Rules of Engagement (2000)

An attorney defends an officer on trial for ordering his troops to fire on civilians after they stormed a U.S. embassy in a third world country.

Director:

William Friedkin

Writers:

Jim Webb (story), Stephen Gaghan (screenplay)

Stars:

Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, Guy Pearce

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Col. Hayes 'Hodge' Hodges
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Col. Terry L. Childers
Guy Pearce	...	Maj. Mark Biggs
Ben Kingsley	...	Ambassador Mourain
Bruce Greenwood	...	National Security Advisor Bill Sokal
Anne Archer	...	Mrs. Mourain
Blair Underwood	...	Capt. Lee
Philip Baker Hall	...	Gen. H. Lawrence Hodges
Dale Dye	...	Gen. Perry
Amidou	...	Dr. Ahmar
Mark Feuerstein	...	Tom Chandler
Richard McGonagle	...	Judge Col. E. Warner
Baoan Coleman	...	Col. Binh Le Cao
Nicky Katt	...	Hayes Hodges III
Ryan Hurst	...	Capt. Hustings

Storyline

Hayes Hodges finds his career aspirations dashed when he's wounded in Vietnam combat. He then returns to America and becomes a disillusioned lawyer who goes up against the service to defend Colonel Terry Childers, who is accused of inciting an incident that leaves many demonstrators dead. Hodges in no position to decline: Childers heroically saved his life back in Vietnam.

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Plot Keywords:

colonel | marine | embassy | lawyer | trial | 

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Taglines:

A hero should never have to stand alone.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for scenes of war violence, and for language

Details

Country:

USA Canada UK Germany

Language:

English Arabic

Release Date:

31 March 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

A bevetés szabályai

Filming Locations:

Greystone Park & Mansion - 905 Loma Vista Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£356,655 (UK) (11 August 2000)

Gross:

ESP 116,150,585 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Seven Arts Productions, Munich Film Partners & Company (MFP) ROE Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A replica of the Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune, NC, was built at the Vint Hill Farm Station, South Manassas, VA. Some 800 Marines were hired for the combat and other action scenes.

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Goofs

When you see Col. Hodges and Col. Childers, it is obviously night, however one of the shots in the quick cuts shows a window with daylight.

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Quotes

Colonel Terry L. Childers: Yes they had weapons! You think there's a script for fighting a war without pissing somebody off? Follow the rules and nobody gets hurt? Yes, innocent people probably died. Innocent people always die but I did not exceed my orders.

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Connections

References Dead Poets Society (1989)

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Soundtracks

"On the Threshold of Liberty"
by Mark Isham
Contains a sample performed by Mark Isham
Courtesy of The Windham Hill Group

User Reviews

moronic militaristic propaganda

Big missed opportunity: This could have been an intelligent movie about the fine line between self-defense and murder, the ambiguity in perception and judgement faced by people in dangerous situations(real life example: A Chicago police officer killed a woman who made a false move with a metallic object in her hand--it turned out to be a lock, not a weapon. Was the policewoman guilty of murder? Would we have done the same in her situation?) Instead the director turned this into jingoistic drivel. The portrayal of Arabs/Muslims is a really offensive stereotype: Gun-totin, rock-throwin, jihad-lovin, towel-head fanatics, every last one of them, man, woman, and child. Most disturbing thing about it: