❉ This cold-war era piece of entertainment holds up 40 years after it was first released, writes Nick Clement.
“Shout! Factory’s fantastic release offers up a new 4K scan of the original camera negative. The picture quality is breath-taking – this is how it had to have looked on opening night back in 1983, as you still get lovely instances of film grain, and nothing looks overly digitized.”
I used to watch WarGames all the time as a kid. It aired constantly on HBO, my parents loved it, and it was edgy in just the right spots but never overly offensive as to be objectionable in my mother’s movie-watching eyes. And over the years, the repeat-watchability factor has increased, as this type of movie represents something that we rarely get a chance to see these days – an adult-styled narrative with a teenager fronting the action, and with everyone playing the material straight as an arrow, and with pure dramatic conviction.
There were tons of movies like this back in the day, items like Richard Franklin’s underrated and wildly transgressive thriller Cloak & Dagger, the robot-boy-on-the-run-from-the government flick D.A.R.Y.L., cult-classic Gotcha!, and so many more. But with WarGames, the audience was always treated to something that stayed almost impossibly intelligent considering the far-fetched nature of the plotting, and because of its level of sincerity, it more than holds up 40 years after it was first released in theatres. And thanks to the devoted team at SHOUT! Factory, their recently released 4K Blu-ray retains all of film’s old-school cinematic glory.
Directed by the prolific actioner specialist John Badham (Short Circuit, Blue Thunder), this cold-war era piece of vintage entertainment centres on a young computer hacker (Matthew Broderick), who accidentally infiltrates a top-secret government computer program, resulting in a series of escalating “war games” being conducted by a super-computer, between the U.S. and Russia. You gotta love this idea!
Co-written by Walter Parkes and Lawrence Lasker, everything stays believable just-enough so that you’re never doubting the high-concept for a moment, and because Broderick and co-star Ally Sheedy had so much natural chemistry with one another, it’s so easy to go along for the ride with them, as they are pursued, questioned, and ultimately forced to save the day.
Dabney Coleman is of course fantastic in a key supporting role, and there’s tons of character actors all doing their thing in the background, including John Wood, Barry Corbin, John Spencer, Michael Madsen, James Tolkan, Maury Chaykin, Eddie Deezen, Kent Williams, and Dennis Lipscomb.
The film sports some gorgeous cinematography by master lenser William A. Fraker, who went for the slick-yet-gritty visual aesthetic that was starting to dominate the movie scene back at that time period, and it’s very well-paced by editor Tom Rolf. Badham was always a smooth technician, demonstrating a steady directorial hand that spread over various genres, and with WarGames, he took over the production from original helmer Martin Brest, who was fired by producer shortly after filming had started.
Coming into a movie that has already begun production is never easy, to say nothing of being able to craft a movie that is now considered a classic. Shot for $12 million and grossing $80 million, WarGames was a big hit and was well-received by critics, and has become one of those staple catalog titles that people still adore to this day.
Shout! Factory’s fantastic release offers up a new 4K scan of the original camera negative. The picture quality is breath-taking – this is how it had to have looked on opening night back in 1983, as you still get lovely instances of film grain, and nothing looks overly digitized.
The soundtrack is presented in English DST-HD MA 5.1 & stereo, and there’s an absolutely fabulous feature-length Audio Commentary by Badham and Lasker & Parkes. Also included is the “Loading WarGames” Featurette, “Inside NORAD: Cold War Fortress” Featurette, “Attack Of The Hackers” Featurette, “Tic Tac Toe: A True Story” Featurette, and the original theatrical trailer, which is still a hoot.
Special Features:
DISC 1 (4K UHD):
❉ NEW 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative
❉ In Dolby Vision
❉ Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 & Stereo
❉ Feature-Length Audio Commentary By Director John Badham And Writers Lawrence Lasker And Walter F. Parkes
DISC 2 (Blu-ray™)
❉ NEW 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative
❉ Audio: English DST-HD MA 5.1 & Stereo
❉ Feature-Length Audio Commentary By Director John Badham And Writers Lawrence Lasker And Walter F. Parkes
❉ “Loading WarGames” Featurette
❉ “Inside NORAD: Cold War Fortress” Featurette
❉ “Attack Of The Hackers” Featurette
❉ “Tic Tac Toe: A True Story” Featurette
❉ Theatrical Trailer
❉ ‘War Games’ 4K Ultra HD + Blu-Ray was released 20 December 2022 via Shout! Factory. RRP $31.99 USD: https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/wargames?product_id=7952
❉ Nick Clement is a freelance writer, having contributed to Variety Magazine, Hollywood- Elsewhere, Awards Daily, Back to the Movies, and Taste of Cinema and is a regular contributor to We Are Cult.. He’s currently writing a book about the works of filmmaker Tony Scott.
