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, political, suspense and tense films and TV shows about / with cold war, spy, espionage, politics, state affairs, undercover, military, secret agent, danger and international relations plots mostly in Thriller, Drama and History genres shot in USA, UK, Germany and other countries.
cold war
 930
cold war movies
TOP 10 movies tagged as cold war: Farewell (2009), The Bedford Incident (1965), The Company (2007), Fail Safe (2000), Bridge of Spies (2015), The Good Shepherd (2006), Thirteen Days (2000), K-19: The Widowmaker (2002), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979).

List of cold war movies

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 6.9
 7K
Farewell (2009)
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, spy, iron curtain, double agent, undercover, dishonesty, danger, state affairs, betrayal, working undercover, kgb, father son relationship ...
Time: year 2009, 20th century, 80s
Place: france, soviet union, russia, ussr
Is relevant ?
The Bedford Incident (1965)
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: exciting, suspenseful, atmospheric, political, suspense ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: cold war, submarine, navy, war, battlefield, military, confrontation, u.s. navy, reporter, propaganda, world war two, nuclear ...
Time: 60s
Place: greenland, atlantic ocean
Is relevant ?
 7.7
 5K
The Company (2007)
Genre: Drama, History, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 286 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: captivating, tense, bleak, suspenseful, epic ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: cold war, cia, spy, mole, politics, intrigue, suspicion, double life, state affairs, betrayal, power relations, danger ...
Time: 50s, 70s, 60s, 20th century, 80s
Place: germany, europe, cuba, hungary, moscow russia ...
Is relevant ?
 7.4
 7K
Fail Safe (2000)
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: tense, captivating, serious, suspenseful, political ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: cold war, nuclear threat, aviation, moral dilemma, nuclear holocaust, politics, military life, disaster, danger, military, race against time, chaos ...
Time: 90s
Place: russia
Is relevant ?
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espionage movies
2457
spy movies
spy
3090
spies movies
327
 7.6
 326K
Bridge of Spies (2015)
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, realistic, dramatic, intense, historical drama ...
Audience: teens
Plot: cold war, lawyer, espionage, spy, cia, justice, courtroom, court, trial, berlin wall, soviet spy, negotiation ...
Time: year 2015, 2010s, year 2016, 50s, 60s ...
Place: east germany, berlin germany, soviet union, new york, persia ...
Is relevant ?
The Good Shepherd (2006)
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA
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, realistic, suspense, political, factual ...
Plot: cold war, spy, cia, espionage, double agent, corruption, politics, betrayal, conspiracy, secret agent, patriotism, invasion ...
Time: 1940s, 20th century, year 2006, 60s, year 1958 ...
Place: cuba, usa, london, berlin germany, washington d.c. ...
Is relevant ?
 7.3
 62K
Thirteen Days (2000)
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, suspenseful, tense, thought provoking, disturbing ...
Plot: cold war, politics, president, political intrigue, un, race against time, diplomacy, nuclear, spy, conspiracy, cuban missile crisis, leadership ...
Time: 60s, year 2000, y2k, 20th century, year 1962
Place: cuba, ussr, the philippines, usa, new york ...
Is relevant ?
K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: UK, Germany, Canada, USA
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, tense, realistic, rough ...
Audience: manly, boys' night
Plot: submarine, cold war, navy, nuclear submarine, radiation, sea, underwater, nuclear, radiation sickness, disaster, sea disaster, nuclear threat ...
Time: 60s, year 2002, 20th century, year 1989, 80s ...
Place: soviet union, russia, nova scotia, moscow russia, atlantic ocean ...
Is relevant ?
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, France, Germany, USA
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: clever, confusing, bleak, atmospheric, thought provoking ...
Audience: boys' night, adult
Plot: cold war, spy, espionage, secret service, investigation, british intelligence, mole, double agent, kgb, conspiracy, surveillance, intelligence ...
Time: 70s, year 2011, 2010s, 20th century
Place: england, europe, london, somalia, britain ...
Is relevant ?
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 290 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, realistic ...
Plot: cold war, espionage, spy, secret service, double agent, book, traitor, betrayal, investigation, kgb, mole, politics ...
Time: 20th century, 70s
Place: britain, england, london, europe, united kingdom ...
Is relevant ?
The Sum of All Fears (2002)
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: suspenseful, suspense, exciting, political, tense ...
Audience: kids
Plot: spy, cia, cold war, terrorism, espionage, nuclear war, secret agent, terrorist, nuclear bomb, nuclear explosion, nuclear threat, covert operation ...
Time: year 2002, 90s, year 1973, 2000s, 20th century ...
Place: maryland, israel, russia, washington d.c., chechnya ...
Is relevant ?
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
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, suspenseful, realistic, political thriller, political ...
Audience: boys' night, manly
Plot: submarine, cold war, spy, navy, espionage, nuclear threat, cia, politics, underwater, nuclear submarine, u.s. navy, sea ...
Time: 80s, year 1990, year 1984, 20th century
Place: russia, washington d.c., usa, maine, soviet union ...
Is relevant ?
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The Lives of Others (2006)
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: political thriller, gloomy, political, sincere, suspense ...
Audience: date night, adult
Plot: surveillance, cold war, berlin wall, spy, stasi, communism, iron curtain, secrets, loneliness, voyeurism, politics, suicide ...
Time: 80s, year 2006, 20th century, 2000s, year 1984 ...
Place: east germany, germany, berlin germany, europe, soviet union ...
Is relevant ?
 7.0
 18K
The Day After (1983)
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: disturbing, futuristic, apocalyptic, harsh, serious ...
Plot: cold war, nuclear war, disaster, post apocalypse, apocalypse, catastrophe, nuclear holocaust, radiation, end of the world, dystopia, nuclear threat, nuclear ...
Time: 80s, future, distant future, 20th century
Place: usa, kansas, soviet union, missouri, ussr ...
Is relevant ?
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
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, light ...
Audience: teens, chick flick
Plot: spy, cold war, secret service, reluctant partners, cia, culture clash, espionage, chase, secret agent, cia agent, mission, race against time ...
Time: 60s, year 1963, year 2015, 2010s, 1900s ...
Place: italy, germany, london, east germany, usa ...
Is relevant ?
 7.4
 2K
The Assets (2014)
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, realistic, tense, political
Plot: cold war, spy, espionage, cia, secret agent, communism, double agent, political intrigue, investigation, cold war era, state affairs, treason ...
Time: 80s, 1880s
Place: usa, soviet union, russia
Is relevant ?
 5.9
 15K
Phantom (2013)
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, suspenseful, serious, political thriller ...
Plot: submarine, military, cold war, nuclear submarine, navy, nuclear threat, underwater, military life, mission gone awry, danger, sea disaster, haunted by the past ...
Time: 60s, 20th century, year 1968
Place: soviet union, ussr
Is relevant ?
 8.0
 24K
Fail-Safe (1964)
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 thriller, political, realistic, bleak ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: cold war, nuclear holocaust, nuclear war, nuclear threat, politics, military, u.s. air force, atomic bomb, nuclear, chaos, radio, president ...
Time: 20th century, 60s, year 1967
Place: russia, new york, usa, moscow russia, washington d.c. ...
Is relevant ?
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The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 126 min.
Story: The Manchurian Candidate is a political thriller from American director John Frankenheimer. An American soldier is brainwashed into being a killer for the communist Russians during the Korean War.
Style: political thriller, black and white, psychological, political, tense ...
Audience: date night
Plot: conspiracy, cold war, political conspiracy, brainwashing, assassin, senator, election, political intrigue, korean war, spy, manipulation, politics ...
Time: 20th century, year 1962, 50s, 1950s, year 1952
Place: new york, china, north korea, korea, usa ...
Is relevant ?
The Right Stuff (1983)
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: inspirational, exciting, epic, factual, sincere ...
Audience: family outing
Plot: cold war, astronaut, space travel, nasa, test pilot, aviation, u.s. air force, space exploration, politics, space program, space race, outer space ...
Time: 1940s, 20th century, 60s, 1950s, year 1983 ...
Place: florida, washington d.c., houston texas, usa, australia ...
Is relevant ?
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)
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, espionage, spy, berlin wall, iron curtain, british intelligence, double agent, politics, great ending, secret agent, spy thriller, loner ...
Time: 60s, year 1965, 20th century
Place: east germany, berlin germany, london, england, persia ...
Is relevant ?
 8.4
 110K
The Americans (2013)
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, realistic, captivating, atmospheric, suspenseful ...
Audience: adult
Plot: cold war, espionage, spy, undercover, kgb, mole, double life, working undercover, investigation, double agent, fbi, top secret ...
Time: 80s, 2010s, 20th century
Place: washington d.c., soviet union, usa
Is relevant ?
The Coldest Game (2019)
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, spy, contests and competitions, competition, espionage, politics, cia, fear, international crisis, state affairs, mission ...
Time: 60s, 20th century
Place: warsaw poland, soviet union, usa
Is relevant ?
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The Ipcress File (1965)
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, suspenseful, suspense, exciting, tense ...
Plot: espionage, cold war, conspiracy, spy, double agent, brainwashing, politics, undercover, investigation, british, political intrigue, secret agent ...
Time: 60s, 20th century
Place: london, albania, england, europe, scotland yard
Is relevant ?
Seven Days in May (1964)
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, white house, u.s. air force, terrorism, president, secret service, u.s. president, coup d'etat, betrayal, espionage ...
Time: 20th century, 60s, future
Place: austin texas, russia, soviet union, america, el paso texas ...
Is relevant ?
 8.1
 15K
Deutschland 83 (2015)
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: tense, realistic, serious, suspenseful, suspense ...
Audience: family friendly
Plot: cold war, stasi, espionage, spy, secret police, double agent, political intrigue, undercover, state affairs, rivalry, german soldier, military ...
Time: 20th century, year 1983, 80s
Place: germany, east germany, west berlin west germany, german democratic republic, west germany ...
Is relevant ?
 5.9
 29K
Firefox (1982)
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, espionage, chase, submarine, fighter pilot, fighter jet, aviation, aerial combat, military ...
Time: 80s, year 1982
Place: soviet union, russia, moscow russia, england, asia ...
Is relevant ?
 6.7
 16K
Gorky Park (1983)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min.
Story: Police Inspector Renko tries to solve the case of three bodies found in Moscow's Gorky Park but finds his attempts to solve the crime impeded by his superiors. Working on his own, Renko seeks out more information and stumbles across a ...
Style: detective, political, suspense, tense, bleak ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: cold war, spy, murder, conspiracy, police investigation, espionage, secret agent, murder investigation, kgb agent, murder mystery, politics, police corruption ...
Time: year 1983, 80s
Place: moscow russia, russia, ussr, stockholm sweden, eastern europe ...
Is relevant ?
 7.0
 49K
Pawn Sacrifice (2014)
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, factual, inspirational, captivating, suspenseful ...
Plot: chess, cold war, biopic, mental illness, genius, alone in the world, obsession, eccentricity, politics, contests and competitions, rivalry, doctor ...
Time: 70s, 1950s, 20th century, 60s, year 1951 ...
Place: new york, israel, brooklyn new york city, former yugoslavia, canada ...
Is relevant ?
 7.2
 73K
The Courier (2020)
Genre: Drama, History, Mystery, Thriller, War
Country: UK, USA
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, scary, touching ...
Plot: cold war, spy, russian spy, cuban missile crisis, counter intelligence, agent, reconnaissance, espionage, politics, real life, secret agent, special agent ...
Time: 2020s, 1950s, year 1960, 60s, year 1962 ...
Place: germany, london, cuba, moscow russia, langley virginia ...
Is relevant ?
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