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:

got guns?

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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

Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage) was largely based on the exploits of international arms dealer Viktor Bout, a former Soviet officer, who was finally arrested by Thai authorities in March 2008. Bout, known as the "Merchant of Death", was trying to make a deal with American agents posing as F.A.R.C. insurgents when he was apprehended. After languishing in a Bangkok prison awaiting extradition by the U.S., he was tried and found guilty, and awaits sentencing in a Manhattan prison. The quote from Orlov seems appropriate, "I know that just because they needed me that day, didn't mean that they wouldn't make me a scapegoat the next." As a further reference, Orlov's father is named Anatoly, just like Bout's father.

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Goofs

When Yuri is in Lebanon, talking about how he got his first break there, he is shown stopping to look at a Kool's cigarettes billboard. Lebanon has never had that brand of cigarettes.

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Quotes

Yuri Orlov: [Narrating] Of course the U.S. army got a piece of the action army salaries were no better in the eighties than they are today and some of the brass like Lieutenant Colonel Southern needed to raise money for their own "private wars."

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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

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

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Soundtracks

Cocaine
Written by J.J. Cale
Performed by Eric Clapton
Courtesy of Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

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.

Details

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 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