WarGames (4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review)

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

In the 1983 film WarGames, Matthew Broderick was not yet a household name, but he played a part he was born to play. Broderick is a wise-cracking, videogame obsessed teenager who is at the forefront of the burgeoning home computing and hacking scene. Trying to get an early look at a big computer gaming company’s forthcoming release he uses his computer rig to dial into all the local Seattle-area computers searching for their server and inadvertently logs into the NORAD computer system known as WOPR. Thinking the list of games meant to teach the computer’s advanced AI system are the gaming company’s, he launches the Global Thermo-Nuclear War simulation. Joshua, the AI, escalates the game, even when Broderick logs out.

Meanwhile, back at NORAD, the higher-ups do not realize it is a simulation. They are all fooled into believing the Soviets are insane enough to launch an all-out nuclear assault on the United States without provocation and are readying a counterstrike. Broderick and his girlfriend, Ally Sheedy, on the run now from the US government for hacking, must find the scientist who invented Joshua to get it to stop playing the game.

Despite its convoluted journey to the screen going through a number of script revisions, the first scriptwriting team being fired and rehired, the original director being fired and replaced with John Badham, WarGames turned out to be one of the most thrilling and enjoyable Cold War era films to come out of the 1980s.

Broderick would later turn this wisecracking, know better than all the grownups character into even more box office gold with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Here, alongside Dabney Coleman and Ally Sheedy, he shines. The film is equal part teens sci-fi adventure and cautionary tale for warmongering adults. This helps is cross generational lines and also keeps it relevant to today.

The Video

Shout! Factory lists WarGames as coming from a “new 4K scan of the original camera negative.” Given how good the film looks on this 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release that is not a surprise. The 1.85:1 HEVC 2160p (4K UHD) Dolby Vision encodement has HDR10 metadata showing MaxLL of 1056 nits and MaxFALL of 813 nits.

The Dolby Vision HDR grading does not add an excessive amount of brightness although it does vastly improve the contrast and colors in the film. In the scene of Matthew Broderick playing Galaga in the arcade we can see his face reflected on an inky black screen as the arcade game graphics ‘pop’ with brilliant colors and specular highlights. There are other reference scenes as well, such as when Broderick and Sheedy first arrive at the island. We see the dark blue sky with lights that ‘pop’ on the horizon.

The film grain structure on the 4K disc is natural as well. There are some variations in granularity that are due to light levels and age of the source. There are also slight scratches and hairs at edges few and far between.

The Audio

WarGames comes with two lossless DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks. One is 5.1 and one is 2.0 stereo. You can take your pick with either of these because they are both first-rate. The 5.1 mix uses the surround channels well. There is a good balance of sound, and the surround channels have excellent atmospheric effects, especially during the NORAD sequences. Low end frequencies do not give up the “booj” but are still chunky.

The 2.0 mix does not drop off in quality although the dialogue is not as distinct. The stereo imaging is wide and there is very good clarity and separation of the direct sounds and foley effects.

The Supplements

Shout! Factory includes a crew commentary for the film, which is always interesting. Each of the featurettes (all on the Blu-ray only) is fascinating to watch particularly the Loading WarGames featurette.

• Audio Commentary with Director John Badham and Writers Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes
• Loading WarGames (1080p; 00:45:05)
• Inside NORAD: Cold War Fortress (1080p; 00:10:54)
• Attack of the Hackers (1080p; 00:13:35)
• Tic-Tac-Toe: A True Story (1080p; 00:04:30)
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 00:02:22)

The Final Assessment

The quaint 1980s tech in the film may elicit a chuckle, regardless WarGames still holds up after all these years as a film. The WarGames movie has never looked or sounded better than it does in this new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo release from Shout! Factory. Highly Recommended.

WarGames is out on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack December 20, 2022 from Shout! Factory

• Rating Certificate: PG
• Studios & Distributors: United Artists | Sherwood Productions | Shout! Factory
• Director: John Badham
• Written By: Lawrence Lasker | Walter F. Parkes | Walon Green (uncredited)
• Run Time: 113 Mins.
• Street Date: 20 December 2022
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Video Format: HEVC 2160p (4K UHD)
• HDR Format: Dolby Vision (HDR10 Compatible)
• HDR10 Metadata:
  • MaxLL: 1056 nits
  • MaxFALL: 813 nits
• Primary Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1
• Secondary Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo
• Subtitles: English SDH