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Lord of War
The following weapons were used in the film Lord of War:
Error creating thumbnail: File missing WARNING! THIS PAGE CONTAINS SPOILERS!
Handguns
Beretta 92SB
Yuri's brother Vitaly Orlov (Jared Leto) carries a Beretta 92SB pistol throughout the film. During the altercation with the narco-guerrilla in Colombia, he pulls this weapon to defend his brother. The same prop also appears as one of the guns Yuri tries to sell André Baptiste Sr. (Eamonn Walker).
Smith & Wesson Model 686
While Yuri is negotiating with André Baptiste Sr. (Eamonn Walker), the warlord examines a Smith & Wesson Model 686, which he then uses to kill one of the men in the room, after which Yuri comments that he'll have to purchase the weapon having used it. Later on, André captures Yuri's primary gun-running competitor, Simeon Weisz (Ian Holm) as a "present" for Yuri and gives him the opportunity to kill him using the revolver. When Yuri is reluctant to do the deed himself, the warlord puts the gun in Yuri's hand and presses Yuri's finger on the trigger until the gun fires, killing Weisz.
Glock 17
In one part of the film, Yuri sells four Glock 17 pistols to a Colombian narco-guerilla (possibly a member of FARC), along with a large shipment of other weapons. When a dispute arises regarding payment for the weapons (the drug lord wants to give him cocaine instead of money), Yuri ends up getting shot with one of the pistols, violating the most important of his three rules; "Don't get shot with your own merchandise".
A notable mistake is that two of the Glock 17s in this scene (including the one used by the drug lord to shoot Yuri) are clearly 3rd Generation models (they have frame rails for mounting accessories, plus thumb reliefs and finger grooves in the grip), which were introduced in the late-1990s, but the scene takes place in the late-1980s. The other two Glocks are both 2nd Generation models, which would have been correct for the time period.
Star Model B
The Russian Mobster who is attacked in the restaurant single handedly takes out the two hitters with his Star Model B pistol. It appears the same gun is among the weapons Yuri sells to André Baptiste Sr. The is the same Star Model B used in Flight of the Phoenix.
Makarov PM
A Russian soldier in Ukraine points his Makarov PM at the Interpol agents when they try to bust Yuri.
Submachine Guns
Micro Uzi
Yuri's very first arms sale is a batch of Micro Uzi machine pistols, which are sold to local Russian mobsters. As the scene takes place before Yuri's sales in Lebanon (which took place in 1982), the Micro Uzis are anachronistic, since they were introduced in 1986.
Heckler & Koch MP5K
Interpol agent Jack Valentine (Ethan Hawke) carries a Heckler & Koch MP5K with a 15-round magazine and a Navy trigger group.
Heckler & Koch MP5A2/A3
Throughout the movie, the Interpol agents are brandishing Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine guns, both the MP5A2 and MP5A3, many of which have Navy trigger groups. In one scene where Interpol agents confront Yuri as he is about to ship an Mi-24 attack helicopter to Burkina Faso, one of the agents shoves an MP5 in his face threateningly. He coolly replies, "Oh, the new MP5...would you like a silencer for that?" A couple were also seen in Yuri Orlov's weapons container.
Note this shot features the sound of the bolt being racked, despite the agent having his off-hand on Yuri's shoulder.
Uzi
In one scene, Yuri and Vitaly sell full-size Uzi submachine guns to Somali Islamic resistance fighters (one of them tests the weapon by firing it at a cardboard cutout of Ronald Reagan). Yuri notes the irony of this transaction: "I sold Israeli-made Uzis to Muslims."
Rifles
AK-47
Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage) is seen examining a Type III Pattern AK-47 rifle of Russian manufacture during one of the film's most memorable scenes, the weapon's simplicity and near-indestructibility being highly praised by him. The film starts out following the journey of an AK-47 7.62x39mm round from a munitions factory in Russia to its final destination in an African country, where it is fired at and kills a child soldier.
AKM
Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage) is seen loading and handing out an AKM to an African when his plane lands on the dirt road. They also appear numerous times during Yuri's sales. A Russian mobster is seen using one with the stock removed to appear like an AKMS, although close inspection reveals it lacks the stock and hinges.
AKMS
Several AKMS's are seen among Yuri's deliveries.
André Baptiste, Jr.'s Custom AK
The gold-plated AK-47/AKM derivative carried by André Baptiste, Jr. (Sammi Rotibi) is not, as has been written previously, an "AKS-47U" or "AKMSU" or any such factory-manufactured weapon. It is a custom-made Kalashnikov that was built specially for the movie, using a variety of parts taken from real AK-pattern weapons. Martin Edge, an armorer at Hire Arms, which supplied the guns for all scenes filmed in South Africa, has sent IMFDB an e-mail with the following details:
"The weapon started out as a Saiga hunting rifle with synthetic stock and furniture...Here are the rest of the details:
-The folding stock is, as you mentioned from East Germany, this was purchased in East Germany at an arms fair and fitted to the weapon
-The top cover is held on by means of a S.M.L.E. rear top cover spring clip
-A pistol grip was installed and the trigger moved forward, the trigger guard is from a Vector R4
-The barrel and gas tube were shortened and the front sight is fitted to the barrel by means a flat on the barrel and a key on the front sight, the hand guard is held in position by the flash hider
-The Muzzle brake/flash hider was turned down from a piece of bar
The weapon was originally supplied to the production with the black synthetic furniture, but was rejected in favour of the wooden furniture. The weapon was actually built by Bruce Wenztel, the owner of Hire Arms, which is Johannesburg based movie weapons props house in South Africa. I was not one of the armourers on the movie as I was not working for the company that the time of the production. The armourer was Lance Peters who handled the weapons on set on the companies behalf. Hire Arms imported some weapons and supplied the others. I spend most of my time building specialized weapons for future productions and spend very little time on set. The company has 400 feature movies under its belt and seems to be going from strength to strength. I am attaching various other pictures, please feel free to upload as you like.
You also mention the magazine in your copy, and it is an early type and was chosen because of its surface area for ease of plating. Brass plating was suggested as an alternative to gold but was rejected by the production in favour of 18crt gold plating, which cost a small fortune."
As mentioned in Martin's e-mail, he sent us a number of photos of the gold-plated AK. IMFDB is extremely grateful to him for this exclusive info!
Norinco Type 56-1
As in many Hollywood movies, one of the most common AK derivatives seen in the film is the Norinco Type 56-1, the Chinese copy of the AKMS, with its distinctive hooded front sight. In fact, AKs of this type are seen being used by the ex-USSR soldiers in Ukraine during the early-1990s (which is highly inaccurate, because Soviet troops would never use Chinese-made weapons and the 7.62x39mm AKs had been phased out of Russian service at the time of the scene, anyway). Many of the Type 56-1s seen in the movie have been visually modified to pass for AKMS rifles - they have been fitted with the ribbed receiver cover (Chinese AKs normally have smooth) and the wider front grip.
Custom Nickel Type 56-1
In Yuri's gun container, a nickel-plated Norinco Type 56-1 with ivory furniture and a Romanian-style folding grip is seen. This weapon was originally built by Weapons Specialists for the movie Belly, and also appeared in several other movies and TV shows.
M16A2
In one of Yuri's first major sales, he procures hundreds of surplus M16A2 rifles left in Lebanon by American peacekeepers, which he sells to the leader of a Lebanese Maronite militia (probably the real-life Phalange) in a joint deal with a corrupt American military officer named Lt. Colonel Southern (a reference to Lt. Colonel Oliver North, who in real life helped sell American-made weaponry "under the table" to proxy forces). While the M16A2 was introduced in the time era (1982), it was not adopted or fielded until some time later, so the pile should be of M16A1s. The HBAR AR-15A2, however, is an anachronism.
Norinco Model 311
One of the Norinco Model 311 is inside the surplus M16A2 rifles left in Lebanon by American peacekeepers. It appears to have M16A2 handguards.
Vektor R5
A Lebanese soldier is seen using an Vektor R5 to execute Palestinian guerillas. It is noted as being a Vektor R5 and not a Galil SAR by the bulge on the end of the gas tube just behind the front sight, which prevents the handguard retaining clip from moving unless the rifle is disassembled.
M16A1 with A2 Handguards
Two Lebanese soldiers are seen using M16A1s with M16A2-style handguards to execute Palestinian guerrillas. One is also seen in Yuri Orlov's weapons container.
Colt Model 723
During the Berlin Arms Fair scenes, several female models can be seen posing with Colt Model 723s.
CAR-15 SMG
One of the Narco-guerilla's henchmen is seen holding a CAR-15 with a 10" barrel when Yuri sells him Glocks. One is also seen in Yuri's gun container.
SA Vz.58
In Ukraine, a Russian stockpile of weaponry consists of thousands of Kalashnikovs, which are in fact SA Vz.58 assault rifles standing in. According to Director Andrew Niccol in the DVD commentary, the guns were real guns rented from a real arms dealer, as it was cheaper for the production to rent 3,000 real guns than to rent 3,000 blank converted props.
Heckler & Koch G3A3 (South African)
A number of the South African variant of the Heckler & Koch G3A3 can be seen in the pile of surplus rifles left in Lebanon by America peace keepers.
Henry US Survival Break-Down Rifle
A Henry US Survival break-down rifle with a stainless steel finish, a matching Aimpoint CompM2 reflex sight, and a wire stock is seen in Yuri's weapons container.
Karabiner 98k
A Karabiner 98k bolt-action rifle can be seen in the hands of an Afghan Mudjahideen rebel during the montage where Yuri describes the growth of his business. The rifle has a straight bolt unlike a genuine 98k but has the indentation in the stock under the bolt indicating this gun is built off of several Mauser variants.
L1A1 SLR
André Baptiste Sr.'s (Eamonn Walker) escort soldiers are seen armed with L1A1 SLRs.
Custom Truvelo Sniper rifle
A Custom Truvelo Sniper rifle with a Harris Bipod and a high-powered scope is seen in Yuri's weapons container.
Shotguns
Smith & Wesson 3000
A Smith & Wesson 3000 Shotgun with a side-folding stock is seen in Yuri's weapons container.
Machine Guns
M60
While doing business with André Baptiste, André Baptiste Jr. requests that Yuri get him what he calls "the gun of Rambo"; an M60 machine gun (The Rambo in which Jr. refers is "Part one", which is the first film, First Blood). Upon receiving it, he is seen firing the gun at random civilians while driving in the truck to do business with the R.U.F. in Sierra Leone. An M60 is also seen on the Coast Guard boat when Jack Valentine is about to board the Kristol/Kono.
FN MAG-58
When Yuri sells Communist made ammunition to fascists in Borneo, one of the fascist soldiers is seen manning an FN MAG-58 mounted on a jeep.
Other
RPG-7
Another frequently-seen weapon in the film is the RPG-7. In one scene, Yuri gives away a whole plane full of weapons, including RPG's, to peasants to avoid being caught with them by Interpol agents. Interestingly, the flight scene shows that the launchers are armed, having live rockets mounted...never a very safe way to fly.
RGD-5 Hand Grenade
Near the end of the film, Vitaly uses RGD-5 hand grenades to try to destroy the weapons his brother is selling to the R.U.F. in exchange for conflict diamonds, but only manages to destroy one truck.
Trivia
NATO had to be notified during the filming of the line of tanks and armor when Yuri visits the Ukrainian base, otherwise they would have appeared to be part of a war mobilization from satellite images.
