Cold War Historian Rates 9 Cold War Clashes In Movies | How Real Is It?

Cold War Historian Rates 9 Cold War Clashes In Movies | How Real Is It? | Insider

Місяць тому

James Hershberg, a Cold War historian, rates Cold War scenes in movies based on their realism.
He separates fact from fiction regarding the nuclear arms race and atomic secrets depicted in Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" (2023), starring Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, and Emily Blunt; Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" (1964), with Peter Sellers; and "The Hunt for Red October" (1990), starring Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin. Hershberg also explains the details of the Cold War's proxy wars, shown in "Charlie Wilson's War" (2007), starring Tom Hanks and Philip Seymour Hoffman; "Thirteen Days" (2000), with Kevin Costner; and "WarGames" (1983), with Matthew Broderick. Lastly, he discusses the tactics and realism of spying and spycraft portrayed in Steven Spielberg's "Bridge of Spies" (2015), starring Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance; "The Lives of Others" (2006); and "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962).
Hershberg is a professor of history and international affairs at George Washington University in Washington, DC. He used to run the Cold War International History Project of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
You can find his books here:
"Marigold: The Lost Chance for Peace in Vietnam": www.sup.org/books/title/?id=2...
"James B. Conant: Harvard to Hiroshima and the Making of the Nuclear Age":
www.sup.org/books/title/?id=2162
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Cold War Historian Rates 9 Cold War Clashes In Movies | How Real Is It? | Insider

КОМЕНТАРІ: 278

@brandoncarpenter7709 Місяць тому

Wow this is one of the best vids I've seen on this channel please bring him back for more.

@Insider Місяць тому

Thanks for watching!

@tiananesbitt7156 Місяць тому

@@Insider❤Know the linguist accent guy?

@RowleyPrecision Місяць тому

❤@@tiananesbitt7156

@monotech20.14 Місяць тому

@@Insider Wonder why James didn't bring up how , Russia would have dismantled a vast majority of their ICBMS if Reagan would shut down his failed Star Wars program.

@blake7587 Місяць тому

No it’s not this dude got half the stuff he said wrong by letting his radical left wing political beliefs influence his interpretation of history. Leftist revisionist history is not the same as factual history.

@hoilst265 Місяць тому

I love how James understand the metaphors in film making - not taking everything absolutely literally, but understanding that they need to use these things to get the point across in films.

@Burkaboi Місяць тому

lol ya I love when they get experts on here for historical battles and it’s like “they didn’t just run at each other and charge into each other ranks there were this n that” well ya they aren’t gonna show the battle from an overhead position and have it be hours long with units moving strategically etc . lol it’s gotta be entertaining for the casual viewer not made for the history nerds like me

@lampad4549 Місяць тому

I dont buy that, filmmakers and story tellers need to be more honest and less childish indulgence in regards to their work, meaning behind metaphors become more poignant the more true to life they are.

@lampad4549 Місяць тому

@@Burkaboiyou mean uneducated people.

@jeffsirname 28 днів тому

@@lampad4549I completely agree, I think that many studios who approach or accept historical dramas or war films are unfortunately almost always forced to dramatize or take artistic liberties so the movies are more appealing for a wider, drama focused audience. It's a shame, part of the reason many of us find the cold war so interesting is because of the tension, not the overt firefights.

@TheMediaCrank-nb3gh Місяць тому

When are we going to see, "Real Aliens review Alien Invasion movies"?

@waspy88 Місяць тому

Sounds like something History channel would be into

@randomlyfactual1943 Місяць тому

Here, have my like sir

@fosterfuchs Місяць тому

East Germany indeed had excellent surveillance. I was born and raised in West Germany. My dad traveled to East Germany and other countries behind the Iron Curtain to bring assistance to members of the clergy who were being discriminated. Sometimes a friend of his would come along to have an extra vehicle. During one of these trips in 1977, my dad was able to leave East Germany. His friend was stopped at the border when he tried to cross back into West Germany. The border guards asked him why he drove this strange routing. They knew exactly where he was on what days. They also asked him if he knew my dad (showing him a copy of my dad's passport). They of course already knew the answer. They ended up detaining him in East Germany and confiscated everything he had with him, including his car. The West German government had to "bail him out", pending trial. Everyone on both sides knew of course that he would not return for his trial and the bond would be forfeited. This was just another way for the East German government to obtain hard currency. After the Wall came down, the East German government informants were being exposed. My dad was shocked when some of these informants were shown on the German news, and one of the very people he had met during his travels (an East German church official) was among them.

@isaacmartinez6904 Місяць тому

Stanley Kubrick did his homework on Dr. Stangelove. That's why he got a 10.

@Nicksonian Місяць тому

Kubrick went way beyond doing his homework. He was a genius and Dr. Strangelove is a masterpiece.

@ranadheerarakshith784 Місяць тому

Looks like Stephen king

@chrishaven1489 Місяць тому

"No fighting in the war room!" will always be my favourite joke from that movie

@foreverpinkf.7603 Місяць тому

@@ranadheerarakshith784 ....with 100 kg overweight.

@foreverpinkf.7603 Місяць тому

The most funny cold-war movies ever made. Kubrick sure made his homework for detailing the interior of a B 52, which was classified at that time. He did it so accurate that the Air Force wasn´t happy with the results, shown in the movie.

@HaiLe-jq5go Місяць тому

Such a shame that "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" isn't here. One of the best Cold War and Spies movie ever.

@hoilst265 Місяць тому

The BBC TV series with Sir Alec Guinness is even better. If you haven't seen it, what you absolutely SHOULDN'T do is search for it in UKposts. :)

@user-pb4xt4rg3z Місяць тому

really, not a patch on the classic BBC series with Alec Guiness.

@KasumiRINA Місяць тому

If you like the movie, watch the old series with Obi-Wan Kenobi and its sequel, Smiley's People.

@vaclav_fejt Місяць тому

My 1st time watching TTSS movie: "complicated, but great" 1st of TTSS series: "not as cinematic and very slow, but great" 2nd watch of TTSS movie: "Beautiful camera, but everything is so rushed! And the cast looks like pantomime" 2nd watch of TTSS series: "Now we're talking." 1st watch of Smiley's People: "It's even better than TTSS..."

@a1exsand Місяць тому

Favorite cold war movie? Easy.. Rocky 4

@bradenbarnett1574 Місяць тому

Currently a student in Prof. Hershberg’s class! Great video and great professor

@Joze1090 Місяць тому

Do his sleeves always look so funky :(

@javierzayas8345 Місяць тому

You’re welcome Bridge of Spies 0:33 The Hunt for Red October 3:36 Dr. Strangelove 6:23 Charlie Wilson’s War 10:15 Wargames 12:42 Oppenheimer 14:32 Thirteen Days 16:31 The Lives of Others 17:33 The Manchurian Candidate 19:13

@Kwisatz_HaderachXIII Місяць тому

No thank you

@tomaskadlec9534 Місяць тому

16:27 I love this. The only thing wrong about Oppenheimer is that it's too short :D :D :D

@Sigma_Male_Anti_Female Місяць тому

It's already a 3 hour movie.

@HiroJJ94 Місяць тому

@@Sigma_Male_Anti_Female Didn't feel like it and I watched it 4 times during its run

@grgfrais1866 Місяць тому

My only gripe with the film

@liamregan4975 Місяць тому

its probably the only 3 hour film I've ever watched in theatres that I really could have watched another hour of, but I'd say it was just long enough@@Sigma_Male_Anti_Female

@connorhart7597 Місяць тому

@@HiroJJ94 thats how the irishman is for me. Its a huge time commitment, but with a really well paced and written movie with just enough action, it really draws you in and bam now its 2am and your dogs are yelling at you cause its time for bed lmfao

@spaghettitime1124 3 дні тому

Love Professor Hershberger, he's a professor here and frequently does Cold War events on campus. Always amazing insights!

@foreverpinkf.7603 Місяць тому

Love this guy for rating Dr.Strangelove 10/10.

@TheReubenShow Місяць тому

Thank you for doing this video, James Hershberg

@HistorysRaven Місяць тому

For all of the historical inaccuracies with Thirteen Days, it's still one of my favorite historical movies.

@jeniafru Місяць тому

Thanks, great selection, and most films are of a pretty high quality. I'd point out as a Russian speaker that "13 days", despite some over dramatization, is pretty precise showing the Soviet approach, and gives a good impression of Soviet figures such as KGB resident (station chief) Alexander Fomin (real name Aleksandr Feklisov), who was the "back channel" between the White House and the Kremlin in the Cuba missile crisis and actually discussed it in his book years later (he died in 2007), and also Soviet ambassador Dobrynin, who served in Washington for 24 years and also wrote interesting memoirs (he died in 2010). One point about "Charlie Wilson's War" though: it's a pretty good film but it hypes up the Stinger thing too much. Soviet helicopter pilots were not going on missions speaking about their girlfriends, because the Mujahideen had heavy AA machine guns that were very dangerous to helis, and the introduction of the Stinger (in late 1986, 7 years after the start of the war) was not such a big game changer. I have someone in my family who served in the War in Afghanistan, and he noted the Stingers were an issue, but in some months, flares, beacons etc were placed on the helis to disorient the missiles, and the sorties being conducted at night limited the Mujahideen's capabilities. Eventually the Soviets adapted. By 1988 the supply of the missiles ended because reports came in the Mujahideen were selling them to Iran, and the Stingers didn't play a significant role in the Soviet decision to withdraw from Afghanistan.

@gunsandcommissions Місяць тому

Thank you for sharing this.

@KasumiRINA Місяць тому

We still name cats after them in Ukraine because it's common to glorify weapons that help destroy the invaders. My cat is named Javelinka. If I adopt a boy he will be Carl Gustaf or Stinger. Basically anything that goodens russians works. A Tajik?

@grimnartusk265 Місяць тому

i very much enjoyed this one, Mr. Hershberg in particular was an exceptional Host. Obviously extremely knowledgeable, and clearly very interested in the topic. He's got nice way of conveying information in a funny almost conversation manner, it felt less like a lecture and more like just two people discussing something, which i enjoyed. Hope to see the Professor again, he's got some great insight into a particularly interesting topic/s!

@starkparker16 Місяць тому

I give his coat sleeves a 1.4, everybody knows the rules.

@aaronloach 7 днів тому

I'm glad I'm not the only one who had something to say about this.

@JamesMiller-lb3sk Місяць тому

These videos will always be entertaining

@jaketheauroran Місяць тому

"The Fog of War" with Robert McNamara isn't exactly a "movie," but it's one of the best Cold War videos that's ever been made

@uphillwalrus5164 Місяць тому

Documentaries are movies

@gwynn2528 Місяць тому

Well, this also needs to be 3 hours long. I would love to take his class.

@AC-ih7jc Місяць тому

I would love to see a Part 2 to this video. Possible other titles could include: Missiles of October Ladybug, Ladybug Ice Station Zebra Fail Safe When the Wind Blows On the Beach For All Mankind

@sunflowerbadger Місяць тому

Fantastic expert dude ❤

@baneberardi9419 Місяць тому

Gillie and keeves would kill an Insider skit 😂

@travisinthetrunk Місяць тому

16:27 I agree. I think they skimmed over a lot and it should have been a mini series.

@nothingman7163 12 днів тому

Ain’t no way someone named their kid “Jack D” when their last name is “Ripper” and that man had high ranking military command 😂 real life is the greatest satire of itself

@lloywilliams8149 Місяць тому

Oppenheimer is too short XD XD but seriously, it was a 3 hour movie with a 3 hour plot. So, valid point.

@Ganiscol Місяць тому

Truth is, a good film can be as long as it needs to be. Unfortunately, this is a concept that wont find a majority to agree with it in the day and age of short attention span.

@hollowice999 Місяць тому

Imagine watching a movie for 3 hours with color sequences, and black and white sequences, and only paying attention when “oohh shiny colors”

@napiersh1 Місяць тому

NOTICING a lot about events and names.

@bcn1gh7h4wk Місяць тому

8:25 "True power resides in making your enemy realize they were wrong to oppose you in the first place. To force them, to acknowledge your greatness." ".....then you kill them?" "Eh. Only if it's necessary." Dukat and Weyoun, Star Trek Deep Space Nine.

@gerbmcnuggets5466 Місяць тому

I’m glad to see that the bad guy from Indiana Jones unmelted his face and became a history buff.

@Jayjay-qe6um Місяць тому

In 1989, the United States Library of Congress included Dr. Strangelove as one of the first 25 films selected for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

@stormtempterf8058 Місяць тому

Its Professor Turgidson from Back to School! but nice! :D

@siechamontillado Місяць тому

The thumbnail makes me think I'm going to have to make a saving throw in a sec cause this guy is about to cast a spell on me.

@deckardcanine Місяць тому

Gosh, I've seen almost all of these. Kinda wish he included "Fail-Safe."

@gunsandcommissions Місяць тому

The Lives of Others is an amazing movie,

@TheColorBrown808 Місяць тому

This man is a legend.

@Dlf212 22 дні тому

"You can't fight in here!! This is the war room" - Dr. Strangelove (film) .....

@Kackpuh Місяць тому

For Bridge of Spies, when my father watched it and Tom Hanks gets out of Bahnhof Friedrichstraße (I think) and gets told the way, he called out "that is the correct way". We all live in Berlin.

@gamersilviogg9664 Місяць тому

There is an amazing 9 episode docu series out on Netflix about the cold war. "Turning Point , The Bomb and The Cold War". I loved it. 10 hrs of Cold War Doc.

@Paladin1873 Місяць тому

Dr. Strangelove was a very popular movie among SAC crews. A good friend of mine was a SAC missile crew commander when War Games came out. He was royally pissed at the movie premise that launch crews would refuse to engage their keys. These Airmen were carefully selected and highly motivated, plus they knew their loved ones were being incinerated so they very much would want revenge. But without such a premise, there would be no reason to make the movie.

@iammattc1 Місяць тому

"Charlie Wilson's War" Charlie Wilson got into politics because his dog peed on the neighbours flowers, the neighbour poisoned the dog and got away with it, because he was a city councillor, and young charlie managed to influence enough people that the neighbour lost the next election. Charlie Wilsons dog peeing on flowers led to 9/11 and the War on Terror is my favourite "butterfly effect"

@mr.e2962 Місяць тому

Igor Gouzenko is the most underestimated character for sparking the cold war.

@williamblakehall5566 Місяць тому

Dr. Hershberg has excellent taste, steering us clear of the weeds of ice Station Zebra and No Way Out, although I do get some kicks from those. However, I would be interested in his takes on The Courier and Fail-Safe.

@mikesherrard8871 Місяць тому

It’s 5:30 est, I’m stuck in traffic and this just popped up. Thank you algorithm

@SemperFi_EDC_Guy Місяць тому

Did bro take a hit of helium around 17:18 😂? The sound editing got wonky for a few clips after. Pretty funny 😁

@MrSweepTheLeg Місяць тому

@OrangeCounty-zq1qs Місяць тому

General Turgidson I thought I was the only one authorized to order the use of nuclear weapons. Yes Sir, you are the only one authorized to do so, and while I hate to judge before all the facts are in, it appears General Ripper exceeded his authority

@jdslack9999 Місяць тому

I concur with some other comments...Fail Safe needed to be on the list

@lukasimundza7741 Місяць тому

Disappointed in no Rocky IV

@MalachiWhite-tw7hl Місяць тому

That's a funny comment.

@atroposz 3 дні тому

While it's not really a "cold war" movies as there is no interaction with 'the other side', *The Death of Stalin* is freaking hilarious while being insanely historically accurate (for a movie, ie they condense some time periods of months to days, that sort of thing). For anyone interested, the History Buffs channel has a review & the movie is easily available on various streaming.

@degasklee Місяць тому

Thumbs up for pronouncing 'nuclear' correctly.

@touhoutrash2436 Місяць тому

This is the Corey coldly Cold War time!

@stevelevesque3274 16 днів тому

i usually enjoy theses

@brussels13207 Місяць тому

Dr. Strangelove is really a documentary more than fiction.

@KasumiRINA Місяць тому

It's a comedy that centers on a Doomsday device that never existed.

@thomaspierce3650 Місяць тому

This guy left out 2 very important movies that are germane to this discussion. 1964 ' Fail Safe ' and 1965 ' The Bedford Incident ' . . . both are tense, thought provoking and have you on the edge of your seats.

@beeguy123 20 днів тому

Groovy baby, yeah !

@holodoctor1 Місяць тому

I hope there are more Cold War movies and tv coming down the pike. So many good stories left to tell.

@KasumiRINA Місяць тому

It's kind of silly now as West shown itself weak and unwilling to resist russian invasion of Europe when it resumed. A weakened russia doesn't face any resistance from anyone except Ukraine. This is embarrassing and shows the West is a joke.

@paulapostolina4510 Місяць тому

Would you rate the movies "Seven Days In May" and "Fail-Safe"?

@jpotter2086 Місяць тому

I've built a little cinema library and one of it's most humble-looking stars is a little paperback from the 1950s ... RED ALERT, the basis for Dr. Strangelove :D

@mck1972 Місяць тому

I wish this Historian would have also included, ' Fail Safe '.

@thedudefromrobloxx Місяць тому

"Yumans" lol

@WhiskyCanuck Місяць тому

Not a Cold War movie per se, but Munich could be in a part two. It was during the Cold War and centered around spies & assassins.

@RynOstate Місяць тому

Should have done “Spies Like Us”.

@guldenaydin9918 Місяць тому

I watched wlth interest. Thank you. 🍃🍁🍃

@Warszawski_Modernizm Місяць тому

Regarding HumInt in the 1950s: as a Polish historian, I've read declassified CIA reports from 1950s stalinist Poland, published online few years back: The whole country, the state, diplomats, foreigners, officials were under almost constant surveillance. Any diplomat working in Warsaw had assigned agents following him any time he left the embassy, polish and soviet secret police often recruited low-level workers and servants in embassies, polish counterintelligence run surveillance of the embassies, phonetaps on outgoing land lines, eavesdropping in hotel rooms with certain rooms dedicated to foreigners only, every foreing guest, visitor, businessman, diplomat was thoroughly checked. CIA stated that in around 1953-55 the had only ONE active and reliable human asset in Poland. Other ones were either walk-ins, defectors or double-agents sent by soviets. In USSR it was waay worse - any foreign contact with a soviet citizen had to be reported to KGB/People's Militia, every foreigner was controlled, soviets were relentless

@dougbrowne9890 Місяць тому

Dr. Strangelove is my favorite film of all. For this fan, it is flawless.

@PaulJohnson-vn7eh Місяць тому

The Lives Of Others is a brilliant movie

@chrisch2305 Місяць тому

This guys chill

@vermontvermont9292 Місяць тому

13 days was a great movie.

@alexanderleach3365 Місяць тому

There are many more COld War Era movies out there.

@familypowergroup Місяць тому

Louisiana has a new program known as Chrome Dome

@ronaldlee7566 Місяць тому

Bouncer scenes in movies and tv Ma'am/Sir pls🙏 😊❤

@timstapleman Місяць тому

A UKposts pilot? I had no idea UKposts and GoPros went back that far.

@bray0012 Місяць тому

I need his tailor

@RaNc0R Місяць тому

No crimson tide ?

@phredphlintstone6455 13 днів тому

Doomsday machine is only useful if your enemy knows that you have it.

@JarrodFrates Місяць тому

I've never heard someone pronounce "SLBM" before. I've only ever heard it spelled out.

@Govanmauler Місяць тому

This is great but man his shirt cuffs are distracting

@BilTheGalacticHero Місяць тому

Really should have had Fail-Safe in this list.

@danielsmith6782 Місяць тому

The CIA invoiced in Afghanistan was also seen as payback for the Soviet involvement in Vietnam.

@myfootballjesus Місяць тому

you should do one of these ratings on the cold war show TV "the Americans"

@DamianT-zr8wt Місяць тому

For the next how real is it video can u please do wolves

@fellfromspace Місяць тому

Not to nit pick but the "main point" of the movie "Wargames" wasn't that humans and computers are fallible. It was a nuclear protest film whose main point was that there was no way to win a nuclear war and which critiqued the self destructive nature of humanity and how, in our misguided attempts to feel safe, we have placed our species at the very brink of annihilation.

@nolakillabeast Місяць тому

My God what would I give to have this guy as my teacher

@AblemanSy Місяць тому

I kinda don't get his ratings. Sometimes he does nothing but point out flaws and then it's a 7, and for other films he says basically that everyting is perfect and then rates them an 8?

@Hobbitstomper Місяць тому

Come on Insider, timestamps please.

@remmeryoutube3392 Місяць тому

What, no Spies Like Us? 🙂

@domagojgreguric6957 Місяць тому

Would love to study a class under this guy...

@blake7587 Місяць тому

In case anyone is wondering this guy made many mistakes. Yes Powers admitted he was brutally tortured. And it made the interrogation methods at Guantanamo Bay look like child’s play.

@SirsasthNigam. 26 днів тому

"Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" (1964)-most real Oppenheimer-90% real

@scottmelville3476 Місяць тому

Fail Safe should have been on there.

@giorgioscalici468 Місяць тому

Where is Rocky IV?

@CalidrisJZ Місяць тому

The main point of War Games was that Ally Sheedy was extremely cute.

@oliviaskriloff1943 Місяць тому

Guy has a great Philly accent

@connectingthedots100 Місяць тому

I give him a 10 for giving Dr strangelove a 10. 😂

@daftyfunky Місяць тому

Am I tripping or was Oppenheimer's opposal of the Hydrogen bomb program not a major part of the film? That whole meeting where they talk about the Super was even shown twice in the film iirc, in color and in black and white.

@soccerguy2433 Місяць тому

You're tripping

@KasumiRINA Місяць тому

There was a lot of propaganda in Oppenheimer, such a shame they rewarded that tripe. The nuclear fear mongering is currently used by russians to kill millions with conventional weapons and get away with it scot-free and Nolan played along.

@saturnv2419 Місяць тому

Totally missed the opportunity to show the KGB in Chernobyl.

@FredrIQ Місяць тому

Stasi, probably the closest that real life came to the Thought Police.

@BobGeogeo Місяць тому

This was interesting but the editing makes it too choppy.

@danielcontoro Місяць тому

no fail safe? aww

@Paladin1873 Місяць тому

The Manchurian Candidate is a great suspense thriller, but the notion that men can be easily conditioned to commit the most horrendous acts through hypnosis and conditioning with drugs is complete B.S.