# Cold War movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 2, 2003, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089 "2003-10-02T09:45:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/21 "2003-10-02T20:57:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by andymurph64 \* > \*\*13 days in May? An old B&W movie about a general planning a military coup. I thought that was pretty good. > > How about the one where an American destroyer and a Soviet sub dance around each other. The American captain was determined to expose the soviet sub for its entering restricted water and a ?military reporter? questions his actions. > > Wish I could remember names. \*\* Your first movie is _7 Days in May_ and your second movie is _The Bedford Incident_. ---
**Author:** ![WereOtter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ac91a4/32.png) [@WereOtter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WereOtter)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/22 "2003-10-02T21:42:03Z")
_Enigma_(1983) is a superb cold-war spy thriller. Warning, there are a bunch of other films with this same title. This one is a UK/French production starring Martin Sheen. It’s not yet available on VHS or DVD, unless you’re in Germany. [http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0083891/](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0083891/) ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/23 "2003-10-02T22:01:31Z")
_No Way Out_ with Kevin Costner is a murder mystery set in the context of the Cold War. ---
**Author:** ![WereOtter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ac91a4/32.png) [@WereOtter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WereOtter)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/24 "2003-10-02T22:13:10Z")
Here’s a couple more examples of intelligent British cold-war drama that aren’t available in the USA (OK, I’m whining.) _Game, Set and Match_ television series, based on Len Deghton’s first trilogy about Benard Samson. [http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0092360/](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0092360/) _Smiley’s People_ (1982) which is a British mini-series based on one of my favorite Le Carre novels. [http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0083480/](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0083480/) On the bright side, _The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming_ (1966) is a wonderful light comedy that was released on DVD earlier this year. [http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0060921/](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0060921/) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/25 "2003-10-03T05:56:44Z")
Darn. WereOtter beat me to _The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming_. Okay, I’ll mention _S_P_Y_S\* instead - Elliott Gould, Donald Sutherland, and a bunch of asterisks attempt to repeat the success of _M_A_S_H\* with a cold war comedy. How about two Gregory Peck classics? _The Chairman_ and _On the Beach_. Although I guess the later could be considered a post-Cold War movie. ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/26 "2003-10-03T07:12:56Z")
Isee **Little Nemo** beat me to _On the Beach_ 😃 How about _The Hunt for Red October_ ? or a HBO movie, _By Dawn’s Early Light_ or a weird one, _Ladybug Ladybug_ ? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/27 "2003-10-03T07:22:47Z")
**Threads** and **The Day After** were both post-nuclear armageddon movies. **Strategic Air Command** , with I believe Rock Hudson (or maybe Jimmy Stewart? I think Rock Hudson was in a SAC movie as well). ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/28 "2003-10-03T07:36:09Z")
Just checked… **Strategic Air Command** did star Jimmy Stewart. Rock Hudson was in another SAC movie called **A Gathering of Eagles**. Speaking of Rock Hudson - he was in another cold war movie called **Ice Station Zebra**. Another one not mentioned is **The Right Stuff** , which is definitely a cold war movie. And a great, great film. One of my favorites. ---
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/29 "2003-10-03T09:29:41Z")
Iron Eagle! And Iron Eagle 2! And um…the third one…um… (You wanted cheesy 80’s Cold War movies that there never should have been sequels to, right? ---
**Author:** ![green\_bladder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@green\_bladder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_bladder)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/30 "2003-10-03T11:58:20Z")
Wow, thanks for the suggestions everyone. It’s gonna be a busy movie-watching weekend. (err, I’ll have to think about _Iron Eagle_, though :D). ---
**Author:** ![andymurph64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@andymurph64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andymurph64)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/31 "2003-10-03T15:35:27Z")
Thanks Detop. Both those shows were good, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/32 "2003-10-03T18:04:27Z")
Matinee. (Really!) The Spy Who Came In From the Cold. One, Two, Three, an unusual Cold War comedy by Billy Wilder, starring James Cagney. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (original version) They’re not movies, but the Twilight Zone episodes “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” and “The Shelter” are prime slices of the Cold War. ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/33 "2003-10-03T18:40:22Z")
I’ll go along with the recommendations of… The Manchurian Candidate The Spy Who Came in From the Cold and On The Beach And I’ll add… [Atomic Cafe](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0083590/) [The President’s Analyst](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0062153/) and [The Third Man](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0041959/) ---
**Author:** ![Kaspar\_Hauser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@Kaspar\_Hauser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaspar_Hauser)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/34 "2003-10-03T18:44:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wumpus \* > \*\*Matinee. (Really!) \*\* Yes! A very underrated movie. (I’d love to see a full-length version of _Mant_) ---
**Author:** ![Mal\_Adroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Mal\_Adroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mal_Adroit)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/35 "2003-10-03T19:46:22Z")
Did anybody mention _Seven Days in May?_ Cool flick, very tense. John Frankenheimer was one of the best. ---
**Author:** ![Nurobath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a88e57/32.png) [@Nurobath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nurobath)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/36 "2003-10-03T19:49:14Z")
**The Beast** starring George Dzundza and Jason Patric (1988). A good movie about a tank crew during Russian war with Afghanistan. also **Spies Like Us**. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![nicky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f0a364/32.png) [@nicky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nicky)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/37 "2003-10-03T21:50:26Z")
“The President’s Analyst!” That is one groovy far-out movie! The President is cracking up under pressure of the job, and so James Coburn is hired to be his analyst. But for security reasons, Coburn cant get his own head shrunk. so he cracks up and goes AWOL. Of course, all the secret services of the world - and other powerful organisations too - are on his trail, hoping to capture him and find out all the deepest governmental and presidential secrets. The sort of comic caper that Austin Powers aims for and missed. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/38 "2003-10-03T22:23:32Z")
The James Bond series is certainly Cold War, except for the last one or two. _The Day After_ was a made-for-TV film, but hey… ---
**Author:** ![Clint\_in\_Wichita](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Clint\_in\_Wichita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clint_in_Wichita)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/39 "2003-10-04T00:59:37Z")
I’ve always enjoyed **Firefox**. ---
**Author:** ![green\_bladder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@green\_bladder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_bladder)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/40 "2003-10-06T10:37:46Z")
I managed to watch two recommended movies this weekend: _Thirteen Days_ and _The Manchurian Candidate_ (they were the first two that I could find). _**(Possible spoilers - no boxes)**_ _Thirteen Days_: Pretty decent movie, actually. I thought it told the story pretty well. I guess my only problems with it were: it’s half-an-hour too long; the random transitions between black and white and colour near the beginning. What was that for?; Costner trying to pull off the JFK accent (thanks for the warning, **Kaspar** 🙂 ); and the amount of screentime that Costner’s character gets… I thought the film could’ve done just fine without him. _The Manchurian Candidate_: Wow… just wow. One of the best thrillers I’ve seen. The dream sequences were amazing, the acting was great (the first film of Sinatra that I watched) and the script impressive. I didn’t get the “are you Arabic?” dialogue on the train, though. I’ll be watching this one again, no doubt. Thanks again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089.md?page=3)