
- Running time: 108 minutes
- Year: 1983
- Pressing: 2000
- Region(s): 2 (UK PAL)
- Chapters: 16 plus extras
- Sound: Dolby Surround (Dolby Digital 2.0)
- Languages: 5 languages available
- Subtitles: 12 languages available
- Widescreen: 1.85:1
- 16:9-enhanced: No
- Macrovision: No
- Disc Format: DVD 9
- Price: £19.99
- Extras : Scene index, Booklet, Trailer, Audio Commentary
Director:
- John Badham
(American Flyers, Another Stakeout, The Assassin, Bird on a Wire, Drop Zone, The Hard Way, Incognito, Nick of Time, Stakeout, Wargames)
Producer:
- Harold Schneider
Screenplay:
- Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes
Music :
- Arthur B. Rubinstein
Cast :
- David Lightman: Matthew Broderick
McKittrick: Dabney Coleman
Stephen Falken: John Wood
Jennifer: Ally Sheedy
General Beringer: Barry Corbin
WarGameswas one of those films that, for me, felt like a defining moment in life. Computerswere new, fascinating and the screens featured here mirrored that on the Tandy TRS-80I had, but with, of course, none of the functionality available to those on view here,particularly their ability to parse natural English phrases.
David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) is a good-natured schoolboy who chances hisarm through hacking, be it into the school computer to change his grades – similar tosomething Broderick did later inFerris Bueller’s Day Off -or more ambitious projects. Ally Sheedy joins him as love-interest Jennifer.
At the heart of the film is the WOPR (War Operation Plan Response),a trillion-dollar piece of hardware brought in after a failure to launch a missile bya member of the U.S. Army – the one who’s not a cameo from Reservoir DogMichael Madsen. The WOPR has been used to calculate the result of endlessWorld War III simulations, the intention being that it will replace any chance ofobjectional human response and launch an attack against the pre-Cold-War-thaw Ruskiesif they start first.
While looking for a new game written by Protovision, it’s not long before Davidaccidentally stumbles across a game unlike none other. It’s called GlobalThermonuclear War and the shit begins to hit the fan big-time when it tiesitself in with WOPR and makes the U.S. Military, including Dr. McKittrick(Dabney Coleman) and General Beringer (Barry Corbin), veryjumpy when their own missiles are activated and the threat of global extinctionbecomes a reality.
And why does the computer mistake David for the ten-years-deceased ProfessorStephen Falken (John Wood) ?
Those who’ve seen this 17-year-old film will know all the answers, but those whohaven’t should definitely check out this captivating thriller.
The film is presented in its original 1.85:1 widescreen ratio, but that’s aboutthe best thing that can be said about the print used. It’s not anamorphic,is quiet grainy at times and contains plenty of drop-outs. Plus, if there’s onethink that really annoys me – the subtitles have been partly placed within theblack bar at the bottom, so when the picture is zoomed in to fill a widescreen TV,they get cropped. Why oh why oh why can’t they be placed within the 16:9 frame?The average bitrate is a very high 8.27Mb/s, not that it appears to provide anybenefits.
The Dolby Surround sound is adequate as Arthur B. Rubinstein’s score builds tension inthe background, but it’s hardly going to blow your speakers.
Extras : Chapters :MGM DVDs usually contain 32 chapters… So why does this only have 16? Languages & Subtitles :Dialogue comes in five languages: English, French, German, Spanish and Italian.Subtitles in 12: English and German (both have hard of hearing alternatives),as well as French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Swiss, Norwegian,Danish, Portuguese and Polish. And there’s more… :A 2-minute Trailer and a feature-length Audio Commentary from directorJohn Badham and screenwriters Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes. Menu :All the menus are static and silent, with the standard options described on a computerscreen at the NORAD headquarters.
Overall, I loved this film when I first saw it and still do now. Broderick is excellentas the teenager whose emotions run from elation to horror while playing “the game”.
However, the print needs a thorough remastering and the person who decided to put thesubtitles in the black bar at the bottom needs shooting as this sort of thing happensway too often with non-anamorphic films.
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
OVERALL
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.