WarGames

As an early teenager with more than a passing interest in computers, there is one film that I was so influenced by that it has shaped me to the present day. WarGames, released in 1983, starred a young Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy.

High school student David Lightman (Broderick) is a computer geek who likes to play computer games and impress a girl (Sheedy). So using the technology of the day he starts wardialling (a phrase that was actually coined as a result of this film) to find the company producing an as yet unreleased game. Little does he know, the "computer company" he's infiltrated is actually a military installation running a missile-command supercomputer called the WOPR (War Operation Plan Response), and the game — Global Thermonuclear War — is real.

Watching this film today it is easy to scoff at the technology, but at the height of the cold war this was bang on the money and the producers actually consulted with genuine hackers (not a term used in those days) to ensure the reality.

If you have not seen this film, I urge you get hold of a copy. If only for a bit of nostalgia for a time when computers were gateways for the technically curious. But if previous Hollywood remakes are anything to go by avoid WarGames: The Dead Code at the end of this month as it has all the hallmarks of a disaster. Why do they do it?

Also check out this great interview with some of those responsible that recently appeared on Wired.