By 1962, it had sunk into the American people that the Soviets didn't want WWIII any more than we do. The Soviet system was no longer ruled by murderous psychopaths or ruthless visionaries but by stodgy bureaucrats. So if war did come about, it would be like "Fail-Safe" or "The Bedford Incident" or "Dr Strangelove". Because of some screw up, some accident, some Captain Ahab in a destroyer or some cowboy.
Although, I suspect a great time travel scenario is someone from the present (or, worse still, from 1998) going back to the Soviet Union of 1980 and warning them that time is not on their side. If they do not use their massive war machine now they will never get the chance.
This film is a marvelous time capsule of that moment when the Cold War had settled into a dangerous routine in which both sides cooperated to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Although, I suspect a great time travel scenario is someone from the present (or, worse still, from 1998) going back to the Soviet Union of 1980 and warning them that time is not on their side. If they do not use their massive war machine now they will never get the chance.
This film is a marvelous time capsule of that moment when the Cold War had settled into a dangerous routine in which both sides cooperated to avoid unnecessary trouble.