# Cold War Movies/Books depicting actual conflict?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies-books-depicting-actual-conflict/570805>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [February 9, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies-books-depicting-actual-conflict/570805 "2011-02-09T21:08:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\
**Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies-books-depicting-actual-conflict/570805/21 "2011-02-10T21:49:56Z")

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> [@Crusoe](#):
>
> Er, just to be clear, I wasn’t trying to sound snarky. You make a good point given the length of the Cold War.

No problem, sometimes things just don’t come across well in text!

> [@Baron Greenback](#):
>
> I just took that as having to rely on animal skins for warmth.

Sure, I think that was in the ‘nuclear winter’ part of the film, but as he wasn’t shown again I wondered what had happened to him. I’m probably just making an explanation up out of whole cloth though.

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies-books-depicting-actual-conflict/570805/22 "2011-02-10T22:29:34Z")

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[The Chinese Ultimatum](http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Ultimatum-Edward-McGhee/dp/0523404093), sorta. Also “34 East” by Alfred Coppel, sorta.

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**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\
**Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies-books-depicting-actual-conflict/570805/23 "2011-02-10T22:54:02Z")

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I love these books and movies, as chilling as they are. I remember watching “The Day After” as a kid, and bawling my eyes out. That thing scared the hell out of me.

I watched it in summer school for world cultures class, wherein the teacher both made massive points with me, then lost them.

As the attack is happening, a student raises his hand (a particularly inattentive jock-type) and asked if this was based on a true story. The teacher just stared at him for a minute, and deadpanned “Yes, Kansas City was destroyed in a brief nuclear exchange with the Soviets in the late 80’s. You may have slept through it.”

Later, in the scene where the service man is stumbling throug the ruins, and fallout is drifting down, our instructor lost all his pounts. He paused the movie and went on to describe a bit about nuclear winter, and how it was being depicted there with the snowfall.

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**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\
**Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies-books-depicting-actual-conflict/570805/24 "2011-02-12T12:48:25Z")

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Does your definition of “Cold War” include the Third World proxy wars? If so, there is the whole “soldiers of fortune versus Third World dictators” genre.

The movie _The Wild Geese_ based on Daniel Carney’s novel.

The movie _Wild Geese II_ based on Daniel Carney’s novel _Square Circle_.

The movie _The Dogs of War_ based on Frederick Forsyth’s novel.

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