Wargames rewatch w kids
Posted by kaynkayf@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 213 comments
All of the AI craziness had me remembering this movie and telling my 10yo about it. We decided to watch and im walking him through it all the technolog: dial up internet, a room for a computer, dot matrix printer, etc. It’s quite a reminiscing.
gnardog45@reddit
I like how they put a real-time spectrum analyzer in the WOPR prop just to make it look like it was a real machine..
cnhn@reddit
tough to tell the difference between a spectrum analyzer and real das blincken lights.
Rough-Patience-2435@reddit
The classic
ACHTUNG!
ALLES TURISTEN UND NONTEKNISCHEN LOOKENPEEPERS!
DAS KOMPUTERMASCHINE IST NICHT FÜR DER GEFINGERPOKEN UND MITTENGRABEN! ODERWISE IST EASY TO SCHNAPPEN DER SPRINGENWERK, BLOWENFUSEN UND POPPENCORKEN MIT SPITZENSPARKEN.
IST NICHT FÜR GEWERKEN BEI DUMMKOPFEN. DER RUBBERNECKEN SIGHTSEEREN KEEPEN DAS COTTONPICKEN HÄNDER IN DAS POCKETS MUSS. ZO RELAXEN UND WATSCHEN DER BLINKENLICHTEN.
pantstoaknifefight2@reddit
What is this from? It's so familiar.
Rough-Patience-2435@reddit
Was a common sign (photocopied) joke that was often put near new equipment.
I had similar paper photocopy in about 1978 or 79.
Different variations. Search Actung das blinken lights.
Moontoya@reddit
I still use it, including mangling it into more warnings.
Blinkenlites is perfect for describing switches to newbies and users
It sticks better than "led indicator"
"Do you see 2 solid blinkenlites or three on the white box on the eall"
'2, power and pon"
cnhn@reddit
Early internet lore. Here’s the wiki about it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blinkenlights
flock-of-nazguls@reddit
Go search up “The Most Important Device in the Universe”, there’s a long history of movies shamelessly stuffing random blinky things in for tech mojo.
Moontoya@reddit
Ah, is this the machine that goes...Peeeeeng ?
Monty Pythons Flying Circus (cue the liberty bell match)
htnut-pk@reddit
https://i.redd.it/nboizxn1kitg1.gif
gnardog45@reddit
Right on!
smarmy1625@reddit
The 80's always felt like nuclear war was imminent. With all the wars going on now, this could feel a little too real once again.
Solid-Narwhal1895@reddit
It’s different now, though not too superpowers prepared to destroy each other, but more rogue states who are unpredictable but still very dangerous
Moontoya@reddit
MAD doesn't work when there isn't someone rational in charge on one side.
Do you truly feel safe with that spray tanned dementia suffering narcissist having the "big red button"?
I dont
bemenaker@reddit
Except for Putin, no one has enough nukes to do complete devastation. Not like living in the 80s when you knew if nukes started flying, the entire world was dead.
Moontoya@reddit
100 would be enough to cause global nuclear winter and kill 20-25% of the life on earth.
1000 would be the end of most of humanity
The Doomsday clocks been close to midnight for a very long time
kaynkayf@reddit (OP)
I agree. I don’t think we know how close we are right now.
DasbootTX@reddit
Did you explain “piss on a spark plug”? One of my favorite lines
regeya@reddit
I didn't see War Games until after Northern Exposure, so I laughed my ass off. It seemed like such a Maurice thing to say
PMMeYourTurkeys@reddit
We just saw him in a couple episodes of Better Call Saul.
pantstoaknifefight2@reddit
Always thought this actor was Nathan Arizona in Raising Arizona
kaynkayf@reddit (OP)
I don’t know what a spark plug even is. I just paid a lot of money to have them replaced in my Subaru so can you tell me what they are? And why on earth would you piss on it?
DasbootTX@reddit
short answer is they are part of your internal combustion engine that sparks the combustion.
if you go back to the more primitive engines of the 50's-70's or so, spark plugs were on the sides of the manifold, one per cylinder, with a thick insulated cable. if you grabbed that cable in the wrong spot while it's running you'd get a pretty sharp jolt of electricity.
pissing on a live plug would run the risk of sending that jolt upriver and zapping you in a place you never want to be zapped.
kaynkayf@reddit (OP)
lol thanks!
iTrooper5118@reddit
Maybe pissing on a spark plug removes any gunk or buildup between the spark gap, hence helping it to work properly again.
DasbootTX@reddit
nice guess, but nope. think of this. saline liquid conducts electricity.
RedCliff73@reddit
Goddammit, I'd miss on a spark plug if I thought it would do any good!
wcm48@reddit
“Beefed up? How ‘bout screwed up”.
Love the actor. Had a small roll in “Killer of the Flower Moon”. Looks very different (40 years later) and I was like… I’ve heard that voice somewhere, wait is it… Yes!!! Barry Corbin!!
Also great in “Lonesome Dove”
NearbyQuantity1847@reddit
He had a neat little role in Better Call Saul.
red3y3_99@reddit
One of my all time favourite lines. Thought it was just hilarious when I saw it at the cinema as a kid. I still use it today
SWO6@reddit
“A strange game. The only winning move is not to play.”
NearbyQuantity1847@reddit
Only a computer with no consciousness, just logic would need to tell us there’s no way to win.
NearbyQuantity1847@reddit
3…2…1…..Impact.
She sounded so relaxed counting down the possible end of the world.
Cute-Sale3878@reddit
They were allowed to have Redman Chewing Tobacco in the War Room…not a spittoon in site. Epic.
smarmy1625@reddit
real men swallowed
onion4everyoccasion@reddit
That's what he said
Substantial-Rain-602@reddit
That’s what your mom said.
Phreedom1@reddit
...and good women too
Apprehensive_Ant4596@reddit
My dad chewed Red Man. I also thought it smelled good, then I tried it and my soul left my body for a brief moment until I finished puking.
ResidentQuail7118@reddit
Welcome to our reality back in the 80's kids!
HHSquad@reddit
That scenario hit close to home as I was serving in the Air Force when the movie came out.
blaspheminCapn@reddit
Confidence is high
DNSGeek@reddit
I repeat, confidence is high.
kaynkayf@reddit (OP)
My kids said “is that Ferris?”
PoisonMind@reddit
Next, watch Ladyhawke for the Matthew Broderick trifecta.
changed_later__@reddit
With bonus Rutger Hauer, who's always worth a watch.
TheRave1972@reddit
In a way, Ferris Bueller and David Lightman are cut from the same cloth (not just because Matthew Broderick played them both).
Experimental_Salad@reddit
They both must have had rich parents, too, because David's gear wasn't inexpensive, and Ferris had a fucking E-mu Emulator, which wasn't cheap either.
RaechelMaelstrom@reddit
"Intelligent but an under achiever."
changed_later__@reddit
Both used their computer to change their grades IIRC.
Ferris learned how to swim though, so there's that.
OreoSpeedwaggon@reddit
It still has some of the most realistically depected hacking sequences ever shown on screen, from social engineering to get access to a password, to hours of research in a library, wardialing a series of numbers to get backdoor system access, phreaking a pay phone and an electronic door lock, and more.
changed_later__@reddit
'Wardialing' literally got its popular name from the movie.
wjglenn@reddit
Yep. Wargames and Sneakers are my go-tos when anyone asks for a realistic depiction of hacking in movies.
bemenaker@reddit
I caught the last 20 mins of sneakers yesterday.
bjb8@reddit
That's the first thing I did when I got an auto dial modem that had voice detection was start running numbers.
Nothing much in our area so it was mostly a waste of time, but then I found Datapac. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DATAPAC
That was so much more interesting and free to use.
The_Original_Miser@reddit
Mr. McKittrick, after very careful consideration, sir - I've come to the conclusion that your new defense system sucks.
texan01@reddit
I don’t have to take that from you, you pig-eyed sack of shit! - my favorite retort for the occasion.
changed_later__@reddit
Oh man, I love that line.
Why-did-i-reas-this@reddit
Oh, I was hoping for something a little better than that from you, sir. A man of your education.
texan01@reddit
(He says in amusement)
GigabitISDN@reddit
Dabney Coleman is a national treasure.
I always wanted a series where he and John Malkovich run around getting into odd-couple shenanigans.
No-Basis-1161@reddit
I don't have to take that, you pig-eyed sack of s#!+
triggur@reddit
Great movie! I got to tour NORAD in the 90’s and it wasn’t nearly as high tech (I mean of course. Hollywood).
Still a very cool facility to see. Sadly I didn’t get to see the Stargate. 😑
battery19791@reddit
Generals looked at Wargames and asked, why don't have anything like that? By the time I enlisted in 2000, they did.
CrankyDoo@reddit
I have almost the exact same story. I visited there in 1995 and the tour guide even joked at the start of the tour to forget all the movies because the real facility looks nothing like what you see in movies. He was right.
bony-tony@reddit
What's kinda fun about that tech is that it was about as familiar to us (at least me as a 10 year old) in the early 80s as it is to kids today.
I mean, no one I knew had ever used a modem, and we'd barely used home computers (maybe a few hours in math class).
I guess the one thing we were familiar with that kids today have probably never used is pay phones / landline phones.
The__Relentless@reddit
In '83 I had a 300baud modem for my Atari 400. I was 10. My dad showed me how to war-dial (dialing every number in a row of a given prefix. Just like David Lightman does. I had a few BBSs I called every day to leave messages and play games. By 16 I was running my own BBS.
My dad did make sure any BBSs I was calling were okay, and he made sure I wasn't being inappropriate, nor was anyone doing the same to me.
bemenaker@reddit
You sound like me.
The__Relentless@reddit
I had switched to PC by the time I ran a BBS. If anyone cares, the BBS software I used was called Telegard.
Doorknob6941@reddit
Goddammit, I'd piss on a spark plug if I thought it'd do any good!
megamisanthropic@reddit
Seal up the mountain.
KGBspy@reddit
My phone voicemail alert is the alert tone and then “sky bird, this is drop kick with a red-alpha message in 2 parts, break break”
Snarcotic@reddit
Where do we get that from. Please share.
KGBspy@reddit
i had to make it and follow a youtube tutorial, all on phone of course. I got the clip here: https://clip.cafe/wargames-1983/stand-by-copy-message/ and then followed this guy (I think) on YT and got down to where I wanted it but you can search any of the YT vids on "how to make custom ringtone w/garageband" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le0u88CXrqc
arminghammerbacon_@reddit
Excuse me, be right back. Gotta go get a ringtone:
KGBspy@reddit
i had to make it and follow a youtube tutorial, all on phone of course. I got the clip here: https://clip.cafe/wargames-1983/stand-by-copy-message/ and then followed this guy (I think) on YT and got down to where I wanted it but you can search any of the YT vids on "how to make custom ringtone w/garageband" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le0u88CXrqc
digdugnate@reddit
"Hello, Mr Potato Head! Backdoors are not secrets!"
Fanabala3@reddit
But you’re giving away our best tricks!
Snts6678@reddit
That actor…oof…
lordhumongous40@reddit
Why don't you just unplug the God damn thing?
DC_Coach@reddit
Hell, I'd piss on a spark plug if I thought it would do any good
TinyFugue@reddit
Mr. McKittrick, after very careful consideration, sir, I've come to the conclusion that your new defense system sucks.
DC_Coach@reddit
Live that line, too!
AmnFucker@reddit
Beat me to it
Snarcotic@reddit
That Senior sidekick Lady sure had some nice legs and altogether put together fiine... teenage remembrance of the movie.
Late-Yogurtcloset-57@reddit
Are you referring to Ally Sheedy?
TinyFugue@reddit
The woman on Dabney Coleman's team.
Upper-Affect5971@reddit
Brass Hat!
Max_Gerber@reddit
This is Crystal Palace…
Illustrious_Name_441@reddit
Get the President on the horn...
GigabitISDN@reddit
I kid you not, this is the movie that got 8 year old me started in an IT career. I thought I’d grow up to be David Lightman.
Instead I am 100% McKittrick. Exasperated from fighting bureaucracy, surrounded by people who have no business being near a keyboard, and every few days a general comes in and starts yelling about spark plugs.
phillymjs@reddit
Same, but I was a few weeks shy of 10. And I also became obsessed with nuclear weapons, so when I'm taking vacations from my IT jobs I'm touring Cold War sites.
GigabitISDN@reddit
We just toured the Titan missile silo south of Tucson a year or two ago and it was great. I want to see what I can at the Minuteman silo in SD if we can get over there.
phillymjs@reddit
Seven years ago yesterday, I spent five hours in that Titan II silo in 2019, on a top-to-bottom tour they no longer offer. Seven years ago today I stood at ground zero of Trinity Site.
I've also toured the Nevada National Security Site and saw Sedan Crater and the houses they nuked in the 50s, among other things, and toured the Greenbrier Bunker.
The Minuteman silo in SD is on my to-do list.
Kvenya@reddit
News of the day…
TechnicolorTechbot@reddit
It was educational, too! When the dad is slathering butter on that piece of bread (and I’m like damn, that’s a lot of butter) and then he puts the ear of corn in and rolls it. GENIUS!!
GetGoatedYourself@reddit
The corn is cold
changed_later__@reddit
Of course it's crisp, it's RAW!
digdugnate@reddit
Can't we just take vitamins and cook the corn? (lol)
MovingTarget-@reddit
Also where I learned how to make a call from a payphone for free. Okay, I may not have actually gotten that one to work.
justflushit@reddit
That’s so old fashioned, you butter a tortilla to butter one’s corn these days
KiwiMcG@reddit
😆
Own-Contribution-478@reddit
Umm... your wife?
arminghammerbacon_@reddit
Get out, Lightman! Out!
kaynkayf@reddit (OP)
That was so funny. I loved that one.
golgol12@reddit
What did you do to your wall?
kaynkayf@reddit (OP)
When we moved my Handyman put the TV in and then he moved it because he knew from previously putting up my TVs that I was going to freak out. Unless he did not paint his mistake, and I look at it at least a few times a week. On my very long list of things to do.
Hairy_Web_2366@reddit
Kind of weird that the writer chose to start the movie with a brief debate about the merits of sinsemilla cultivation, among high level Air Force personnel. But I dig it
kaynkayf@reddit (OP)
My brother actually told Me about that the other day! Shocking! It’s like when I discovered that sat night fever had a tape scene. That also went over my head.
JDP87@reddit
There's at least one other reference to marijuana in the script; the recording on the tape recorder that Lightman uses to escape the locked room. I have a feeling there are more but I could be wrong.
kaynkayf@reddit (OP)
You’re right there was definitely a few!
lancerreddit@reddit
Kinect!
kaynkayf@reddit (OP)
Yep! Still love that thing. What’s your fav game?
charlietactwo@reddit
Glad to see you lowered your tv to a functional viewing height.
kaynkayf@reddit (OP)
We had a computer at home with a dial-up modem. It looked about like the one that was being used in the movie. We also had a dot matrix printer.
Also my handyman moved it down himself - he knew I’d flip. Yet he didn’t paint the wall / it’s been 8 months I have to get on that.
sylvar@reddit
That montage of Falken’s Maze is one of the biggest reasons I became a librarian. The absolute thrill of following footnotes and checking cross-references to arrive at the exact knowledge you need? Such a rush!
onamonapizza@reddit
NEEEERRRRRDD!
sylvar@reddit
found the Alpha Beta
Angelwind76@reddit
Sigma Pi?
Mo_Honey_Mo_Problemz@reddit
Whenever someone chimes in with obvious, but unhelpful, information in a meeting, I always think of the tic-tac-toe scene where the background officer yells, "put X in the center square!"
Mugwumps_has_spoken@reddit
which is why most people loose at tic tac toe. If you count on your opponent doing that strategy you can beat them.
United-Amoeba-8460@reddit
People lose at tic tac toe?!
stevedontcumyet@reddit
TURN YOUR KEY, SIR!
JDP87@reddit
That's not the correct procedure, sir.
omysweede@reddit
It will be interesting when Grok controls the bikes. I prefer Joshua
Martyinco@reddit
Number 4 of my all time favorite movies.
htnut-pk@reddit
Which is #3?
A_Wise_MA@reddit
My wife and I have worked hard to make my kids culturally GenX… Have shown them this… We watched Repo Man this weekend…
ichabod801@reddit
Plate of shrimp.
pantstoaknifefight2@reddit
Let's get sushi and not pay for it.
Kvenya@reddit
Love Repo Man. Did you stream it? I haven’t been able to find my hardcopy.
A_Wise_MA@reddit
Amazon had it on DVD - Criterion Collection!
Kvenya@reddit
Nice!! Thanks.
revdon@reddit
Sneakers is the unofficial sequel, also by Parkes and Lasker.
revdon@reddit
In one of the DVD extras Parkes and Lasker talk about the numerous WarGames drafts. One of them was "what if David was older and a security auditor"; the one became Sneakers. I wonder how many other drafts they still have?
bony-tony@reddit
Great, great movie.
FORT RED BORDER
Advanced_Tax174@reddit
Most under appreciated movie of the decade.
kaynkayf@reddit (OP)
Got it thanks!!
Ok-Freedom-7432@reddit
SEVEN NUMBERS!!!!!!
(I am very helpful.)
tchrbrian@reddit
“ pencil “
bokehbaka@reddit
I'm a Millennial (booooo I know) but this is one of my favorite movies. When I was in high-school I managed to catch it in theaters for it's 25th anniversary which was awesome.
Also, if you're not aware, there's reto "Bar-cade" in Portland OR that has the Whopper as the bar and the control room screen across from it where they hold video game tournaments. It's one of the my favorite places in the world Ground Kontrol
changed_later__@reddit
*WOPR
War Operation Plan Response
bokehbaka@reddit
Right lol My bad and thanks! "One of my favorite movies 🤡"
changed_later__@reddit
Same, it never gets old for me.
Dense_Surround3071@reddit
I just watched The Fifth Element with my 10 yr old. He didn't want to watch at first. He clapped loudly after the diva's performance.
Fucking vindication. 😎
Three3Jane@reddit
Ruby Rhod is my dreamgirl, always was and always will be.
Tempest-in-a-B-Cup@reddit
Multipass
kaynkayf@reddit (OP)
I loved loved that movie.
Open_Mortgage_4645@reddit
War Games remains one of the best movies of the 80s.
"Mr. Potato Head! Mr. Potato Head! Back doors are not secrets!"
Three3Jane@reddit
The 0-60 with which he goes to loud and violent is a hallmark of a burned-out IT guy. Nothing much has changed!
LastCookie3448@reddit
I swear, those guys played the same role in every film: the hardass. 🤣
surfinbird@reddit
“Mr. Potato head, MR. POTATO HEAD! Back doors are not secrets.”
FirmRoof206@reddit
First thing that came to my mind too!
surfinbird@reddit
I saw Eddie Deezen (Malvin) IRL at an L.A. bar about 25 years ago!
Barijazz251@reddit
I love how David escapes from the holding cell/room ... Macgyver - ing before there was a Macgyver.
Icy-Bar-9712@reddit
MacGyver started in 82. WarGames was 83
phillymjs@reddit
MacGyver premiered in 1985.
Icy-Bar-9712@reddit
Transposed digits, my bad.
Barijazz251@reddit
I stand corrected !
Barijazz251@reddit
Also the pull-tab in the receiver for a free pay phone call.
Pshad4Bama@reddit
Where do you think Macgyver got his inspiration?!?
House_Junkie@reddit
“Shall we play a game?”
jeffster1970@reddit
Good movie. I own a copy. Probably because I'm GenX, but I do watch this once a year or every other year.
88secret@reddit
Just watched this again a few weeks ago-what a great movie. Frighteningly timely.
datraceman@reddit
I initially saw this and was like….is that Dusty and the road warriors versus the 4 Horsemen and then it clicked.
EllaMcWho@reddit
When my kid didn’t like the goonies, I learned my lesson. 😣😭
VerbosePlantain@reddit
My kids don’t line it either … but I think that’s on me. I started them on it way too young.
EllaMcWho@reddit
Princess Bride and Willow at 7 were too young… I though goonies at 13 was ok 😭😭😭
3atTh3R1ch79@reddit
I know it's not him, but the guy on the far right looks like Neil Patrick Harris.
Mike_Honcho_Summer@reddit
That's his father, Peil Natrick Harris
RyanTranquil@reddit
One of my favorite movies
Status-Effort-9380@reddit
Would you like to play a nice game of chess?
kaynkayf@reddit (OP)
We had a computer at home with a dial-up modem. It looked about like the one that was being used in the movie. We also had a dot matrix printer.
JackieBlue1970@reddit
IMSAI 8080. Classic computer using the Altair (S100) data bus. Intel 8080 processor.
MovingTarget-@reddit
The only winning move is not to play :)
seemerock@reddit
We should probably watch The Day After too
AlderanAthletic_5BBY@reddit
My niece is in undergrad for cyber security and I made her watch this. Still holds up!
TheRave1972@reddit
It's because of this movie that I get irrationally angry when folks get the DEFCON scale reversed.
saramybearimy@reddit
I was reading a book where they said something was at DEFCON 5 when they clearly meant DEFCON 1 and I definitely didn't* correct it on the page.
*I did. I corrected it.
cjkgt97@reddit
Good job. I did the same. I paused it regularly to make sure they understood what was happening.
acreboy1966@reddit
Excellent movie
Bokononfoma@reddit
Loved this movie as a kid, and holds up reasonably well. I consider it an interesting contrast with Dr. Strangelove .
Public-Clothes-5078@reddit
3 2 1 Impact
GetGoatedYourself@reddit
We're still here
Y8fKZyZrSn@reddit
I’d piss on a spark plug if I knew it would do any good.
NewbombJerk@reddit
Came to say this line! One of my all-time favorite throw away lines, I still say when the occasion calls for it.
Was this a real expression? I never heard it outside of this movie.
Why-did-i-reas-this@reddit
It was an improvised line by Barry Corbin. He must have heard it around.
NewbombJerk@reddit
I never knew that!
Why-did-i-reas-this@reddit
It's one of the comments in the 25th anniversary edition where the writers give so many great behind the scenes insights.
stovislove@reddit
Want to play a game?
drummerboy-98012@reddit
To this day I still say, “Hell, I’d piss on a spark-plug if I thought it’d do any good!”
silkroadbrian@reddit
When he gets a little older introduce him to "ready player one". The book first
Substantial_Cow7628@reddit
You're assuming he hates his kid, I assume?
kaynkayf@reddit (OP)
There is a second book I think! Tempest was always my fav game :)
-Granby-@reddit
Or the superior Snow Crash
ChickenScheisse@reddit
Anytime somethings broken at home i say... I'd piss on the sparkplug if i thought it'd do any good!
Why-did-i-reas-this@reddit
Improvised line BTW.
SnooCamera@reddit
Loved this movie as a teen. In 1993 (so 10 years after the movie release), I had a chance to go into the Cheyenne Mountain complex via a tour after I had applied to work there. (the computer did not pop out my name as one of the three to be interviewed *sadface* )
Got to go to the mezzanine overlooking the system control room. (Not my photo)
But, it was so much smaller than in the movie. (around 600 sq feet) In my case, the displays were labeled 'unclassified' and as we talked to the watch commander, a one-star Canadian, he stated if they had to get back to work quickly the curtains would close.
I can't say I was disappointed at all regarding the 'big board'. I loved seeing the giant door and all the stuff they showed us.
heelslover_1@reddit
W.O.P.R. I named my home Wi-Fi this
heelslover_1@reddit
One of my absolute all time favorites!
Plus-Spread3574@reddit
Great movie. It’s also one of the few instances where the old Puget Sound mosquito fleet of ferries is shown.
RebelSoul5@reddit
It’s weird the things you notice in retrospect. Like, my dude … this is a highly sensitive computer defense center, where are you spitting that Red Man out? “Why did the servers crash?” Hell if I know …
RiotousRagnarok@reddit
I’ve worked in the military for almost 30 years - military folks will spit chew anywhere. Usually carry a bottle around for it. Highly believable part of the movie! LOL
bdchwild@reddit
Still an incredible movie that holds up. An incredible ending, it's too bad we didn't learn our lesson back in 1983.
HintonBE@reddit
Hits a bit differently these days.
kaynkayf@reddit (OP)
So much!!
StOnEy333@reddit
“How about a nice game of chess?”
-Granby-@reddit
Such a great movie. Love the old tech.
"would you like to play a game"
kaynkayf@reddit (OP)
lol yep! I’m so glad he knew what a phone ring was!
blueblocker2000@reddit
Add Give Eagle Eye, Deal of the Century, and Stealth.
CommodoreSixty4@reddit
Get the President on the horn!
CardMechanic@reddit
He’ll, I’d piss on a spark plug if I thought it would do any good.
worstpartyever@reddit
Close up the mountain