Suggested movies to understand the Later Period of the Cold War

View these movies to better understand the situation during the Cold War era, especially how
this generation saw the period and reacted to it. These movies cover a long period from the
1960s to 1991, so includes many styles. Here are viewpoints in support and against world
events, that often reflect how events were viewed at the time. These selections do not include
movies specifically about the Vietnam War or Expeditionary operations of the time, which are
included in their own separate lists, but were nonetheless parts of the Cold War.
Movies about historic events are often as much about the values and perspectives of the time
they were made as they are a reflection of the time they are about. Remember that as you view
these films. Some of these movies are available on the internet, others at the library, and some
from commercial sources.

Movies: 1965-1989

- Pueblo. 1973, Drama, 100 min. Hal Holbrook, Ronny Cox. Won 5 Emmy Awards
- This TV dramatization of a real Cold War incident in which the North Korean navy seized a
US Navy ship in 1968, and the valor despite harsh treatment of its captive crew in captivity.

- Red Flag. 1981, PG, Drama, 100 min, Barry Boswick, Alan Campbell, Linden Chiles
- Two US Air Force fighter pilots clash at the Fighter Weapons School during another
instance of training during the Cold War. Offers good flying scenes.

- World War III. 1982, PG, Drama-Thriller, 200 min. Rock Hudson, Brian Kieth, 1 Emmy Award
- In this fictitious story the US imposes a grain embargo on the Soviet Union for its invasion
of Afghanistan, and the Soviets retaliate by trying to seize part of the Alaska Pipeline. The
world may go to war unless a detachment of National Guardsmen can stop them.

- Red Dawn. 1984, PG-13, Drama-Action, 114 min. Patrick Swayze, Lea Thompson
- This is a “what-if” story of a Soviet invasion of the United States, and how a small group of
Colorado teen agers fight back, waging guerrilla warfare against the invaders.

- War Games. 1983, PG, Science Fiction-Thriller, 114 min, Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy,
John Wood. Nominated for 3 Oscars.
- A fictional computer hacker connects into a secret super computer and plays a war game
that starts a countdown to nuclear war. Shows command of nuclear weapons during the
Cold War.

- The Package. 1989, R, Drama-Crime, 108 min. Gene Hackman, Tommy Lee Jones.
- This is a later-Cold War thriller about an Army green beret assigned to escort a
troublesome GI from Germany back to the States. When his prisoner escapes, the incident
becomes a political conspiracy that might set back U.S.-Soviet relations to mutual distrust
and hostility.

- Top Gun. 1986, PG, Romance-Action, 110 min, Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer and
Anthony Edwards, 1 Oscar and 3 nominations.
- This classic flying film displays a major aspect of the Cold War, much of the military’s time
was involved in training, and very little in operations. Here the best of naval aviators
compete at the Top Gun School.

- Miracle. 2004, PG, Drama-History, 135 min, Kurt Russell, Patricia Clarkson, Nathan West
 - True story of the US amateur hockey team’s victory over the seemingly invincible Soviet
team during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid New York.

- Charlie Wilsons War. 2007, R, Biography-Comedy, 102 min, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip
Seymuor Hoffman, Amy Adams, 1 Oscar nomination
- Adaptation of real events in which a US congressman helps the US support Afghan
insurgents against brutal Soviet occupation, and its surprising success in one of the last
episodes of the Cold War. This laid the groundwork for US involvement in Afghanistan in
the Global War on Terrorism that follows a decade later.

- The Man Who Saved the World: 2004, PG, Documentary-Melodrama, 110 min, Stanislav
Petrov, Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro, Matt Damon, Galina Kalinina
- This is a Soviet view of the Cold War 1n 1983, in which a watch officer detects five nuclear
missiles headed towards the Soviet Union, and what he does. This shows what the tensions
were like during the Cold War.

Compiled in 2013 and updated 2017 for the Silver Spring Veterans Memorial, PA. comments to
bouchatc@hotmail.com