Oh how I la la la love this movie!

This movie came out in 1983, I remember watching it in the theater. I think it was after a neighbors birthday party, we all went to the movies, wow. Then, for the 25th anniversary, I took myself to see it in the movie theater again, how cool is that?

The movie was so revolutionary at the time, I know when we watch it now, we look at the green screen, the dial up connection, the dot matrix: font, printer, the commands, seems so archaic, an antique, but we’re looking at it from 2014 eyes, not “1983 everything about computers is still relatively new” eyes.

The story was great, opened our eyes to a lot of things, the acting was good and what a cast there was! Matthew Broderick was what, 12? That’s a guy that never ages! Ally Sheedy, before she started playing women off their rocker. Dabney Coleman as Mr McKitrick, the inventor of The WHOPR, Barry Corbin as General Berenger and John Wood as Stephen Falken.

Bit of movie trivia, did you know/remember that John Wood and Matthew Broderick were in the movie Ladyhawke two years later?

What about the memorable lines?
Joshua, the computer “Shall we play a game?”
The guy at the game company “Jim Sting: Remember you told me to tell you when you were acting rudely and insensitively? Remember that? You’re doing it right now.”
General Beringer’s most famous line “Goddammit, I’d piss on a spark plug if I thought it’d do any good!”

Do you remember the Defcons?
“McKittrick: See that sign up here – up here. “Defcon.” That indicates our current defense condition. It should read “Defcon 5,” which means peace. It’s still on 4 because of that little stunt you pulled. Actually, if we hadn’t caught it in time, it might have gone to Defcon 1. You know what that means, David?
David Lightman: No. What does that mean?
McKittrick: World War Three.”

When I was a nanny, when I first moved to Georgia, the kids didn’t know War Games or what Defcons were, so I used to tell them that we start off at five and go down, if I got to one, we had trouble. When they had friends over, I would tell them to tell their friends about the Defcons! Let’s just say…I never got past three.

Do you still get goosebumps when Joshua starts playing the game, “attacks all the countries” and we are waiting to hear if the voices were still on the phone, or horn as the general referred to the phone? or launching the codes! When they just stood watching the large screens while the simulation of attacks happens or Joshua looking for the launch codes while Matthew Broderick plays tic-tac-toe with him, trying to help him learn? How about earlier in the movie, just to see if they can make it through the gate and door at NORAD before it seals them in the mountain? What about the first time you heard or now hear…global thermo nuclear war?

When it comes on TV, aren’t you compelled to watch it when it comes on TV? How can you not?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086567/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

PS…happy birthday to my brother in law AS! Glad we could spend it together!