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, Ethan Hawke, Jared Leto

2 wins & 2 nominations.

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 | ukrainian | immorality | warlord | 

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Taglines:

got guns?

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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 [United States]

Country:

USA Germany France

Language:

English Ukrainian German Spanish Russian French Arabic Turkish

Release Date:

16 September 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lord of War

Filming Locations:

Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$9,390,144 (USA) (16 September 2005)

Gross:

$24,127,895 (USA) (28 October 2005)

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

The Berlin Arms Fair was filmed at the Thunder City airfield in South Africa. The two aircraft were an early Mk2 Buccaneer & a Hawker Hunter, both old timers in 82.

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Goofs

After finishing the painting of "Kono" and while they are bringing the painter back up aboard, we see all four letters filled out nicely and without smudges. However, in a short cut the N in Kono is smudged, and then back to normal in the very next cut.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Yuri Orlov: There are over 550 million firearms in worldwide circulation. That's one firearm for every twelve people on the planet. The only question is: How do we arm the other 11?

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Connections

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

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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

Lord of War is the Lord of Movies this year.

Yuri Orlov(Nicolas Cage) tells his humorous, disturbing, and tragic story of coming from nothing to becoming the greatest gun-runner in the world.

Lord of War could not have been made better. The narration by cage was not only hysterical but when needed to be, emotional. The acting was the best this year. Cage showed me that he could find a character that actually fit him and the supporting cast with Jared Leto and Bridget Moynahan was incredible. I have never seen a movie that was so funny and so dramatic since my viewing of American Beauty.

The writing was beautiful. There is nothing more to say about it. It was just B-e-a-t-i-f-u-l. The movie is also very entertaining which can't be said about most dramatic movies but then again this movie is more than just dramatic, it's in it's own category! The story is gripping and makes you want Cage to succeed in his illegal actions after you have seen the other side of his criminal lifestyle. It characterizes every day warlords to the point where you understand them and sympathize for them and maybe even blame the American government due to fact that it is based on actual events. Overall, the movie was incredible and honestly one of the best this year.

I highly recommend this movie.