Lord of War (2005)

Director:

Andrew Niccol

Writer (WGA):

Andrew Niccol (written by)

Release Date:

16 September 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Blood Diamonds | Diamond | Shot To Death | Loss Of Uncle | AIDS

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Nicolas Cage	...	Yuri Orlov
Bridget Moynahan	...	Ava Fontaine Orlov
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

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

Filming Locations:

Bozi Dar aerodrome, Bozi Dar, Czech Republic

Company:

Entertainment Manufacturing Company

Trivia:

Nicolas Cage's Yuri Orlov is largely based on the exploits of international arms dealer Viktor Bout, a former Soviet officer, who was finally arrested by Thai authorities in March 2008. Bout, known as the "Merchant of Death," was trying to ship arms to American agents in Colombia who were posing as Farc insurgents when he was apprehended. Currently languishing in a Bangkok prison where he awaits extradition by the US.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Yuro sells Glock handguns to the drug dealer, two of the Glocks are 3rd generation models not sold until 2000. The Glock 3rd generations were not sold in 1980. The other two Glocks are 2nd generation models that fit the era. You can tell the difference between them because the 3rd generation Glocks have accessory rails, finger grooves in the grip and a thumb groove. 2nd generations have flat handles, no thumb groove and a slanted front nose.

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:

References Brazil (1985)

Soundtrack:

Swan Lake

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.