Cold war movies and TV shows
The list contains the best, new and most relevant cold war movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out realistic, serious, suspenseful, tense, suspense and political films and TV shows about / with cold war, spy, espionage, cold war era, politics, military, dialogue, undercover, state affairs and covert operation plots mostly in Thriller, Drama and History genres shot in USA, UK, Germany and other countries.
1113
TOP 10 movies tagged as cold war: Fail Safe (2000), Farewell (2009), Bridge of Spies (2015), The Company (2007), Thirteen Days (2000), The Bedford Incident (1965), K-19: The Widowmaker (2002), The Good Shepherd (2006), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), The Lives of Others (2006).
Best films
New films
| Tetris (2023) | 7.4 | |
| GDR (2024) | 6.3 | |
| Metronom (2022) | 6.6 | |
| A Spy Among Friends (2022) | 7.2 | |
| Guardians of the Formula (2023) | 8.0 |
List of cold war movies
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min.
Story:
Cold War tensions climb to a fever pitch when a U.S. bomber is accidentally ordered to drop a nuclear warhead on Moscow.
Style:
captivating, tense, serious, suspenseful, political ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
cold war, nuclear threat, nuclear holocaust, nuclear war, moral dilemma, politics, military life, disaster, danger, military, race against time, chaos ...
Time:
90s
Place:
russia
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 113 min.
Story:
Engaging, emotional and riveting, FAREWELL is an intricate and highly intelligent thriller pulled from the pages of history— about an ordinary man thrust into the biggest theft of Soviet information of the Cold War. Ronald Reagan called this piece ...
Style:
realistic, serious, tense, suspenseful, political ...
Plot:
cold war, espionage, iron curtain, undercover, double agent, danger, betrayal, state affairs, dishonesty, working undercover, kgb, father son relationship ...
Time:
year 2009, 80s, 20th century
Place:
soviet union, france, russia, ussr
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: USA, India, Germany
Duration: 142 min.
Story:
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union captures U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers after shooting down his U-2 spy plane. Sentenced to 10 years in prison, Powers' only hope is New York lawyer James Donovan, recruited by a CIA operative to negotiate ...
Style:
suspense, historical drama, dramatic, period piece, intense ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
cold war, espionage, lawyer, spy, cia, agent, soviet spy, courtroom, politics, berlin wall, court, negotiation ...
Time:
year 1960, year 2015, 2010s, year 1957, 1950s ...
Place:
east germany, berlin germany, soviet union, new york, west germany ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, History, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 48 min.
TV show
Story:
Real-life figures from the Cold War era mix with a fictional story based on a group of CIA operatives and their counterparts in the KGB, MI6, and the Mossad.
Style:
epic, captivating, tense, bleak, suspenseful ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
cold war, spy, cia, undercover, mole, politics, intrigue, secret lover, suspicion, double life, state affairs, betrayal ...
Time:
50s, 80s, 60s, 70s, 20th century
Place:
europe, germany, soviet union, cuba, west berlin west germany ...
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 145 min.
Story:
Dramatisation of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the nuclear standoff with the USSR sparked by the discovery by the Americans of missle bases established on the Soviet allied island of Cuba. Shown from the perspective of the US President, John F Kennedy, ...
Style:
political, tense, suspenseful, thought provoking, disturbing ...
Plot:
cold war, politics, spy, president, diplomacy, political intrigue, un, race against time, nuclear, cold war era, conspiracy, cuban missile crisis ...
Time:
y2k, year 2000, 60s, 20th century, year 1962
Place:
cuba, ussr, north america, the philippines, usa ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story:
Richard Widmark plays a hardened cold-war warrior and captain of the American destroyer USS Bedford. Sidney Poitier is a reporter given permission to interview the captain during a routine patrol. Poitier gets more than he bargained for when the ...
Style:
suspenseful, exciting, atmospheric, political, realistic ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
cold war, submarine, war, navy, nuclear explosion, reporter, u.s. navy, confrontation, propaganda, battlefield, military, torpedo ...
Time:
60s
Place:
greenland, atlantic ocean, russia
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: USA, UK, Germany, Canada
Duration: 138 min.
Story:
When Russia's first nuclear submarine malfunctions on its maiden voyage, the crew must race to save the ship and prevent a nuclear disaster.
Style:
suspense, suspenseful, realistic, intense, harsh ...
Audience:
manly, boys' night
Plot:
cold war, submarine, navy, nuclear submarine, radiation, courage, underwater, radiation sickness, nuclear, radioactivity, sea, sea disaster ...
Time:
60s, year 1989, year 2002, 20th century, 80s ...
Place:
soviet union, nova scotia, russia, moscow russia, atlantic ocean ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA, France
Duration: 167 min.
Story:
Edward Wilson, the only witness to his father's suicide and member of the Skull and Bones Society while a student at Yale, is a morally upright young man who values honor and discretion, qualities that help him to be recruited for a career in ...
Style:
tense, sexy, suspense, political, factual ...
Plot:
cold war, espionage, spy, double agent, cia, politics, corruption, conspiracy, mentor, secret agent, patriotism, invasion ...
Time:
year 1960, 1940s, 20th century, year 2006, year 1961 ...
Place:
cuba, usa, london, berlin germany, washington d.c. ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, France, Germany, USA, Hungary, Turkey
Duration: 127 min.
Story:
In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet mole within his former colleagues at the heart of MI6.
Style:
confusing, neo noir, bleak, period piece, political ...
Audience:
boys' night, adult
Plot:
cold war, espionage, spy, secret service, mole, british intelligence, investigation, double agent, kgb, government agency, secret agent, undercover ...
Time:
70s, year 2011, 2010s, 20th century
Place:
london, england, europe, istanbul turkey, hungary ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Germany, France
Duration: 137 min.
Story:
A tragic love story set in East Berlin with the backdrop of an undercover Stasi controlled culture. Stasi captain Wieler is ordered to follow author Dreyman and plunges deeper and deeper into his life until he reaches the threshold of doubting the ...
Style:
gloomy, political thriller, sincere, political, emotional ...
Audience:
date night, adult
Plot:
surveillance, cold war, spy, communism, berlin wall, stasi, politics, redemption, espionage, iron curtain, life philosophy, voyeurism ...
Time:
80s, 20th century, year 1989, 2000s, 90s ...
Place:
east germany, germany, berlin germany, europe, soviet union ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story:
In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6's echelons.
Style:
talky, clever, serious, political thriller, contemplative ...
Plot:
cold war, spy, espionage, secret service, double agent, book, investigation, betrayal, kgb, mole, spy thriller, british intelligence ...
Time:
20th century, 70s
Place:
london, england, britain, europe, paris france ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 135 min.
Story:
A new Soviet nuclear missile sub (a Boomer) heading out on her maiden voyage that is being tracked by a Los Angeles class American submarine suddenly goes silent and "disappears". This focuses the attention of both U.S. Intelligence and ...
Style:
suspense, political thriller, political, exciting, clever ...
Audience:
boys' night, manly
Plot:
submarine, cold war, navy, espionage, spy, nuclear threat, politics, cold war era, water, cia, nuclear submarine, torpedo ...
Time:
80s, year 1990, year 1984, 20th century
Place:
russia, washington d.c., usa, atlantic ocean, maine ...
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 127 min.
Story:
The film portrays a fictional nuclear war between NATO forces and the Warsaw Pact that rapidly escalates into a full scale exchange between the United States and the Soviet Union, focusing on the residents of Lawrence, Kansas, and Kansas City, ...
Style:
futuristic, harsh, apocalyptic, serious, psychotronic ...
Plot:
cold war, nuclear war, apocalypse, catastrophe, nuclear explosion, disaster, nuclear bomb, nuclear holocaust, post apocalypse, dystopia, radiation, nuclear threat ...
Time:
80s, future, distant future, 20th century
Place:
usa, kansas, soviet union, kansas city, ussr ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller, War
Country: USA, Germany, Canada
Duration: 124 min.
Story:
When the president of Russia suddenly dies, a man whose politics are virtually unknown succeeds him. The change in political leaders sparks paranoia among American CIA officials, so CIA director Bill Cabot recruits a young analyst to supply insight ...
Style:
suspense, exciting, political, political thriller, tense ...
Audience:
kids, teens
Plot:
cold war, terrorism, nuclear bomb, espionage, spy, cia, nuclear explosion, terrorist, nuclear war, secret agent, terrorist plot, nuclear threat ...
Time:
90s, 70s, 2000s, 20th century, year 2002 ...
Place:
maryland, russia, israel, washington d.c., chechnya ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 109 min.
Story:
This espionage thriller represents a landmark in spy movies introducing the sly, dry intelligence agent Harry Palmer. The story, centers on Palmer's investigation into British Intelligence security. He's soon enmeshed in a world of ...
Style:
atmospheric, enigmatic, suspenseful, suspense, exciting ...
Plot:
cold war, espionage, spy, conspiracy, double agent, brainwashing, undercover, politics, british, investigation, political intrigue, secret agent ...
Time:
60s, 20th century
Place:
albania, london, england, europe, scotland yard ...
Is relevant?
28K
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
Because of a technical defect an American bomber team mistakenly orders the destruction of Moscow. The President of the United States has but little time to prevent an atomic catastrophe from occurring. Director Sidney Lumet gives an atmospheric ...
Style:
tense, political, political thriller, realistic, bleak ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
cold war, nuclear holocaust, nuclear war, politics, nuclear threat, u.s. air force, military, nuclear explosion, atomic bomb, bomber, nightmare, nuclear bomb ...
Time:
20th century, 60s, year 1967
Place:
russia, new york, washington d.c., usa, moscow russia ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 116 min.
Story:
At the height of the Cold War, a mysterious criminal organization plans to use nuclear weapons and technology to upset the fragile balance of power between the United States and Soviet Union. CIA agent Napoleon Solo and KGB agent Illya Kuryakin are ...
Style:
stylized, witty, humorous, action comedy, clever ...
Audience:
chick flick, teens
Plot:
spy, cold war, espionage, secret service, reluctant partners, culture clash, cia, cia agent, undercover, chase, secret agent, mission ...
Time:
60s, year 1963, year 2015, 2010s, 1900s ...
Place:
italy, germany, london, rome italy, east germany ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
1985 serves as the backdrop to the final showdown of the Cold War when Sandy and her partner Jeanne Vertefeuille vowed to find the mole that would turn out to be the most notorious traitor in US History, Aldrich Ames. Sandy is in a race against time ...
Style:
serious, suspenseful, tense, realistic, political
Plot:
spy, cold war, espionage, cold war era, cia, secret agent, communism, double agent, investigation, state affairs, government agency, dishonesty ...
Time:
80s, 1880s
Place:
usa, soviet union, russia, ussr
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
122K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min.
TV show
Story:
Set during the Cold War period in the 1980s, The Americans is the story of Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple in the suburbs of Washington D.C. and their neighbor, Stan Beeman, an FBI ...
Style:
exciting, captivating, sexy, realistic, atmospheric ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
cold war, espionage, spy, undercover, working undercover, mission, top secret, kgb, mole, government agency, couple relations, investigation ...
Time:
80s, 2010s, 20th century
Place:
washington d.c., soviet union, usa, ussr
Is relevant?
16K
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
The haunted Captain of a Soviet submarine holds the fate of the world in his hands. Forced to leave his family behind, he is charged with leading a covert mission cloaked in mystery.
Style:
suspense, tense, serious, suspenseful, political thriller ...
Plot:
submarine, nuclear submarine, military, cold war, nuclear threat, navy, underwater, nuclear missile, military life, mission gone awry, danger, sea disaster ...
Time:
20th century, 60s, year 1968
Place:
soviet union, ussr
Is relevant?
Genre: Adventure, Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 193 min.
Story:
A chronicle of the original Mercury astronauts in the formation of America's space program: Alan Shepherd, the first American in space; Gus Grissom, the benighted astronaut for whom nothing works out as planned; John Glenn, the straight-arrow ...
Style:
epic, inspirational, sincere, factual, captivating ...
Audience:
family outing
Plot:
cold war, astronaut, nasa, u.s. air force, aviation, test pilot, space travel, space exploration, space race, politics, space program, spacecraft ...
Time:
1940s, 1950s, 20th century, year 1953, year 1960 ...
Place:
washington d.c., florida, australia, houston texas, usa ...
Is relevant?
Genre: History, Sport, Thriller
Country: Poland, USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story:
During 1962's Cuban missile crisis, a troubled math genius finds himself drafted to play in a U.S.-Soviet chess match -- and a deadly game of espionage.
Style:
political, suspense, clever, realistic, inspirational ...
Plot:
cold war, chess, contests and competitions, competition, espionage, international crisis, crisis, rivalry, fear, state affairs, politics, mission ...
Time:
20th century, year 1962, 60s
Place:
warsaw poland, usa, soviet union, ussr
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min.
Story:
A U.S. Army general alerts the president of a planned military coup against him.
Style:
political thriller, tense, political, black and white, suspense ...
Plot:
cold war, conspiracy, politics, u.s. air force, white house, terrorism, president, coup d'etat, u.s. president, betrayal, mistress, espionage ...
Time:
60s, 20th century, future, 70s
Place:
austin texas, russia, texas, spain, america ...
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
British agent Alec Leamas refuses to come in from the cold war during the 1960s, choosing to face another mission, which may prove to be his final one.
Style:
political, black and white, suspense, grim, realistic ...
Plot:
cold war, spy, espionage, berlin wall, british intelligence, iron curtain, double agent, spy thriller, literary, politics, great ending, secret agent ...
Time:
60s, year 1965, 20th century
Place:
east germany, berlin germany, london, england, persia ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, Sport, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
American chess champion Bobby Fischer prepares for a legendary match-up against Russian Boris Spassky.
Style:
realistic, inspirational, captivating, political, factual ...
Plot:
chess, cold war, biopic, genius, mental illness, politics, destiny, obsession, eccentricity, rivalry, contests and competitions, anti semitism ...
Time:
70s, 1950s, 20th century, year 1951, year 1959 ...
Place:
new york, canada, former yugoslavia, israel, reykjavik iceland ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 59 min.
TV show
Story:
London 1972. When a defecting KGB officer, Arkady Malinov, reveals Operation Glass, a devastating Soviet plot that could change the course of the Cold War, Daddy, the head of MI5, assembles a secret team to investigate. As the Soviets awaken a list ...
Style:
suspenseful, stylized, tense, clever, atmospheric ...
Audience:
family friendly
Plot:
espionage, cold war, undercover, twists and turns, spy, conspiracy, government agency, intelligence, conservative, spy thriller, cold war era, covert operation ...
Time:
70s, 20th century
Place:
england, soviet union, ussr, london
Is relevant?
31K
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 136 min.
Story:
The Soviets have developed a revolutionary new jet fighter, called "Firefox". Naturally, the British are worried that the jet will be used as a first-strike weapon, as rumours say that the jet is indetectable on radar. They send ex-Vietnam ...
Style:
suspense, exciting, suspenseful, funny, cult classic ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
cold war, spy, fighter plane, behind enemy lines, fighter pilot, chase, espionage, aerial combat, fighter jet, aviation, military, scientist ...
Time:
80s, year 1982
Place:
soviet union, russia, moscow russia, england, vietnam ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: Germany
Duration: 42 min.
TV show
Story:
A gripping coming-of-age story set against the real culture wars and political events of Germany in the 1980s. The drama follows Martin Rauch as the 24 year-old East Germany native is pulled from the world as he knows it and sent to the West as an ...
Style:
realistic, tense, serious, suspenseful, suspense ...
Audience:
family friendly
Plot:
cold war, espionage, stasi, spy, secret police, german soldier, double agent, working undercover, state affairs, rivalry, undercover, military ...
Time:
year 1983, 20th century, 80s
Place:
germany, east germany, west berlin west germany, german democratic republic, west germany ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, History, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, USA, Czech Republic
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
Cold War spy Greville Wynne and his Russian source try to put an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Style:
suspense, tense, captivating, powerful, action drama ...
Plot:
spy, cold war, russian spy, cuban missile crisis, counter intelligence, husband wife sex, cold war era, agent, prospector, spy hero, reconnaissance, politics ...
Time:
2020s, 1950s, 60s, year 1962, year 1964 ...
Place:
germany, berlin germany, cuba, langley virginia, moscow russia ...
Is relevant?
120K
Genre: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
High School student David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) has a talent for hacking. But while trying to hack into a computer system to play unreleased video games, he unwittingly taps into the Defense Department's war computer and initiates a ...
Style:
tense, cyber, futuristic, suspenseful, political ...
Audience:
teens, kids, family outing, teen drama
Plot:
cold war, hacker, computer genius, computer hacker, computer, chess, computer cracker, nuclear threat, hacking, artificial intelligence, nuclear war, computer system ...
Time:
80s, 20th century, year 1983
Place:
seattle, oregon, ussr, washington state, usa ...
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
