Movies - WarGames

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	Movies - WarGames

: This article is about the 1983 US movie. For other uses see War Games.

WarGames was a 1983 science fiction film written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes
, and directed by John Badham
. The film starred Matthew Broderick
in his first major film role as David Lightman, Ally Sheedy
as Jennifer Mack, Dabney Coleman
as John McKittrick, Barry Corbin
as General Jack Beringer, Maury Chaykin
as Jim Sting (computer nerd), James Tolkan
as FBI Agent Nigan, Juanin Clay
as Pat Healy and John Wood
as Stephen W. Falken.

The movie was a hit, costing US$12 million, but grossing over $74 million after five months in the United States. The NORAD set was the most expensive single movie set ever built up to that time, at the staggering cost of $1 million.

Taglines:
Is it a game, or is it real?

...Where the only winning move is NOT TO PLAY.

Plot
At the outset of the film, the Missile Combat Crew on a desolate U.S. Air Force base are given orders to launch their missiles at the Soviet Union. The Missile Combat Crew Commander (portrayed by John Spencer
), insists on calling out for verification while the Deputy (Michael Madsen
) holds a gun to coerce him to follow orders. In the end, it appears that the MCCC fails to turn his launch key, meaning that the ten ICBMs under his command do not launch.

It is shortly revealed that the orders were part of a larger psychological test, designed to see how many U.S. Missile Combat Crew teams really would "turn the key" when given a launch order. Twenty-two percent of Missile Combat Crew teams failed to launch during the exercise.

At NORAD's Cheyenne Mountain headquarters, computer expert John McKittrick points out that a twenty-two percent is an unacceptably-high failure rate. McKittrick argues that a computer called WOPR should be put into control of the silos, taking the men out of the loop. Over General Beringer's objections, the congressmen return to Washington and recommend the change-over. Congress approves, and the change is implemented; the launch terminals are converted, and electronic communications are established between each silo and NORAD headquarters in Colorado Springs.

Meanwhile, David Lightman (Broderick), a hacker, and resorting to cheating when his games obsession leads to poor marks in school, is excited by some new computer games, and doesn't want to wait for them to show up on store shelves. Equipped with a 1970s vintage IMSAI microcomputer and modem (connected to the telephone by an acoustic coupler, and with a host of other software not common among such early home computer users), he uses his smarts. He contacts Directory Assistance for the company's phone number, asks what other prefixes cover that location (there are five or six), and tells his computer to start dialing all 50,000 or 60,000 numbers in that area code, looking for modem tones, a practice known as demon dialing. (It is also sometimes referred to as "war dialing" because of its prominence in this movie.) He intends to "fix" the call records so they don't show up on dad's phone bill.

When his class-mate Jennifer Mack comes by the house with him, David checks out the half-dozen modem numbers he's found so far. One's a bank, another's a travel agency, and he books a trip to Paris for Jennifer and himself, though it's unusable since it isn't paid for. He tries another number and it keeps hanging up on him when he tries to get a login prompt. David takes it to a computer nerd friend of his for advice, learning about "backdoors". He also investigates a Professor Stephen W. Falken (creator of the software in WOPR), and finds out more about him, including a deceased son named Joshua. David tries again, with Jennifer present, and this time the password "Joshua" gives him access into the unknown computer.
[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for WarGames ]

Some related entries: The Witches of Eastwick | Warworld | Avanti! | Trainspotting | Primary Colors | Title to Murder | Triumph of the Nerds | Mark L. Mazzeo | Roy Burns | Stretch Films | Robert Wade
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Movies - WarGames

Plot

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