It wasn’t long ago that the anxieties of the Cold War belonged to the headlines, not the history books. Now, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its subsequent ripples — from massive international sanctions to Vladimir Putin’s nuclear warnings — it feels like it never went away.

Movies have addressed the Cold War from the start, from espionage thrillers and doomsday warnings to gallows humor and rah-rah patriotic fantasy. Here are some of the highlights and misfires:

‘Pickup on South Street’ (1953)

黑色电影的影子世界总是肥沃的ground for Cold War intrigue. This lurid, compulsively watchable Samuel Fuller thriller finds a subway pickpocket (played by Richard Widmark) unknowingly pilfering a piece of microfilm from an oblivious Soviet mule (Jean Peters).

The spies wear suits, but they’re seedy and sweaty. Widmark’s Skip McCoy, while cynical (“Are you waving the flag at me?” he famously asks a U.S. agent who appeals to his patriotism), hates the Reds as much as the next guy. Meanwhile, Thelma Ritter steals the show as a stool pigeon with principles.

Watch it:Available to stream on theCriterion Channel.

‘The Manchurian Candidate’ (1962)

A nightmare on laughing gas, John Frankenheimer’s adaptation of Richard Condon’s novel finds cataclysmic evil in an ambitious housewife (Angela Lansbury, pitch-perfect) who craftily manipulates her husband, a McCarthy-like presidential candidate.

The brainwashing sequence, in which a murderous communist interrogation becomes a garden party, is devastating and disorienting, and Frank Sinatra’s performance is among his very best. Now, why don’t you pass the time by playing a little solitaire? It was remade in 2004 by the late Jonathan Demme.

Watch it:Rent or buy onAmazon Prime Video.

‘Dr. Strangelove’ (1964)

Stanley Kubrick’s one-of-a-kind satire starts with the premise that life in a world that can end instantly is absurd, and it demands an appropriately absurd response. This deadpan nightmare has lost none of its impact over the years; every line still hits exactly where it should, even if the immediacy has lessened (for now, anyway).

Some characters are based on real-life counterparts: Trigger-happy Air Force Gen. Curtis LeMay informs both Brig. Gen. Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) and Gen. Buck Turgidson (George C. Scott), and Peter Sellers’ President Merkin Muffley is a dead ringer for two-time presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson. But the end results remain endlessly original. The same year brought the non-comedic version, “Fail Safe,” which is also excellent.

Watch it:Rent or buy onAmazon Prime Video.

‘Red Dawn’ (1984)

Let us return now to the Reagan era, which yielded some of the most bellicose Cold War freak-out movies you’re ever likely to see. In this one, communist forces have boots on the ground in a small Colorado town, where they look to impose their will (never mind the nukes; hand-to-hand combat is the order of the day). It’s up to Patrick Swayze and his band of rising young Hollywood stars — including Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson, C. Thomas Howell and Jennifer Grey — to show those commies that America ain’t playing.

You can feel international diplomacy waning with each passing reel. It was remade in 2012, with North Korea playing the role of enemy du jour. Wash it down with some “Rocky IV.”

Watch it:Available to stream onStarz. Rent or buy onAmazon Prime Video.

“别人的生活”(2006)

The U.S. is hardly the only country to make films about the Cold War. This German gem, which won the Oscar for best foreign language film in 2006, zooms in on the Stasi — or East German secret police — which spied on the country’s population at will. Assigned to surveil a dissident writer (Sebastian Koch) and his lover (Martina Gedeck), an agent (Ulrich Mühe) decides to reclaim his humanity instead.

Delicate but forceful, it’s a moving story of how totalitarianism drains away decency, and how that decency, ideally, can still triumph. The ending is one for the ages.

Watch it:Rent or buy onAmazon Prime Videoand other major platforms.

‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ (2011)

没有人寒冷的War quite like John le Carré. The British novelist managed to encompass both the human cost and the intricate details and strategy of espionage.

This adaptation of his 1974 novel, which was also turned into a fine 1979 TV production, is ruled by Gary Oldman, whose spymaster George Smiley is all interiors, never betraying his hand. He’s joined by an all-star team of actors that includes Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Colin Firth, Toby Jones, John Hurt, Mark Strong and Ciarán Hinds. It warrants repeat viewings.

Watch it:Rent or buy onAmazon Prime Videoand other major platforms.

‘Bridge of Spies’ (2015)

Together with “Lincoln,” this is Steven Spielberg’s passionate plea for diplomacy and doing the right thing, especially when it makes geopolitical sense. The movie is based on the story of American lawyer James Donovan (Bay Area native Tom Hanks), who, in the late ’50s and ’60s, found himself representing a rather humble Soviet spy (Mark Rylance, who won a supporting actor Oscar for his performance). Meanwhile, an American pilot, Gary Powers, is shot down over Russia. Might a trade be in the offing?

This is the real art of the deal, and an important story exceedingly well told.

Watch it:Rent or buy onAmazon Prime Videoand other major platforms.