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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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

Both times Yuri takes Vitaly to rehab, the exact same close-up shot of Yuri's hand pouring cocaine out of a vial onto the arm rest of their limo is used. It is colored differently the second time it is used, but it is still the exact same shot.

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Quotes

Yuri Orlov: [Narrating] Without operations like mine it would be impossible for certain countries to conduct a respectable war. I was able to navigate around those inconvenient little arms embargoes. There are three basic types of arms deal: white, being legal, black, being illegal, and my personal favorite color, *gray*. Sometimes I made the deal so convoluted, it was hard for *me* to work out if they were on the level.

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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

Young Americans
Written by David Bowie
Published by Jones Music America (ASCAP), RZO Music Limited
Used by permission of Colgems-EMI Music, Inc.
Published by Chrysalis Music (ASCAP)
Performed by David Bowie
Courtesy of RZO 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.

Details

Country:

France Germany USA

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 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