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IMDbPro

Lord of War

  • 2005
  • R
  • 2h 2m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
326K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,861
575
Nicolas Cage in Lord of War (2005)
Trailer for this action film starring Nicholas Cage as a gun runner
Play trailer2:08
2 Videos
99+ Photos
CrimeDrama

An arms dealer confronts the morality of his work as he is being chased by an INTERPOL Agent.An arms dealer confronts the morality of his work as he is being chased by an INTERPOL Agent.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
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.6/10
    326K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,861
    575
    • Director
      • Andrew Niccol
    • Writer
      • Andrew Niccol
    • Stars
      • Nicolas Cage
      • Ethan Hawke
      • Jared Leto
    • 525User reviews
    • 157Critic reviews
    • 62Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 3 nominations

    Videos2

    Lord of War: Blu-Ray
    Trailer 2:08
    Watch Lord of War: Blu-Ray
    Lord of War
    Trailer 2:12
    Watch Lord of War

    Photos193

    Nicolas Cage and Eamonn Walker in Lord of War (2005)
    Nicolas Cage and Jared Leto in Lord of War (2005)
    Nicolas Cage and Eamonn Walker in Lord of War (2005)
    Jared Leto in Lord of War (2005)
    Nicolas Cage in Lord of War (2005)
    Nicolas Cage and Jared Leto in Lord of War (2005)
    Nicolas Cage in Lord of War (2005)
    Nicolas Cage in Lord of War (2005)
    Nicolas Cage and Ian Holm in Lord of War (2005)
    Nicolas Cage and Ian Holm in Lord of War (2005)
    Bridget Moynahan in Lord of War (2005)
    Nicolas Cage and Eamonn Walker in Lord of War (2005)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Nicolas Cage
    Nicolas Cage
    • Yuri Orlov
    Ethan Hawke
    Ethan Hawke
    • Jack Valentine
    Jared Leto
    Jared Leto
    • Vitaly Orlov
    Bridget Moynahan
    Bridget Moynahan
    • Ava Fontaine
    Shake Tukhmanyan
    • Irina Orlov
    • (as Shake Toukhmanian)
    Jean-Pierre Nshanian
    • Anatoly Orlov
    Jared Burke
    Jared Burke
    • Ukrainian Mobster
    Eric Uys
    Eric Uys
    • Ukrainian Mobster
    David Shumbris
    David Shumbris
    • Ukrainian Mobster
    Stewart Morgan
    • Ukrainian Mobster
    Jasper Lenz
    • Gregor
    Stephen Gregor
    • Eli Kurtzman
    Kobus Marx
    • Boris
    Stephan De Abreu
    • Liev
    Jeremy Crutchley
    Jeremy Crutchley
    • Arms Fair Salesman
    Ian Holm
    Ian Holm
    • Simeon Weisz
    Tanya Finch
    • Ingrid
    Lize Jooste
    • Natasha
    • Director
      • Andrew Niccol
    • Writer
      • Andrew Niccol
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      According to writer and director Andrew Niccol, the filmmakers worked with actual gunrunners in the making of this movie. The tanks lined up for sale were real, and belonged to a Czech arms dealer, who had to have them back to sell to another country. They used a real stockpile of over three thousand AK-47s, because it was cheaper than getting prop guns.
    • Goofs
      When narrating the story about early stages of his business in 1980s, Yuri Orlov mentions that he has carried several passports at that time, including the Ukrainian passport. Ukraine didn't get to issue its own passports until 1992.
    • Quotes

      Yuri Orlov: [Narrating] Of all the weapons in the vast Soviet arsenal, nothing was more profitable than Avtomat Kalashnikova model of 1947, more commonly known as the AK-47, or Kalashnikov. It's the world's most popular assault rifle. A weapon all fighters love. An elegantly simple 9 pound amalgamation of forged steel and plywood. It doesn't break, jam, or overheat. It will shoot whether it's covered in mud or filled with sand. It's so easy, even a child can use it; and they do. The Soviets put the gun on a coin. Mozambique put it on their flag. Since the end of the Cold War, the Kalashnikov has become the Russian people's greatest export. After that comes vodka, caviar, and suicidal novelists. One thing is for sure, no one was lining up to buy their cars.

    • Crazy credits
      Before the end credits roll a message appears stating that the top 5 sellers of arms in the world are China, Russia, the UK, USA, and France - all of whom make up the permanent five members of the UN security council.
    • Alternate versions
      For the US DVD release the aspect ratio of the film was changed to 1,78:1. A few weeks after the initial release the DVD was reissued with the film in its original aspect ratio of 2,35:1.
    • Connections
      Featured in Making a Killing: Inside the International Arms Trade (2006)
    • Soundtracks
      For What It's Worth
      Written by Stephen Stills

      Performed by Buffalo Springfield

      Courtesy of Elektra Entertainment Group

      By arrangement with Warner Strategic Marketing

    User reviews525

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    Just Evil Prevails
    Atop a hillside in Liberia overlooking an impending village massacre once the arms deal settles, Nicolas Cage's Yuri pleads to his conscience rattled brother Vitaly (Jared Leto), "It is none of our business!" Writer and Director Andrew Niccol's "Lord of War" is all about the big business of war, and the cost of selling one's soul. That lost soul is Yuri Orlov played masterfully by Nicolas Cage. Cage as Yuri also narrates the story. Niccol sets the warped and dark tone in the opening sequence of the manufacture of a bullet to its final destination—so to speak. Yuri comments that there is one firearm for every 12 people in the world. So the question is "How do we arm the other eleven?" Niccol's "Lord of War" is not so much a clever indictment of humanity, rather an acknowledgment of perhaps humanity's darker nature. In a poignant and chilling realization for Yuri (Cage) he says, "They say that 'evil prevails when good men fail to act.' It should be 'evil prevails'." I don't think this is cynicism on Niccol's part, rather only stating what is so given all of history and now. He certainly makes us think from the inside out.

    Yuri Orlov (Cage) is from a Ukrainian family in Little Odessa, NY. As a young man he has an epiphany witnessing a Russian mafia hit. Being an arms dealer is the path to success. He finds that he also has an innate gift for his chosen profession. He enlists his brother Vitaly (Leto) into the business. "Lord of War" traces the Orlov brothers over the course of 20 years—through the end of the Cold War to the advent of terrorist threats and dictatorships in third world countries. Yuri truly becomes the Lord of War supplying arms to anyone and any country for a profit. He also acts as an independent agent for undisclosed countries supplying arms to "freedom fighters". One gets the drift. Yuri eventually hits his stride and becomes very successful and very wealthy. He marries his trophy bride, supermodel Ava Fontaine (stunning Bridget Moynahan), has a son, and living in a luxury apartment in Manhattan. All the while he eludes the grasp of Interpol Agent Jack Valentine (very good Ethan Hawke), by keeping three steps ahead. Predictably Yuri's world comes crashing in upon him. In a powerful scene with Ava who purposely ignores what her husband really does for a living, Yuri has a conscience meltdown.

    The actors in "Lord of War" are great. Nicolas Cage is such a powerful and versatile actor. I don't think any other actor than himself, could enroll sympathy as arms dealer Yuri. Cage gives Yuri a subtle detached edge and an expert in context. Cage knows he is in morally bankrupt position, and he uses his smarts and sense of humor to rationalize that he only supplies the weapons to men who do evil. Yuri is the ultimate poster child for "Guns don't kill people. People kill people." Jared Leto is surprising as the coke head brother, who eventually cops to the monster he has become—the counterpoint to Yuri. Bridget Moynahan is deceivingly powerful as Ava, the former model aware that her asset of being pretty is fading, and closes her eyes to what her husband does until it is too late. Moynahan is stunningly beautiful and has distinctive grace and vulnerability. Ethan Hawke as Jack Valentine is the intrepid idealist saving the world from the likes of Yuri. Hawke is very strong and compelling.

    Andrew Niccol's "Lord of War" ends and the world continues on. The echoes of Yuri voice, just "evil prevails" is a chilling and poignant reminder. Nicolas Cage is brilliant as the lost soul in "The Lord of War". "The Lord of War" is one the year's best.
    helpful•409
    67
    • jon.h.ochiai
    • Oct 1, 2005

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    Proof That Nic Cage is THE National Treasure

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    FAQ1

    • What is meant by the characters when they refer to an 'end user certificate'?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 16, 2005 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • France
      • Germany
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Ukrainian
      • German
      • Spanish
      • Russian
      • French
      • Arabic
      • Turkish
    • Also known as
      • Trùm Chiến Tranh
    • Filming locations
      • Bozi Dar aerodrome, Bozi Dar, Czech Republic(Ukrainian ammunition depot)
    • Production companies
      • Entertainment Manufacturing Company
      • VIP 3 Medienfonds
      • Ascendant Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $50,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $24,149,632
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $9,390,144
      • Sep 18, 2005
    • Gross worldwide
      • $72,617,068
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 2 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
      • Dolby Atmos
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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