7 Best Cold War movies you must-watch

Cold War is the open yet restricted rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies that developed after World War II. Instead of weapons, The Cold War was restricted to political, economic, and propaganda fronts, which became a very important backstory for impressive number of films.

If spying, agencies and covert missions is your genre, then here’s a list of movies that you’d absolutely love:

Dr. Strangelove (1964)

Starring Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, and Slim Pickens, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, more commonly known simply as Dr. Strangelove, is a 1964 black comedy film that satirizes the Cold War fears of a nuclear conflict between the Soviet and the US. Directed, produced and written by Stanley Kubrick, the greatest and the most influential filmmaker of the 20th century. ‘Dr. Strangelove’, is regarded as one of the finest pieces of cinematic works of all time. According to the plot, an unexpected dilemma arises when an American official deploys a bomber on the Soviets. 

The Third Man (1949)

The story is set in postwar Vienna where American Holly Martins (Cotten) arrives to accept a job with his friend Harry Lime (Welles), only to learn about his demise. Viewing his death as suspicious, Martins chooses to stay in Vienna and take the investigation in his own hands. Ranked the Greatest English movie of all time, unconventional use of camera, lightning and exceptional cast including Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard, has made sure that the audience not only sees the movie but feels it. 

The Spy who came in from the Cold (1965)

The story revolves around Alec Leamas, a skilled British Intelligence Officer, who gets assigned a task to go to East Germany and follow a high-ranking executive for information. Things go topsy turvy when he is recruited and eventually discovered as a detractor. The movie features Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, and Oskar Werner stars in crucial roles and their impeccable way of portraying the right emotion behind each scene is what made the movie a classic.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

With Gary Oldman as George Smiley, with Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ciarán Hinds, David Dencik and Kathy Burke in a supporting role, the story revolves around a retired intelligence officer who’s called back to pull out the mole working for the Soviets. The impeccable use of camera and stellar performances made this film dynamic in its own way. 

The Hunt for Red October (1990)

The Hunt for Red October is a submarine spy thriller movie set during the late Cold War era. The plot is about a Soviet naval captain who wishes to join the United States with his officers and take with him Soviet Navy’s newest and most advanced ballistic missile submarine, Red October. A CIA analyst realizes his motive but he has to prove it to his navy in order to stop any violent confrontation that can happen. Starring Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, James Earl Jones, and Sam Neil, the movie gives an idea of how the Cold War clouded people’s morality and covertness and constant mind games to pull the other one down became the new normal. 

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Bridge of Spies is a historical drama with Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Amy Ryan, and Alan Alda featuring in crucial roles. Set during the Cold War, the film tells the story of an insurance lawyer James B. Donovan, who was given the responsibility to negotiate with the Soviet for the release of Francis Gary Powers, a U.S. Air Force pilot whose U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960. For the exchange, US decided to free Rudolf Abel, a convicted Soviet KGB spy whom Donovan represented at trial. 

The Lives of Others (2006)

Starring Ulrich Mühe as Stasi Captain Gerd Wiesler, Ulrich Tukur as his superior Anton Grubitz, Sebastian Koch as the playwright Georg Dreyman, and Martina Gedeck as Dreyman’s lover, a prominent actress named Christa-Maria Sieland, the movie revolves around the extent the East Germany secret police could go to monitor the residents of East Berlin and invade their personal space in the name of national defense.