Rules of Engagement (2000)

Director:

William Friedkin

Writers (WGA):

James Webb (story)
Stephen Gaghan (screenplay)

Release Date:

31 March 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller | War

Tagline:

A hero should never have to stand alone.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Dead Children | What Happened To Epilogue | Colonel | Demonstration | Embassy

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Règles d'engagement, Les (Canada: French title)
Rules - Sekunden der Entscheidung (Germany)
Rules of Engagement - Die Regeln des Krieges (Germany) (TV title)

MPAA:

Rated R for scenes of war violence, and for language.

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

USA | Canada | UK | Germany

Language:

English | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Iceland:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Argentina:13 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:12 (DVD rating) | Netherlands:16 (original rating) | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Alexandria, Virginia, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

When Hodges (Tommy Lee Jones) returns to the bombed-out embassy, there is a picture of then Vice President Al Gore on the charred wall. Gore and Jones were roommates at Harvard.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Hodge is talking to his father in the garage, he screws a wing nut down on the air cleaner of the antique truck twice between shots.

Quotes:

Colonel Terry L. Childers: Waste those motherf*ckers.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Will & Grace: Rules of Engagement (#4.6)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

On the Threshold of Liberty

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: