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Matthew Broderick's character hacks into his high school's computer system. He performs this same function in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986). The studio had a 'Galaga' and a 'Galaxian' machine delivered to Matthew Broderick's home, where he practiced for two months to prepare for the arcade scene. The computer used to break into NORAD was programmed to make the correct words appear on the screen, no matter which keys were pressed. Mistake: McKittrick asks David who he is going to Paris with. However, David booked the flight in Jennifer's name not his, so they would not know anything about it. And even if they had traced the action to his computer, they would know who he was going with, as he entered her name. A (forgivable) error in the movie comes in the form of Joshua's voice. David turns on the voice synthesiser for Jenifer to make the computer speak at home, but on subsequent occasions the computers just speak in the same Joshua voice when David is talking to it: the computer in McKittrick's office, and even the big one at the command center! There is a slight editing glitch in arcade sequence. When David is playing and notices he is late for school and the little boy takes over his game, there is a noticable jump, like a part of the scene had been cut out.[Thanks to Harry Hol] There were two more errors during the movie, the first was when Broderick's character was playing a videogame of Galaga. He is shown pressing the fire keys and moving the joystick while at the bottom of the screen, it shows, 'Game Over'. The second error was when the defence headquarters was in a state of emergency and one of the staff there bumped into the W.O.P.R. unit and visibly moved it as if it was made of cardboard (which it probably was). [Thanks to Sanjeev] In the book, the password is 'Joshua5' (the child's age) Resevoir Dog Michael Madsen played Steve, the airman in the missile silo who is forced to threaten his colleague when he refuses to fire the missiles. This was one of his very first roles. The actor portraying the airmen who refused to go through with the launch in the opening scene is John Spencer, who currently plays White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry on 'The West Wing'. [Thanks to Mark] The actor John Wood who played Dr Falken also played a cardinal or high ranking religious person in another well known 80's film also starring Broderick... "Ladyhawke". [Thanks to Sanjeev] The NORAD command center built for the movie was the most expensive set ever constructed up to that time, built at the cost of one million dollars. The NORAD mainframe to which Broderick's character finds a backdoor was called "W.O.P.R." in the movie. In the late '70s, NORAD's central processor was named "B.U.R.G.R." Broderick's star earning power rose fifteen fold after War Games! When Badham took over as director he changed the photographic process. It's possible to see changes in the frame lines between old and new footage. The first director (who was fired) was Martin Brest, who went on to massive success shorty after with "Beverly Hills Cop". Initially, NORAD had granted permission for the producers of WarGames to use their facilities on a limited basis; but after a review of the script, they felt it was an inaccurate portrayal of operations, and ultimatly declined. [Thanks to Matthew Smith] Sales of computer modems jumped some 500% in the months following WarGames release. [Thanks to Matthew Smith] Barry Corbin's line, "Hell, I'd p*ss on a sparkplug if I thought that would do any good" was not written in the script, and was spontaniously blurted out by Barry during the take! [Thanks to Casey Lyde] How many movies can you name that feature a remote controlled pterodactyl? It's not too well known, but 'Colecovision' released 'Wargames' in the late '80's for their console. It was by far the most complicated game I owned, being as how you had to use every button on the controller. (for those Atari people Coleco's controller was a vertical rectangle with a small joystick and two buttons on the side, on the front was a 1-9 digit keypad.) It's premise was you were really fighting the war that W.O.P.R. started and had to defend all areas of america with all manner of equipment (satelite's, planes, ground attacks). I had already seen the movie, so playing this game was an experience I will never forget. [Thanks to Cameron Dittman] I worked at the Byte Shop in Seattle, WA, when the movie came out. We had a joint marketing deal, with the theaters and we supplied the Apple II computers to run the War Games software in the lobby of the theaters. Got free tickets and publicity. I have many fond memories of that time and of the movie. [Thanks to Oscar E. Hasten] Another error in the movie happens in the wide shot of the CRT when David starts the ultimate wargame and the computer asks him to choose sides:1. United States 2. Soviet Union The answer "2" fills in with the rest of the text before David selects it, then the close-up shot shows him entering it. [Thanks to Mark] The W.O.P.R. computer was really made with wood in Culver City, CA. The blinking lights were in sequence very similar to equalizer lights on a stereo. And interesting note: The little display that showed the timer countdown to WW III was actually programmed by a computer consultant who was sitting inside the W.O.P.R. while filming that portion of the movie. All information was found by the website of the company that actually supplied IMSAI computer (David Lightman's Computer). [Thanks to Andrew Limtiaco] In one scene, General Berenger (Barry Corbin) gives an order to "Scramble two F-16's out of Galena." (Galena is in Alaska.) The planes shown afterwards are F-15's. [Thanks to Scott Hume] When we see David calling his school in the grade-changing scene, you'll note that he dials on a telephone and couples the handset to the modem ("accoustically coupled modem") -- but in the next scene in his room w/ Jennifer, the computer is "wardialing" for protovision. Wardialing involves a sequence of dial, listen for carrier, if detected, log, terminate and dial next number. This requires that the modem be able to both "hang up" and "dial" which is not possible with an accoustically coupled modem. [Thanks to Jeremiah]  Find much more great trivia in the filmmaker's commentary on the WarGames DVD.Do you know some WarGames trivia that we could add? [Please send it in] Rediscover your favorites! If you like WarGames or 80's Thriller classics, then be sure to check out this list: ..... Hitcher ..... Thief ..... Christine ..... Against All Odds ..... Blue Velvet ..... 8 Million Ways To Die ..... To Live and Die in L.A. ..... Fear City ..... Pulse ..... No Way Out ..... Blow Out ..... Class of 1984 ..... Contraband ..... Body Double ..... Firestarter .....[More] | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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The exteriors were all filmed in western Washington state. The NORAD HQ set was built in the Cascades. Scenes of the entrance to the NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Complex were filmed at Newhalem, Washington (about 125 miles North of Seattle). [Thanks to Steve Baker] The "Oregon" airport was really Boeing Field. "Goose Island" is really Anderson Island, WA (in the southern part of Puget Sound). The last ferry off the island really is at 6:30, and you really are stuck there if you miss it! The 7-11 where Broderick played video games may have been in a NW Seattle neighborhood known as "Richmond Beach". Can anyone confirm? The scene where Broderick gets busted by the FBI was shot at 7-ELEVEN 41901 Big Bear Blvd, Big Bear Lake Ca. [Thanks to Julian] The high school was the Snohomish High School (you can see the name written above the door of the building he runs into) in Everett, a small city/town north of Seattle. [Thanks to Michael Busick] The high school used in War Games was not in Everett, it is actually El Segundo High School, in El Segundo, California. Here's the school website http://www.elsegundousd.com/eshs/index2.htm [Thanks to Aram Degirmen] Broderick visits fellow computer geeks at The Academic Computing Center in Seattle. Lake Chelan National Recreation Area in North Cascades National Park Located near Stehekin, WA was also used. They mention on the commentary track of the DVD that the 7-11 where David is picked up by the feds is in Big Bear, California. Big Bear is a mountain resort about an hour and a half outside of L.A. The location is right on the main road into town, and I think about it whenever I pass. [Thanks to David Schneider] In California, they have boat tours on Big Bear lake and point out a house that was filmed in the movie. It's Professor Falken's house, which was supposed to be on the island in Washington State. If that is not accurate, then they have been yanking people for years with that story. It looks enough like it, and Big Bear was visited in the movie. [Thanks to Seymour] Can you help? Do you know any of the Seattle, Washington (or any other) filming locations used for WarGames? [Please send them in] | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Stills of Crosby, Stills and Nash composed a song for the movie Wargames, Aptly titled "Wargames". Mtv also aired a music video for this song. Showing clips from the movie. Strangely, the song was never used in the film! You can find the song on their 1983 album "Allies" [Thanks to Stacey Roseberry] Arthur B. Rubenstein's powerful military score was released alongside the pop music from the film interlaced with dialogue on vinyl in 1983. This is a great record, and highly recommended. The score was recently released on compact disc (minus pop music) as part of the 'Film Music of Arthur B. Rubenstien' 2CD set, a promotional release from the Super Tracks Group in California. It's a terrific bombastic and melodic soundtrack with some beautiful vocal work on the title theme 'End of the World.' However, avoid the Super Tracks promo like the plague, the amount of hiss will burn a hole in your head - stick with the vinyl! Soundtrack Available: Used On CD | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Is It A Game....Or Is It Real?"
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