Lord of War (2005)

Director:

Andrew Niccol

Writer (WGA):

Andrew Niccol (written by)

Release Date:

16 September 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The first and most important rule of gun-running is: never get shot with your own merchandise.

Plot:

An arms dealer confronts the morality of his work as he is being chased by an Interpol agent.

Plot Keywords:

Arms Dealer | 1980s | Cold War | Gunrunner | Warlord

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Nicolas Cage	...	Yuri Orlov
Bridget Moynahan	...	Ava Fontaine
Jared Leto	...	Vitaly Orlov
Shake Tukhmanyan	...	Irina Orlov (as Shake Toukhmanian)
Jean-Pierre Nshanian	...	Anatoly Orlov
Jared Burke	...	Ukrainian Mobster
Eric Uys	...	Ukrainian Mobster
David Shumbris	...	Ukrainian Mobster
Stewart Morgan	...	Ukrainian Mobster
Jasper Lenz	...	Gregor
Stephen Gregor	...	Eli Kurtzman
Kobus Marx	...	Boris
Stephan De Abreu	...	Liev
Jeremy Crutchley	...	Arms Fair Salesman
Ian Holm	...	Simeon Weisz

Also Known As:

Lord of War (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, drug use, language and sexuality.

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English | Ukrainian | German | Spanish | Russian | French | Arabic | Turkish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #41968) | Ireland:16 | Canada:18A (Alberta/Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Finland:K-15 | Netherlands:16 | Philippines:R-13 (cut) | Brazil:16 | Taiwan:R-18 | Australia:MA | Norway:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Sweden:15 | Czech Republic:12 | France:-12 | Canada:18A (Ontario/British Columbia/Saskatchewan) | Singapore:M18 | Germany:16 | Iceland:16 | Argentina:16 | Hungary:16 | Portugal:M/16 | New Zealand:R16 | South Korea:15 (theatrical rating) (cut) | South Korea:18 (DVD rating) (uncut) | Malaysia:18PL | Japan:R-15 | Spain:18

Filming Locations:

Bozi Dar aerodrome, Bozi Dar, Czech Republic

Company:

Entertainment Manufacturing Company

Trivia:

Visible hanging on the wall in Yuri's weapons container is a nickel-plated AK-47 rifle that was originally used in Belly (1998).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Yuri's voice over claims the "U.S. Army" got a cut of his sale in Lebanon in the form of Lieutenant Colonel Southern, but the officer was wearing a Marine Corps uniform and wearing Colonel (not Lieutenant Colonel) rank. Lieutenant Colonel rank, whether Army or Marine, would be represented with a silver oak leaf, not an eagle. Additionally, this Marine Colonel is wearing the cap of a General but the Emblem of an Enlisted Marine, which makes the rank and service of his entire uniform incorrect.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Yuri Orlov: [voiceover] You don't have to worry. I'm not gonna tell you a pack of lies to make me look good. I'm just gonna tell you what happened.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service: Power Down (#7.8)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Mama Africa

A Surprising Morality Tale

I was really surprised that Hollywood was able to tackle a huge moral morass like the black market arms trade and leave the moral issues in the audience's lap. Yuri (played by Nicholas Cage) goes to work in a particularly ugly world. When he says that he's had a bad day at the office, you can be pretty sure that someone has been shot or blown up. At any event, what I liked about this picture was that although Yuri obviously has some moral issues to wrestle with, he does so on his own terms, and we are left to figure out the rights and the wrongs. Since most movie-goers don't like to leave a movie with food for thought, this picture may not play very broadly in theaters, but I hope it gets a good audience on video. I also though that Jared Leto was wonderful as Yuri's tragically addicted and unhappy brother.