The Cold War between the U.S and USSR lasted about 46 years from 1945 – 1991, and this specific War subgenre spawned quite a few films in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Almost every James Bond film during those two decades dealt with the Cold War, Russian spies and double agents were prevalent in The Manchurian Candidate (1962), The MacKintosh Man (1973) and Telefon (1977) and even Hitchcock got into the Cold War craze with North by Northwest (1959), Torn Curtain (1966) and Topaz (1969).
Then the 80’s happened. That’s when the Cold War subgenre exploded with countless variations of the subgenre. American good guys against Russian bad guys? Rocky IV (1985), Top Gun (1986), and Rambo III (1988). We need to escape from East Germany and the USSR! Night Crossing (1982), White Nights (1985) and Gotcha! (1985). We’re at war with the Soviets! The Day After (1983), Red Dawn (1984), and By Dawn’s Early Light (1990). And as the Cold War started to thaw…USA + USSR Buddy Films! Spies Like Us (1985), Red Heat (1988) and Company Business (1991).
Our full list of Cold War Films contains over 200 films from this period and covers other aspects of the Cold War including the Cuban Missile Crisis, McCarthyism, Korean War and more. You can view our full list of Cold War Films here.
As for the Top 10 List, we had a hard time picking only 10 favorite little seen Cold War gems and might expand the list to Top 20 in the future. For now, here are the honorable mentions that didn’t quite make the cut: Enigma (1983), White Nights (1985), Gotcha! (1985), Guilty by Suspicion (1991), and Atomic Blonde (2017). All of these films are worth checking out and cover some of the most well-known aspects of the Cold War including spies and espionage between the CIA and KGB, McCarthyism and the Red Scare of the 1950’s and the prominent role Germany played during the Cold War with spycraft within and between West Germany and East Germany.
For the main list, we settled on a mixture of little seen films from different aspects of the Cold War period. These films include some Dark & Black Comedies about the Cold War, typical espionage and spying between the USA and USSR and a few films about journalists trying to survive in Proxy Wars fought during the Cold War.
We have embedded a compilation video of our Top Cold War Films You Haven’t Seen and more details on these films can be found in the list below. Note: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
#10
Salvador
Plot: Second rate journalist tries to play both sides during Civil War in El Salvador…
KBZ’s Take: One of the lesser-known Oliver Stone films (despite being nominated for 2 Academy Awards), Salvador is not an unbiased film as it’s based on Stone’s Vietnam experiences. However, this is one of the better films (indirectly influenced by the Cold War), that shows a country in chaos. Once Woods and Belushi hook up with Savage though, you get a Thunderdome-type feeling that not all of them are leaving the country alive.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3ZU9EaJ
#9
Gulag
Plot: American sports reporter covering event in Russia is accused of spying and sent off to Siberia.
KBZ’s Take: If you ever wanted to know what life would be like in a Siberian Gulag, this film is for you. The film starts off as a spy drama but does an immediate right turn into a P.O.W. and survival drama film. And that’s a good thing as the Gulag conditions and prisoners escape plan inject suspense into this film that’s rarely found in a TV Movie. As a TV Movie from the 80’s, it’s very difficult to find, but it is definitely worth checking out.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3HvjKHM
#8
Barcelona
Plot: Two friends in Barcelona deal with relationship issues and anti-Americanism from the Barcelona community.
KBZ’s Take: One of a handful of films that shows opposing viewpoints of the US during the Cold War. Warning though – this movie is a talker with little to no action. Whit Stillman’s films have a ‘love it or hate it’ vibe similar to Woody Allena and Jim Jarmusch. Barcelona is the second in a trifecta of dialogue heavy films including Metropolitan (1990) and The Last Days of Disco (1998). Overall, it’s still a great film and worth watching if only to see the funny (and often clueless) musings by Chris Eigeman’s US naval officer.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3WAe9nO
Plot: Two middle class youths become spies for Russia.
KBZ’s Take: Very good spy film that shows how inexperienced young adults get more than they bargained for with the KGB espionage machine. Based on a true story, Penn and Hutton show how political disillusionment mixed with middle-class entitlement doesn’t often end well. The film excels once it gets into the spy game and the suspenseful scenes at Hutton’s government agency and subsequent interaction with the Russian embassy.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3XA3VoT
Plot: Son has to keep tricking his communist mother into believing that Berlin is still communist after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
KBZ’s Take: Very, very funny and heartwarming film about the lengths a son will go to keep up the illusion that communism still reigns in Berlin. Features many slapstick moments of capitalism settling in much to the detriment of Daniel Brühl’s character who struggles to keep up the communist façade.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/401yDIX
#5
Breach
Plot: Young agent assigned to spy on suspected Russian spy.
KBZ’s Take: For our money, this is one of Chris Cooper’s Top 3 roles. Another Cold War true story, Cooper’s Robert Hanssen shows the hubris often associated with these spies who think they’re too good to get caught. As with most spy thrillers, this film has suspenseful moments throughout and is a great lesser-know Cold War film to add to your queue.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/401LGdK
Plot: East Berlin residents monitored by GDR Secret Police.
KBZ’s Takee: Winner of the 2006 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, The Lives of Others excels in showing the dangers of the surveillance state. As a Cold War film, the tension is not created by separate entities and the threat of war but rather the residents against an increasingly corrupt and controlling state.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3H8chNh
#3
Anna
Plot: Female assassin is caught between both sides and only wants freedom.
KBZ’s Take: How much you like this film (we loved it!) will depend on how much you like Luc Besson films. This is trademark Besson with action and humor similar to his previous efforts including Léon: The Professional (1994) and Lucy (2004). Where this film diverges from other “female assassins who kick ass and fully recover within an hour after getting beaten to a bloody pulp” films, is the sympathetic backstory to the assassin in training. Despite the best efforts of the KGB and CIA to control her, you end up rooting for the video game-like body count she piles up to get her way.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3HrceOa
Plot: U.S Army Specialist runs underground crime ring at American army base in Germany.
KBZ’s Take: One of our favorite films and similar in spirt to Three Kings (2001) yet much, much darker. This film doesn’t fit into any one genre – it’s a black comedy, satire, caper and heist film, war drama and psychological thriller all rolled into one. This films really starts rolling once the new First Sergeant (Scott Glenn) shows up and he and Elwood (Joaquin Phoenix) escalate their feud.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3iVFaEI
Plot: Woman travels to war-torn Yugoslavia to find her missing journalist husband.
KBZ’s Take: This is the “best film with worst title” you’ll ever see. Why it’s named Harrison’s Flowers is anybody’s guess but this is one brutal war film. Set in the midst of the Yugoslavian War, the film depicts the horror of ethnic genocide throughout the ravaged country. It also is the best film that shows how difficult it is to escape from a war zone even under the neutral banner of the press. This is an A+ film with an excellent cast including Andie MacDowell, Adrien Brody, Brendan Gleeson, David Strathairn, Elias Koteas and Gerard Butler.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3Jd7LQf
