# Cold War movies

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089>\
**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:** 7\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/41 "2003-10-06T12:01:35Z")

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The dream sequences are some of my favorite parts of the movie. Did you know that the sequence in the movie was actually the first rough cut they did after shooting? They liked it so much they just let it stand.

Everybody seems to puzzle over the “arabic” line. Might be a good SDMB question…

Anyway, glad you enjoyed it.

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**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/42 "2003-10-06T14:23:42Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Wumpus \*  
> **. . . One, Two, Three, an unusual Cold War comedy by Billy Wilder, starring James Cagney. . . .**

Beat me to it! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry–hell, you’ll pee with glee. One of the funniest movies of all time.

Other Cold War faves: Johnny Guitar, The Crucible, Twelve Angry Men, The Front, The Russians Are Coming . . . so many more.

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**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/43 "2003-10-06T14:39:41Z")

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**The Falcon and the Snowman**.

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**Author:** ![The\_Long\_Road](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@The\_Long\_Road](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Long_Road)\
**Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/44 "2004-03-06T21:36:02Z")

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> [@Nurobath](#):
>
> **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**. 😛

_The Beast_ is a war movie about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. I don’t think it falls into the cold war realm of films since it has nothing to do with the US vs Russia. It was a very good movie though.

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**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\
**Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/45 "2004-03-09T13:37:43Z")

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I’d say _The Beast_ definitely was a Cold War film. The Afghan War became a proxy war for the US since the West (the US and the UK) semi-covertly sent weapons and aid to the mujahideen guerilla fighters in addition to the support they received from Muslim nations like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Between the timeframe of the movie and the West’s indirect involvment in the conflict, _The Beast_ counts IMO.

Besides a central theme to the movie was the whole “This is their Vietnam” thing, superpower bogs down in a war with determined, entrenched local population.

Sorry, I’ve been reading _Charlie Wilson’s War_ about this aspect of the Cold War, and it was bugging at me.

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**Author:** ![Powers106](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@Powers106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powers106)\
**Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/46 "2004-03-14T18:56:36Z")

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There was that HBO special movie, Countdown to Looking Glass or something like that. And does anyone remember that mini-series Amerika? Starred Kris Kristoferson, anyway, that mini-series was okay but I kept watching to see the revolution and it was relatively brief, like about two frames at the end of a thirteen hour show…I was so mad!! I think Red Dawn came out after that and I was like, finally, somebody is fighting back!!

Cheers,  
Powers

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**Author:** ![Buran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Buran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buran)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-war-movies/205089/47 "2004-03-15T00:53:58Z")

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Two of my favourites, Firefox, and By Dawns Early Light.

The latter has some of the most memorable scenes ever, I still get a chill at the sequence where

The B52 drops a nuclear weapon to destroy the Migs that are chasing them then circles around to look at the explosion, just the look on the pilots face as he finally realises the awesome power of the weapons he is wielding…_bbbrrrr_

Also the ending gets me every time, what a noble sacrifice.

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