Still going on an eighties theme this week. We've had sentient robots and reader-immersing books so far so what's the plan for today? Well, let's switch back to the technological today for another slice of eightiesosity (is that a word? It is now).
Day Three - WarGames
Yep, it's about as eighties as a film can get, dealing with two major pre-occupations of the decade - the rise of the home computer and the imminent threat of global nuclear war. It's probably one of the first nerd-based film where the hero is your geeky type who spends a large chunk of the film tapping away at keyboards to access things (scenes that have become pretty much standard for any hacking action needed in a film).
Another eighties staple? The cast. Matthew Broderick's here in one of his first roles in the pre-Ferris Bueller days and, for the second time this time, Ally Sheedy features in the cast. Now there's an eighties star. Never as popular as Molly Ringwald, she turned up in a load of flicks (including Breakfast Club with Ringwald) before pretty much completely disappearing. It also features Michael Madsen in one of his first roles, many years before Reservoir Dogs fame came a-knocking.
Fact Me Up
- The director, John Badham, also directed Saturday Night Fever as well as Short Circuit (it's a coincidentally interlinked week).
- A direct to DVD sequel called WarGames: The dead Code was released in 2008. What's the betting it's an utter pile of old toot? Anyone?
- "A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess?" (Alright, not a fact, more a of a quote but still...)
Another old school classic there. More next time. probably. Unless I've run out of steam and decide to do something else. We'll see.
2 comments:
My mom wouldn't let me watch this movie when I was younger. "Do you know how much damage hackers have done to the integrity of this nation and the world around?"
And then there was that old chestnut: "I don't want you getting any ideas."
Because I totally could hack into the FBI's databases with the home computer we didn't have, or the Apple IIE I got to play Oregon Trail on at school.
I finally saw it when I was in college. I think I described it as "Quaint".
But the hacker saves the world by teaching the computer that naughts and crosses never has a winner. That's a lesson we can all get behind, surely? Tic Tac Toe saves lives.
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