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) (as James Webb), 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	...	Colonel Hayes Hodges
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Colonel Terry Childers
Guy Pearce	...	Major Biggs
Ben Kingsley	...	Mourain
Bruce Greenwood	...	Sokal
Anne Archer	...	Mrs. Mourain
Blair Underwood	...	Captain Lee
Philip Baker Hall	...	General H. Lawrence Hodges
Dale Dye	...	General Perry
Amidou	...	Doctor Ahmar
Mark Feuerstein	...	Tom Chandler
Richard McGonagle	...	Judge
Baoan Coleman	...	Colonel Cao
Nicky Katt	...	Hayes Hodges III
Ryan Hurst	...	Corporal 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 | combat | trial | 

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Taglines:

A hero should never have to stand alone.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for scenes of war violence, and for language

Details

Country:

UK Germany Canada USA

Language:

English Arabic

Release Date:

7 April 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Reglas de combate

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,011,181, 9 April 2000, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$61,335,230

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$71,732,303

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Seven Arts Pictures, 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

In Bill Sokal's (Bruce Greenwood's) office, a painting portrait of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy can be seen. Greenwood played John F. Kennedy in Thirteen Days (2000).

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Goofs

Accent of the people speaking is not Yemen but Moroccan. Anyone who has been to Yemen would find many things inaccurate such as the 'Taj Sheba Hotel' sign, which is a 5-star hotel in reality.

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Quotes

Colonel Terry L. Childers: Listen... when I turned 18, I joined the Marine Corps, I ASKED to be in the Infantry, I ASKED to go to Vietnam...
Colonel Hayes Hodges: Terry...
Colonel Terry L. Childers: I live for the privelidge of commanding troops, I think it's the greatest honor an American can have...
Colonel Hayes Hodges: Terry...
Colonel Terry L. Childers: Do you know how many birthdays and Christmases I missed spent rotting in jungles or in the desert just so you could play war at ROTC?
Colonel Hayes Hodges: CHILDERS! You got to keep your shit together here, man. Your court martial boys is going to be made up of people who might have ...
[...]

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Alternate Versions

Some international prints, made for DVD/TV broadcast, have removed the Paramount logo and fade straight into the Seven Arts Pictures logo. The opening titles also now read "Seven Arts Pictures Present in association with Paramount Pictures". This is due to the fact that Seven Arts owned the international rights and wanted prime credit.

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Connections

Featured in Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People (2006)

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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

Not as good as "A Few Good Men" but well worth watching

This is a military court martial movie with a few similarities to A Few Good Men. It did not have as much suspense, but overall it was still quite good. I thought the situation in Yemen made it very applicable to current day problems in Arab-American relations. The movie was released before the USS Cole attack, which reinforces the possibility of the event in question in the court-martial. I don't think the massacre that occurred would have been quite so bloody in a real world situation though.

The performances of Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson and Guy Pearce were very good. Probably no Oscars here, but well worth watching.