Thursday Movie Picks #243: Cold War

There's more to the Cold War than one would have imagined. There's plenty of different narratives, other than the political, from espionage (The Spy Who Came in From the Cold) to ideological battles (any Red Scare films such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers) from the space race (First Man) to sports (Rocky IV). But none is more prevalent than the threat of nuclear warfare as two powerful nations, with an arsenal strong enough to destroy the world hundreds of times over, square off with the World at stake. Perhaps this is why the Cold War makes fascinating cinema, tension comes from incredibly high stakes and in these films the stakes have never been higher.

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It’s perhaps no coincidence that 1964 saw the release of three (perhaps more) high profile movies about the threat of nuclear warfare considering its merely two years after the Cuban Missile Crisis. No bomb is fired in this first pick, but it deals with an issue still debated heavily today. Would nuclear disarmament be right or does owning nuclear weapons act as a deterrent? Disarmament is an impossible task as you not only have to convince your enemies, but you have to convince your allies and your own men and in Seven Days in May even The President’s own men turn against him and his pro-disarmament views.

There have been a few examples of all out nuclear war almost becoming a reality because of an accident, the most famous of these being 1983. The film Fail-Safe, also released in 1964 (almost 20 years before the 1983 incident), is about the "what ifs?" of an accidental nuclear attack.  Making for gripping viewing, Sidney Lumet’s politically aware film makes for a damning indictment of actions of the world’s most powerful governments. 

The third film on this list, which was also released in 1964, is one you perhaps all seen. Stanley Kubrick decided to give his damning indictment in the form of political satire when many films had been treating the matter with the utmost sincerity. From the fighting free war room to the Soviet Premier who needs to be mollycoddled, Dr Strangelove is a different look at the most dangerous of threats.

The final choice is a film about the event that is perhaps the reason the films mentioned above exist. Or at least why they were made at that time. Thirteen Days is about those thirteen days where the world was on the brink of irreparable destruction as Soviet and American nuclear battleships faced off close to the island of Cuba. Some liberties are taken with the truth, but if you want to watch a film that captures the sheer magnitude of the situation this is the one.