What's your favorite Cold War film?

[ReaverReject]

Inspired by the Vietnam War movie thread, and being a huge fan of Cold War films, I thought I'd throw up this thread, seeing how the other one was very thought-provoking and I learned about some worthy films I'd never heard of before. I'd love to know which ones you guys like the most!

Far be it from me to set criteria, but I hope we can all avoid if humanly possible James Bond flicks, Rambo I-IX, and especially Rocky IV :lol

My Top Ten, in no particular order:

1. The Good Shepherd
   [*]The Bedford Incident
   [*]Seven Days in May
   [*]The Manchurian Candidate
   [*]The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming
   [*]Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb
   [*]The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
   [*]Three Days of the Condor
   [*]Fail-Safe
   [*]The Falcon and the Snowman
   [*]On the Beach

Now let's hear yours - I hope I can still be surprised!

RR

 

[AJK001]

What's wrong with James Bond? Some of the early ones were classics. I agree about Rambo and Rocky though.

 

[Gilmortar]

War Games...

 

[ReaverReject]

What's wrong with James Bond? Some of the early ones were classics. I agree about Rambo and Rocky though.

I just feel Bond films are a genre onto itself, plus there's a generous element of sci-fi & super-villainy in them that leaves little room for actual Cold War reality. If anything, the Cold War is used as a backdrop, but very little more. That's one of the reasons I left off my list The Hunt for Red October - while I love the movie, the sub is entirely fictional. War Games falls into the same category - the computer was fictional, but since both were about Cold War nuclear brinkmanship, they both came close, so I don't begrudge anyone else from listing it as theirs!

RR

 

[KnightAsylum]

Red Dawn

 

[cayman shen]

Not really serious, literary film entries, but films I have fond memories of: Red Dawn, Spies Like Us (must have seen that 10 times in theaters) and, dare I say, Rocky IV. Sorry :lol There is no Apocalypse Now of the Cold War that I can think of. But maybe I just need a memory jog.

 

[James Kenobi 1138]

Wargames.

 

[niennumb1]

Empire Strikes Back. I would never want to be on Hoth at that temperature!

 

[Gilmortar]

empire strikes back. I would never want to be on hoth at that temperature!

yes!! Win!

 

[Darius Alucard]

Dr. Strangelove
By Dawn's Early Light
Red Dawn



Here's some that I enjoyed, but don't quite fit the bill or are just guilty pleasures:

Damnation Alley
Invasion USA (yes, the one with Chuck Norris):lol
Firefox
The Manhattan Project
War Games
The Hunt for Red October
Project X
Little Nikita
Russkies

 

[ReaverReject]

Dr. Strangelove
By Dawn's Early Light
Red Dawn



Here's some that I enjoyed, but don't quite fit the bill or are just guilty pleasures:

Damnation Alley
Invasion USA (yes, the one with Chuck Norris):lol
Firefox
The Manhattan Project
War Games
The Hunt for Red October
Project X
Little Nikita
Russkies

Doh! I completely forgot about Firefox - I loved it!

I know Damnation Alley is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi, but when I was little, nothing brought home the horror of a post-nuclear wasteland as that movie did... But if it meant I'd get to have a Landmaster, I wouldn't mind living in that future at all! :lol

RR

 

[ReaverReject]

Empire Strikes Back. I would never want to be on Hoth at that temperature!

Not to be technical, but Hoth was a battle...

RR

 

[James Kenobi 1138]

There is no way to say this and not sound like a complete tool correcting everyone, but the 1983 movie WarGames in one word, not two.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086567/

 

[ReaverReject]

Nah... *THIS* is a complete tool:

RR

 

[Darius Alucard]

These were good

The Good Shepherd
The Manchurian Candidate
Three Days of the Condor
Fail-Safe
The Falcon and the Snowman
RR

I didn't add them to my list 'cause you already posted them, but they should be on it.

 

[The Stig]

WOLVERINES!
:lol

 

[mbmcfarland]

Spies Like Us!

It actually is one of my favorite movies.

Spoiler

In the end, Dan Aykroyd's character gets the hot Soviet officer and saves the day by sending an in-flight target update to the missile. (Source Programmable Guidance!) I design missile guidance and control systems for a living, so I can totally relate.

-Dr. Mike

 

[CTF]

Good Bye, Lenin!

 

[ReaverReject]

I also loved The Amateur with John Savage. Has all the elements of the Cold War: espionage, terrorists, CIA cover-up, one of the most original revenge-assassinations I've ever seen on screen, and even a video game.

RR

 

[terryr]

Most of the above and The Odessa File.

How about mini-series? Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Smileys People. Real spies thinking on their feet. Alec Guinness is great.