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 | Gunrunner | Cold War | Immigrant

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 Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | 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:

The Antonov An-12 airplane number 9Q-CIH filmed in the movie was owned by a Russian citizen Evgeny Zakharov. On January 8, 2005, the plane crashed at Bukalaza, Uganda; all six crew members were killed. The plane departed Entebbe airport with destination Kinshasa. It was reportedly carrying humanitarian relief items.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Interpol agents (such as Jack Valentine) cannot themselves make arrests. This would be an infringement on the national sovereignty of the member states.

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:

Featured in Making a Killing: Inside the International Arms Trade (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

O, Little Town of Bethlehem

story-telling perfection

A movie about a gunrunner who arms the dictators, tyrants, and genocide-perpetrators of the world should not be this deliciously funny. Lord of War is story-telling perfection. The opening scene depicts the life of a bullet, from its creation in the factory to the moment it blasts through the head of a poor African child. Nicolas Cage is Yuri Orlov, the son of Ukrainian immigrants, who becomes the world's most successful arms dealer. Writer/director Andrew Niccol took every major world conflict of the part 25 years and seamlessly incorporated them into a smart, funny, complex story about violence, corruption, and the essence of warfare. Lord of War has no clear-cut, black-or-white, good-or-evil "moral of the story," but no intelligent observation ever does. It's just a fabulous film. "I never sold to Osama Bin Laden," Yuri tells the audience. "Not on moral grounds, but because his checks were always bouncing back then."