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20 Best Cold War Movies You Should Watch   


 

The Cold War was a long period of tension between two world powers that started at the end of World War II in 1945 and ended in 1991 when the Soviet Union was dissolved.  

The United States and the Soviet Union conflict, The Cold War, was mostly a power, technology, and influence struggle. The two were always on edge waiting for a trigger to go to war, with each of them claiming to have the best weapons and the most nuclear bombs. 

There was also a race to Space, where each side tried to show that it had the best scientists and technology by accomplishing certain space missions first. The sad part was that the rest of the world was expected to choose a side. 

The film industry has over the years made movies that were inspired by that struggle. In this article, MI6 is the British intelligence agency, the CIA is America’s central intelligence agency and KGB is the security agency of the Soviet Union.   

Here is a list of the 20 best cold war movies you should watch. 

1. Dr. Strangelove 

Dr. Strange is a 1964 comedy film that makes fun of the Cold War conflict. It was shot in black and white and is a movie about an American general who sends bombers to USSR thereby starting a war.  

When the president is informed, he calls the Soviet head to inform him of the impending attack. Things get complicated when he learns that the Soviets have a system in place that is set to automatically go off when triggered by any bombing. It is so powerful that it will destroy the earth and everything on it.  

Will the United State get the codes from the rogue general to recall the nuclear bombs in time? Watch the movie to see what happens. 

2. The Hunt For Red October 

A Submarine underwater. Photo By U.S. D.O.D. – Wikimedia Commons

This is a movie that was released in 1990 and its story is about a Soviet Navy captain who wishes to defect to the United States. The Red October is a soviet submarine that the captain uses to escape Russia together with his crew. It’s flagged down as it approaches the U.S Maritime space.  

Will the Americans believe the defection story given the existing tension? Will the Russians give up their hunt for their submarine? Will the captain and his crew successfully defect and start new lives or are they spies? Watch this movie to get the answers to these questions. 

3. Fail Safe 

Released in 1964, Fail Safe is a movie about U.S. bombers that are sent to destroy Moscow by mistake. The President tries to recall the bombers or shoot them down because if they strike, the Soviets will fight back. Unsuccessful in stopping the destruction of the Soviet city, he decides to destroy a major city in the U.S. to even out and calm the soviets. 

He orders the empire state building in New York to be bombed even though the first lady is there. What’s more, the Air Force Officer being sent to bomb has his family in that city too. Watch this thriller movie for a perspective on the cold war. 

4. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy  

This cold war movie was released in 2011 and has a title derived from the English children’s rhyme “Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggarman, thief.” 

It is a story about an ageing spymaster who is on a mission to unearth a soviet mole in the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). Will he manage to expose the KGB agent? Watch this thriller to see how it goes. 

5. No Way Out 

Photo by Denise Jans on Unsplash

This is a 1987 thriller movie that is the story of a love triangle gone wrong. A lady is dating two men, she confides in Man A (A soviet sleeper agent) that she is the mistress of Man B (United States Secretary of Defense) who suspects her of cheating. In an argument with Man B, she falls and dies and now Man B wants to frame Man A for her murder.  

Will Man B get away with the murder of his mistress? Watch the movie to find out how it ends. 

6. The Manchurian Candidate 

This is a 1962 political thriller film. It is the story of a Korean war veteran that is brainwashed by the Soviets after his army platoon is captured. He returns to America as a sleeper assassin. Coming from a political family, the soviets intend to use him to assassinate the presidential candidate and overthrow the US government. 

Will they achieve their goal? Watch to find out how it goes. Apart from the 1962 film, there is another movie with the same title that was released in 2004. 

There is a Korean War Veterans Memorial that you can read about here.

7. Bridge of Spies 

Bridge of Spies is a historical drama film that was released in 2015. The story is about a soviet spy that is jailed in America then 3 years later, an American pilot is imprisoned after his plane is shot down while flying over the Soviet Union.  

Will the two governments reach an agreement and swap the two prisoners or will their trust issues get in the way? There is no telling unless you watch the movie for yourself. 

8. The Right Stuff 

A NASA rocket. Photo by Terence Burke on Unsplash

The Right Stuff was released in 1983. It is a movie about the space race between the U.S. and the Soviets. It starts with Navy, Marine, and Air Force test pilots attempting to fly at supersonic speeds, but they all die.  

Nevertheless, America can’t give up and many early NASA rockets explode during launch. More brave pilots come on board even as their wives fear becoming widows. Will NASA help America defeat the Russians? Watch this movie to see what happens. 

9. Top Secret  

This is a 1984 film about an American Musician who travels to East Germany on tour. He is attending a cultural festival and his concert is a secret decoy by the East German government for a military operation. The musician gets involved with a resistance group member, and he is arrested, questioned, and tortured, but he honestly knows nothing. 

As he tries to escape, he discovers a scientist is being forced to create a device that can destroy the entire NATO submarine fleet, secretly, for this government. Watch the movie to see if and how he gets away. 

10. Atomic Blonde  

Atomic Blonde is a 2017 film that was acted by Charlize Theron where she acts as a triple agent working for KGB (Russia), MI6 (U.K), and CIA (U.S). She is on a mission in Berlin to retrieve a list of double agents that was stolen from an MI6 agent by the KGB in 1989 just before the collapse of the Berlin wall.  

Watch this movie to see who she is working for. It has a lot of action and suspense. 

11. The Man From U.N.C.L.E 

Photo by Felipe Bustillo on Unsplash

This movie was released in 2015. It is a cold war movie that is quite interesting because America and the Soviets are forced to work together to stop someone from owning a private nuclear weapon.  Will CIA and KGB agents be able to put their differences aside to stop evildoers? Watch to find out. 

12. White Nights 

White Nights is a 1985 musical drama movie. It is about two dancers, one that defected from the Soviets and the other defected to the Soviets. At first, there is racial and artistic friction, but the two dancers become good friends.  

They link up with old friends and later get in trouble with the authorities. Will they stand together to overcome the challenges? Watch to find out. 

13. Rambo: First Blood Part II 

We all know Rambo! His movies were and still are great hits. Rambo is a United States Army Special Forces veteran whose Vietnam War experience traumatized him. He has superior military skills that he uses to fight the bad guys. Sylvester Stallone acts as Rambo. There are several Rambo sequels and I recommend that you watch them all. 

Rambo: First Blood Part II was released in 1985 and continues from where the first part left off. After Rambo surrenders, he is jailed and the only way for his criminal record to be deleted is for him to go on a mission to rescue Americans in Vietnam. Watch to see lots of action and know how that goes. 

14. JFK 

President John F. Kennedy. Photo By Cecil Stoughton – Wikimedia Commons

JFK is a political thriller movie that was released in 1991 and is a story about John F. Kennedy’s death. The film shows the events before and up to the assassination of the 35th president of the United States and its alleged cover-up. JFK was killed on 22nd November 1963 in Dallas, Texas. 

Was there a conspiracy? Did the Soviets get him killed? Was he assassinated because he wanted to pull the United States out of the Vietnam War and dismantle the CIA?  Watch to find out. 

Read Sensational Facts about JFK Assassination here.

15. The Spy Who Came In From The Cold 

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold is a 1965 British Cold War spy movie. The MI6 office in Germany is not performing very well and its head is recalled to London and demoted. While he is living a miserable life, he is approached by other governments hoping that he defects and agrees to sell to them British Spy Secrets.  

Has he defected or is he faking it? Watch this very interesting movie to find out. 

16. Good Night and Good Luck  

Good Night and Good Luck is a black and white film that was released in 2005. It is the story of a highly controversial journalist that is exposing the evils in society, making people especially politicians uneasy.

He is accused of being a communist sympathizer. Watch this movie to see if and how his career is affected by these developments. 

17. The Good Shepherd 

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels

Released in 2006, The Good Shepherd is a movie whose story is about counterintelligence in the CIA. It follows an agent who is monitoring Soviet activity in Central America.  

This agent’s father worked for the government as an admiral and was to be named Secretary of the Navy but he committed suicide and left a note for his son who hasn’t read it for years. The agent gets married and has a son who becomes an agent too. 

He is constantly choosing duty to the state over family. Will he regret his decisions? Watch to find out. 

18. Torn Curtain 

Torn Curtain was released in 1966 and is set in the cold war era. The story is about a US physicist and rocket scientist who defects and joins the Soviet Union. He makes this move so that he may learn the Soviet’s nuclear secrets. He travels to Leipzig to interview the scientists at the physics faculty of Karl Marx University. Will his cover be blown? Watch to find out. 

19. From Russia With Love 

From Russia With Love was the second of the now 25 sequels of James Bond. We all know James Bond, the famous fictional British Secret Service Agent who works for MI6, and his code is 007. He is always causing havoc in SPECTRE the international criminal organization.  

In this 1963 cold war movie, James bond is sent to assist someone who wants to escape and defect from the Soviet Union. The criminals are in hot pursuit as they try to revenge the death of one of them that was killed by Bond. Will he accomplish his mission and survive? Watch to find out. 

20. North By Northwest  

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

North By Northwest is a spy thriller film that was released in 1959. It is the story of an advertising agent who is mistaken for a person of interest by the agents of a Cold War enemy of the United States. This organization is interested in a guy that is bringing them government secrets, and they now think that the advertising guy is blocking their plan to smuggle the microfilm that has government secrets out of the country.   

They kidnap and torture him and set him up to die in a car crash, but he luckily survives. The innocent man is followed across the country as they try to kill him. How will he clear his name and prove that it was a case of mistaken identity? Watch to find out.  

 Check out the 30 iconic African American comedy movies.