The Cold War was a time in history that stretched from 1945 (the end of World War II), to when Russia officially acknowledged the end of the Soviet Union in 1991. It was a few decades of proxy wars, spies, industrial and political espionage, and a variety of covert operations that evolved during a period of a war that was unconventional.There were more than a few movies, books, and other types of media that based their storyline on a Cold War setting. For those that want to experience those days or remember them, here are a few of the best Cold War spy thrillers.
7 The Living Daylights (1984)
This could just be a string of Bond movies, but the one that best reflects the more realistic and therefore dark side of the Cold War when it came to both espionage and politics was The Living Daylights. The Bond movies of this time period were meant to cleanse the viewer's palate after years of goofy Roger Moore Bond films, and although those older films did have their charm, they were hard to take seriously.
The plot revolves around the defection of a political figure who had to first escape from his Soviet handlers before coming under the protection of the British government, and James Bond is sent to help him. Not everything is what it seems, however, and the twisted plot leads through several regional Cold War strongholds that include East Germany, Austria, and Afghanistan.
6 Marathon Man (1976)
.jpeg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
The 1970s was an interesting time in the world of espionage. With World Ward II not that far behind, plenty of the intrigue also included Nazis, making this as much a horror-thriller as a Cold War espionage film.
Thomas Levy, the protagonist, is unwittingly thrust into the world of spies and secrets as he's studying for his history degree. His brother is killed while acting as a government agent trading diamonds for information as to where other Nazi war criminals are currently located. The story takes some impressive twists and turns before the story comes to a conclusion that leaves no loose ends.
5 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011)
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
The usual complaint about this movie is that it's too slow, but the fact is that Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a more realistic depiction of the work that goes into being a spy, including the internal politics of an intelligence organization. More of a detective story or a psychological thriller with very little action, the movie is set in the 1970s and revolves around a mole selling information to a KGB source from a previous operation.
The story is based on John le Carré's 1974 novel and in both versions, the main character is George Smiley, a spy that was forced into semi-retirement after a previous operation went wrong, or at least it seemed that way. Smiley is asked to return and help find the traitor in Control, the word usually used to refer to the intelligence organization at the center of the story.
4 Atomic Blonde (2017)
Most Cold War spy thrillers feature British spies or western locations, and here's a unique offering that has a distinctly American take on the beginning of the end of the Cold War. This movie is actually a live-action version of a graphic novel called Coldest City, written by Antony Johnson and released in 2012.
Everyone has more than one face in this dark thriller that takes place on both sides of Berlin in the days before the wall came down. Lorraine Broughton, who seems to be an MI6 agent, is called in to find a compromised list of all the spies, on either side, working in Berlin. By the time all of the loose ends are tied up, it seems that Broughten was always a CIA agent who feigned working for both the KGB and MI6.
3 The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
This was remade in 2004 under the same title, but with the Cold War long gone by that time and the Korean War and the Cuban Missile Crisis had long faded in the public's memory, it didn't have the same impact. The focus here is on the ultimate Cold War weapon, the sleeper agent, or a spy that didn't even know they were a spy.
Korean War veteran Raymond Shaw is brainwashed by Soviet agents when his army unit is captured and taken to the People's Republic of China as POWs. The war ends and they are returned home, but Shaw is an assassin under the watch of local spies and conspiracy theorists, waiting to be activated. Unlike so many other films about the Cold War, this one reaches beyond the Soviet Union to include other players in what was a global phenomenon.
2 Dr. Strangelove (1964)
There were a lot of apocalyptic and dystopian visions of the future on television and in movies in the 1960s, with radioactive weapons or malevolent aliens hiding around every celluloid corner. Dr. Strangelove, which revolves around the impending prediction of a nuclear holocaust, is a satire of the genre that also manages to take the subject matter seriously.
Peter Sellers gets top billing here for playing no less than three distinct roles, and with only costuming and makeup to guide him. He successfully portrays the clueless President Merkin Muffley, Captain Lionel Mandrake, and the titular character, who it's revealed later is a former Nazi.
1 Red Sparrow (2018)
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
The word "kompromat" used to be associated with the Soviet Union, but events of recent years have returned the word to common use. A politician or other public figure is lured into a compromising position that is meticulously recorded, and that information is used to coerce or bribe that person.
The movie is based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Jason Matthews, a former member of the CIA who also advised the film producers. The film doesn't only depict the uncaring and clinical world of espionage but also the coercion involved; the main character Dominika Egorova is a former ballerina forced into the life after a career-ending injury to care for her sick mother.