"WarGames" is still a blast to play, even after a quarter century.
The movie -- about a kid who breaks into the military's computers and nearly sets off WWIII -- made stars of youngsters Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy. Along the way, it introduced the American public to computer culture and the concept of hacking, both fairly obscure in 1983.
The "WarGames" technology looks borderline ancient, of course -- ridiculously long DOS commands and glowing green screens. Still, the movie inspired a generation of future geeks and hackers, as the new DVD's extras insist.
Producer Leonard Goldberg remembers shopping the project to Hollywood's major studios, who were baffled by the story and the technology. MGM finally took a chance and was rewarded with a minor classic and a Generation X touchstone.
MGM/Fox has released "WarGames -- 25th Anniversary Edition
Stars Broderick and Sheedy roll out for the making-of docu, but unfortunately pivot man Dabney Coleman remains undercover.
The widescreen (16x9 enhanced) images look good, colorful if a bit ruddy. 2.0/5.1 audio is OK, about what you'd expect. The DVD replaces an exhausted MGM version from 1998.
Part of the film's appeal was it made technology cute, hip and a bit sexy. Sheedy credits the filmmakers with giving the super computer an electronic voice, humanizing things a bit ("Would you like to play a game?"). Broderick says he he got the part because he had a knack for appearing smart and nerdy ("emphasis on 'appear' "), although in real life he couldn't even type.
Goldberg and the story's creators tell how "WarGames" almost came out dark and dense. The writers were inspired by Stephen Hawking, the wheelchair-bound physics genius, and wondered what would happen if he were to take on a brilliant young pupil before becoming incapable of communication.
At one point, a version of the script revealed the Hawking character's face as he suddenly wheeled around. It would be John Lennon. Several scripts were to follow, none by the original writers.
"WarGames" started filming with Martin Brest at the helm, but the studio didn't like the dailies' tone. He made a quick exit (and landed on "Beverly Hills Cop"). The young stars feared they, too, were on the way out.
New director John Badham (good with kids = "Saturday Night Fever") came on board and decided Broderick and Sheedy "were not having any fun." He fixed that, encouraging them to bring their own youthful stuff. The original writers, sacked during development, returned. And so the Cold War film about global nuclear war came back from the dark side.
Still, Goldberg says of the finished movie, "It's (for) kids, but you get the feeling it's aimed at adults." Fan Richard A. Clarke, the ex-national security adviser, says "Something like it did actually happen."
NORAD, the outfit that monitors nuclear missiles' comings and goings, was in on the project from the start. The official story is told in the unusual extra "Inside NORAD: Cold War Fortress."
Other extra features include "Attack of the Hackers" (they testify to the film's influence); the silly "Tic Tac Toe: A True Story"; and a promo for the late-in-coming sequel "The Dead Code," also just released.
* * * * *
In 1965, Peter Watkins made "The War Game" for the BBC. The story of a nuclear war and its effects on a rural English town was deemed too disturbing for public TV, and so it went out a feature film, to assorted controversies.
Two years later, Watkins followed up with a pop-star film that proved every bit as prescient as MGM's "WarGames."
"Privilege" starred Manfred Mann singer Paul Jones as a rock star co-opted by state and church for purposes of controlling potentially violent youth. Watkins shot the film as a bogus documentary, based largely on a Canadian short about the singer Paul Anka ("Lonely Boy" -- it's included here as an extra).
Of the "Privilege" pop puppet, the evil manager declares: "He belongs to the world, and therefore has no right to himself." The words come almost directly from Anka's handler in the Canadian docu.
"Privilege" has lost some of its absurdist edge because, as it predicts, today's music stars are holistically commoditized and so frequently raped by the media. Back then, the idea of a rocker becoming a brand and fronting a large chain of discos and stores -- "to spread happiness" to the masses -- seemed ridiculous.
Watkins writes in the DVD booklet that the Nazi docu "Triumph of the Will" was another big influence, most obvious in the scene in which the pop star convinces a stadium full of rogue youth to convert to religion. "We ... will ... conform," they chant, as the band offers a goose-stepper's salute.
Actor/singer Jones and his onscreen girlfriend Jean Shrimpton took heat at the time for their flat, emotionless performances, which probably play better today. The supermodel Shrimpton managed to swallow every other line, but looked damned fine doing it in a druggy-hottie way.
The movie suffered numerous distribution indignities that kept it from public view until a 2005 retrospective of the director's work. Watkins' highbrow rant in the booklet suggests that Universal kept the movie locked away for political purposes. (Lew Wasserman ... it's a stretch).
Images on the New York Films DVD look surprisingly fresh. The soundtrack lacks punch in the musical scenes, but the songs pretty much suck anyway.
There is no making-of docu, unfortunately. The Anka documentary, however, provides big value: It's an engrossing study of teen celebrity, rabid fandom and life in the trenches of showbiz.
* * * * *
Also circling the DVD blogs' players this week are "Two Fat Ladies" (previously reviewed); the Italian B-war movie "Inglorious Bastards" (about to be reviewed); "Dark City Director's Cut" on Blu-ray; and the rock documentaries "Love Story" (Arthur Lee) and "Shine a Light" (Scorsese and the Stones). A big week for DVD releases, finally.
New and notable:
The Audience Strikes Back (Indie-Pictures)
The Band's Visit (Sony)
Beverly Hills 90210 season 5 (Paramount)
Classic British Thrillers (Michael Powell, MPI Home Video)
Cocaine Cowboys 2: Hustlin' With the Godmother (Magnolia)
Dark City Director's Cut (Blu-ray and SD, New Line)
Dark Shadows: The Beginning No. 5 (MPI)
Doomsday (Universal)
Freakazoid (Warner)
Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo (New Line)
The Hills, season 3 (Paramount)
A History of Britain: The Complete Collection (A&E Home Video)
Inglorious Bastards
The Lost Boys (Blu-ray, Warner)
The Lost Boys: The Tribe (Warner)
Love Story (L.A. band, Start Productions)
Masters of Horror Season 2 Box Set (Anchor Bay)
Never Back Down (Summit Entertainment)
Robin of Sherwood: The Complete Collection (Acorn Media)
Shine a Light (Paramount)
Stargate: Continuum (MGM)
Tai Chi Master (Weinstein/Genius/Dragon Dynasty)
Two Fat Ladies (Acorn)
Tyrone Power Matinee Idol Collection (Fox)
WarGames: 25th Anniversary Edition (MGM)
WarGames: The Dead Code
Complete list of this week's releases on my pal Harley's site, onvideo.org
Yeah, that movie took me back a bit. I watched it on A&E back in early July, I think.
Always funny to see actors long forgotten. The General that appeared on Northern Exposure.
Posted by: Jason P. | August 04, 2008 at 02:16 PM