If we’d like to blow up the world:
Threads
The Day After
The Emmy Award winning miniseries:
Amerika
Ok, Amerika didn’t win an Emmy. It would still be nice to see it again as a relic of that era.
I bring you my very own cold war movie thread, here.
One of my favorites as well, but it was Coke, not Pepsi.
Miracle, the new movie with Kurt Russell plays on all those old Cold War feelings pretty well, so I’ll throw that one into the mix.
Twilight’s Last Gleaming - late 70s thriller about a renegade general (Burt Lancaster) who tries to blackmail the US government into releasing secret Vietnam War documents by taking over a nuclear missile silo, knowing that launching the the missile will provoke war with Russia. A decent movie at best, but the use of splitscreen and rapid edits during part of the film is noteworthy.
Gorky Park - more of a murder mystery with a Cold War backdrop in Soviet-era Moscow. Was considered unique when first released.
The President’s Analyst - starring James Coburn, but a smarter, funnier film than the two Derrick Flint films. Spies, psychoanalysis, rock ‘n’ roll hippies, Reagan Democrats (before the term existed), paranoia, race relations, and the telephone company. Hard to dislike a film that includes a line like, “Ha! I was right! They’re all spies and I’m not crazy!”
Winter Kills - an underrated gem of a dark comedy playing of the theories surrounding the Kennedy Assassination. I’ve begun to refer to it a a conspiracy theorist wet dream. Based on a novel by Manchurian Candidate author William Condon.
Executive Action - kind of the precursor of JFK made in 1973 by famous Hollywood lefties Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, and Will Geer.
Big Jim McLain - HUAC agents John Wayne and James Arness beating up commies in Hawaii.
The Green Berets - the John Wayne “masterpiece” of flagwaving jingoism, screwed up geography, and extreme violence all with a G-rating when first released. What the hell were they thinking?
Our Man in Havana - a subtle comedy based on the Graham Greene novel.
the British miniseries adaption John Le Carre’s A Perfect Spy.
Try these:
The Day the Earth Caught Fire (not to be confused with the Day the Earth Stood Still) and
Panic in Year Zero.
Miracle Mile
I caught Panic in the Year Zero on AMC one morning about a month ago. I was surprised how effective it was despite the low budget, stiff characterization of the female characters, and being very dated. Even Frankie Avalon managed to hold his own as an actor in this one. A pleasant little surprise of a film.
I can’t believe no one has mentioned Rocky IV!!
Also:
Rambo III - Stallone goes to Afghanistan and fights alongside the noble (ahem) Mujahadeen against the Russians.
Moscow on the Hudson - Robin Williams as a defecting saxophonist.
Stripes - We inadvertently invade Czeckoslovakia!
The Unbearable Lightness of Being - The Prague Spring from the inside.
Volunteers - Tom Hanks, Cold War hijinks in SE Asia.
Oh yeah, and as for science fiction, War of the Worlds definitely has a Cold War vibe. Well-meaning peaceniks get blasted!!! Gird your loins, and prepare for battle!
2010
On Sci fi the one that came to my mind was
Colossus: The Forbin Project.
Which reminded me of another movie set in Afghanistan : The Beast , the story of a tank crew and of the Mujahadeen who attacks it.