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 & 3 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 movie 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 neighborhood, through to his ascension through the decade of excess and indulgence into the early 1990s, where he forms a business partnership with an African warlord and his psychotic son. This movie also charts his relationship through the years with his younger brother, his marriage to a famous model, his relentless pursuit by a determined INTERPOL 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 | gunrunner | prostitution | drug addiction | rehab | 

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Taglines:

The first and most important rule of gun-running is: never get shot with your own merchandise.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

18A

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kono, the name to which the ship is changed, is a diamond-rich area of Sierra Leone named for a tribe that lives there.

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Goofs

During the deal in Colombia, the Colombian buyer speaks with a marked Mexican accent, even using Mexican curses (as does Yuri in response).

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Quotes

Andre Baptiste Sr.: I'm not going to pay your asking price we're not rich people besides the market is already flooded with your Kalashnikovs, do you realize in some parts of my country you can get one for the price of a chicken?
Yuri Orlov: But you can't look at the unitary price: you forget ancillary costs, end user certificates needs to be forged and notarized, shell companies set up, insurance purchase pilots and crews need to be hired, not to mention the bribes. You can't get a nut and bolt out of the eastern bloc without...
[...]

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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.

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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.

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Connections

Spoofed in Corporate: Powerpoint of Death (2018)

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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

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.

Details

Country:

France Germany USA

Language:

English Ukrainian German Spanish Russian French Arabic Turkish

Release Date:

16 September 2005 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Le seigneur de guerre

Filming Locations:

Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,390,144, 18 September 2005

Gross USA:

$24,149,632

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$72,617,068

Company Credits

Production Co:

Entertainment Manufacturing Company, VIP 3 Medienfonds, Ascendant Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1