Entertainment

The Best Cold War Movies  

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List Rules Only movies that take place during the Cold War

A list of the best cold war movies ever made, ranked by movie fans with film trailers when available. This cold war movie list is ordered by popularity, so only the greatest movies about the cold war are at the top of the list. If there are any great movies about the cold war you believe we missed, please feel free to add them to the list yourselves. The films on this list are the most famous cold war movies of all time, so use it to find some movies that you haven't seen already. Click on these cold war movie titles for more information about the films if you'd like.The list you're viewing is made up of cold war films like The Iron Giant, The Hunt For Red October, and Rocky 4.This list answers the questions, "What are the best cold war movies?" and "What is the greatest cold war movie of all time?" Various bits of information are included with these popular cold war movies, and these Cold War spy movies, such as who directed them, when they were released and who starred in the films. Whether you're watching these cold war movies on DVD, Blu-ray or streaming, these good cold war movies can be enjoyed no matter what.
1
The Hunt for Red October is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
Alec Baldwin, Sean Connery, Tim Curry
The Hunt for Red October is a 1990 American submarine spy-thriller film directed by John McTiernan, based on the 1984 novel by Tom Clancy. In November 1984, the Soviet Union's best submarine ...more
2
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Lear... is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
James Earl Jones, Peter Sellers, George C. Scott
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, more commonly known as Dr. Strangelove, is a 1964 political satire black comedy film that satirizes fears of a nuclear ...more
3
The Manchurian Candidate is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
Frank Sinatra, Angela Lansbury, Janet Leigh
The Manchurian Candidate is a 1962 American Cold War suspense thriller directed by John Frankenheimer that stars Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey and Janet Leigh and co-stars Angela Lansbury, ...more
4
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Gary Oldman
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a 2011 espionage film directed by Tomas Alfredson. The screenplay was written by Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan, based on the 1974 novel of the same name by ...more
5
The Third Man is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
louiskasatkin added Orson Welles, Trevor Howard, Joseph Cotten
The Third Man is a 1949 British film noir, directed by Carol Reed and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. It is considered one of the greatest films of all ...more
6
The Lives of Others is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
Ulrich Tukur, Ulrich Mühe, Martina Gedeck
The Lives of Others is a 2006 German drama film, marking the feature film debut of filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, about the monitoring of East Berlin by agents of the Stasi, the ...more
7
Thirteen Days is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Chip Esten
Thirteen Days is a 2000 American historical drama-thriller film directed by Roger Donaldson Kevin Costner stars, with Bruce Greenwood featured as President John F. Kennedy, Steven Culp as ...more
8
From Russia with Love is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
wiabux added Sean Connery, Robert Shaw, Daniela Bianchi
From Russia with Love is the second James Bond film made by Eon Productions and the second to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1963, the film was produced by ...more
9
Red Dawn is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
Charlie Sheen, Patrick Swayze, Lea Thompson
Red Dawn is a 1984 American film directed by John Milius and co-written by Milius and Kevin Reynolds. It stars Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Charlie Sheen, and Jennifer Grey. ...more
10
The Spy Who Came in from the C... is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Robert Hardy
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is a 1965 British Cold War spy film directed by Martin Ritt and starring Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, and Oskar Werner. Based on the 1963 novel of the same ...more
11
Fail Safe is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
kingbee63 added Henry Fonda, Walter Matthau, Larry Hagman
Fail-Safe is a 1964 Cold thriller film directed by Sidney Lumet, based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler. The film features performances by veteran actors ...more
12
North by Northwest is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
Milo added Cary Grant, Alfred Hitchcock, Eva Marie Saint
North by Northwest is a 1959 American spy thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. The screenplay was written by Ernest Lehman, who ...more
13
Crimson Tide is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
Denzel Washington, Viggo Mortensen, Gene Hackman
Crimson Tide is a 1995 American submarine film directed by Tony Scott. On a U.S. nuclear missile sub, a young First Officer (Denzel Washington) stages a mutiny, to prevent his trigger happy ...more
14
WarGames is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
Matthew Broderick, William H. Macy, Ally Sheedy
WarGames is a 1983 American science-fiction film written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes and directed by John Badham. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, and ...more
15
Seven Days in May is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
Kirk Douglas, Ava Gardner, Burt Lancaster
Seven Days in May is a 1964 drama-romance film written by Fletcher Knebel, Charles W. Bailey II and Rod Serling and directed by John Frankenheimer.
16
Good bye, Lenin! is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
Daniel Brühl, Chulpan Khamatova, Florian Lukas
Good Bye, Lenin! is a 2003 German tragicomedy film. Directed by Wolfgang Becker, the cast includes Daniel Brühl, Katrin Saß, Chulpan Khamatova, and Maria Simon. Most scenes were shot ...more
17
Charlie Wilson's War is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
alastairjmcrawford added Julia Roberts, Amy Adams, Tom Hanks
Charlie Wilson's War is a 2007 American biographical comedy-drama film, recounting the true story of U.S. Congressman Charlie Wilson who partnered with CIA operative Gust Avrakotos to launch ...more
18
Top Gun is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
Tom Cruise, Meg Ryan, Val Kilmer
Top Gun is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott, and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, in association with Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim ...more
19
The Ipcress File is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
Michael Caine, Sue Lloyd, Gordon Jackson
The Ipcress File is a 1965 British espionage film directed by Sidney J. Furie, starring Michael Caine and featuring Guy Doleman and Nigel Green. The screenplay by Bill Canaway and James Doran ...more
20
No Way Out is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
MejaEhrenström added Brad Pitt, Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman
No Way Out is a 1987 thriller film. It stars Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, and Sean Young. Will Patton, Howard Duff, George Dzundza, Jason Bernard, Fred Thompson, and Iman appear in supporting ...more
21
The Bedford Incident is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
Donald Sutherland, Sidney Poitier, Richard Widmark
The Bedford Incident is a 1965 Anglo-American Cold War film starring Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier, and co-produced by Richard Widmark. The cast also features Eric Portman, James MacArthur, ...more
22
Rocky IV is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
Sylvester Stallone, James Brown, Mr. T
Rocky IV is a 1985 American sports film written and directed by Sylvester Stallone, who also starred in the film. The film co-stars Dolph Lundgren, Burt Young, Talia Shire, Carl Weathers, Tony ...more
23
Firefox is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
Clint Eastwood, Nigel Hawthorne, John Ratzenberger
Firefox is a 1982 U.S. action film produced, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. It is based upon the 1977 novel of the same name by Craig Thomas. Though the film was set in Russia forcing ...more
24
The Fourth Protocol is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
batmanssw added Pierce Brosnan, Michael Caine, Ned Beatty
The Fourth Protocol is a 1987 British Cold War spy film featuring Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan, based on the novel The Fourth Protocol by Frederick Forsyth.
25
Ice Station Zebra is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list The Best Cold War Movies
Jim Brown, Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine
Ice Station Zebra is a 1968 suspense film directed by John Sturges, starring Rock Hudson, Patrick McGoohan, Ernest Borgnine, and Jim Brown. The screenplay by Alistair MacLean, Douglas Heyes, ...more