Lord of War (2005)

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

Director:

Andrew Niccol

Writer:

Andrew Niccol

Stars:

Nicolas Cage, Bridget Moynahan, Jared Leto

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

This film charts the rise and fall of Yuri Orlov, from his early days in the early 1980s in Little Odessa, selling guns to mobsters in his local neighbourhood, through to his ascension through the decade of excess and indulgence into the early 90s, where he forms a business partnership with an African warlord and his psychotic son. The film also charts his relationship through the years with his younger brother, his marriage to a famous model, his relentless pursuit by a determined federal agent and his inner demons that sway between his drive for success and the immorality of what he does.

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Plot Keywords:

arms dealer | 1980s | cold war | immigrant | interpol | 

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Taglines:

He Sells Guns... And He's Making A Killing.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Lions Gate Films [us] SND [fr]

Country:

France USA Germany

Language:

English Ukrainian German Spanish Russian French Arabic Turkish

Release Date:

16 September 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

El señor de la guerra

Filming Locations:

Bozi Dar aerodrome, Bozi Dar, Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$27,235 (Chile) (3 November 2006)

Gross:

$148,101 (Chile) (24 November 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Entertainment Manufacturing Company, VIP 3 Medienfonds, Ascendant Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an interview on the cable channel Spike, Director Andrew Niccol admits to becoming an arms dealer himself. There is a scene with 3000 AK-47s which the director bought for use in the movie and later resold (at a loss) because it was cheaper than getting 3000 props. He concluded that since he took a loss on the guns that he was not a very good arms dealer.

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Goofs

When Yuri is in Lebanon, talking about how he got his first break there, he is shown stopping to look at a Kool's cigarettes billboard. Lebanon has never had that brand of cigarettes.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Peep Show: Mugging (2005)

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Soundtracks

"U Ready to Die"
Written by Scott Nickoley, Jamie Dunlap and Darren Milton
Performed by Quake
Courtesy of Kid Gloves Music

User Reviews

Great Movie -- Similar to "The Godfather"

This was a great movie. Cage delivered on the "anti-hero" - a 21st century "Corleone".

The locations were cool and "spectacular". From a visual standpoint this movie really does take you around the world. New York, Russia, Libya, Libera, etc. This movie is shot very, very well.

The pacing of the movie is brisk, the scenes aren't morose. Like Platoon, this movie doesn't glamorize or demonize situations. A guy who sells weapons for a living meets some violent people in some violent places. The visual style is breathtaking . . .

What I like best is, no characters in the movie are "romanticized". There are no "good guys". One could make the case that there are no "bad guys" as well I suppose. There are people who do bad things for reasons you don't understand. There are people who do nothing when they should do something for reasons you don't understand. Its a pretty accurate depiction of real life :)

I think I might have rated the movie 8.5, if there were any other movies at all about this topic that were anywhere in its league. If you make a great "Legally Blond", that's nice. If you make a great movie about arms trading with a sold antihero and supporting characters, I figure you get "extra credit".

I think you're a fool if you miss this movie. Its not about Iraq. Its not particularly political. This movie could have been made under any president in the last 100 years and been just as accurate. Its not particularly anti-gun. Its just about this guy who sells guns.

On the other hand, don't take people to this movie if they can't handle violence or movies that aren't designed to make them "feel good" when they walk out. This is a good movie, its interesting, its intelligent, its important -- but its not Ferris Buellers Day Off or Spinal Tap.