Three Kings (1999)

Director:

David O. Russell

Writers (WGA):

John Ridley (story)
David O. Russell (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 October 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | War

Tagline:

In a war without heroes they are kings

Plot:

In the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, 4 soldiers set out to steal gold that was stolen from Kuwait, but they discover people who desperately need their help.

Plot Keywords:

Gold | Kuwait | Persian Gulf | Map | Gulf War

Awards:

5 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

George Clooney	...	Archie Gates
Mark Wahlberg	...	Troy Barlow
Ice Cube	...	Chief Elgin
Spike Jonze	...	Conrad Vig
Cliff Curtis	...	Amir Abdulah
Nora Dunn	...	Adriana Cruz
Jamie Kennedy	...	Walter Wogaman
Saïd Taghmaoui	...	Captain Said (as Said Taghmaoui)
Mykelti Williamson	...	Colonel Horn
Holt McCallany	...	Captain Van Meter
Judy Greer	...	Cathy Daitch
Christopher Lohr	...	Teebaux
Jon Sklaroff	...	Paco
Liz Stauber	...	Debbie Barlow, Troy's Wife
Marsha Horan	...	Amir's Wife

Also Known As:

Spoils of War (USA) (original script title)
Tres reyes (Argentina) (Mexico) (Spain) (Uruguay) [es]
Les rois du désert (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Üç kral (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Kolm kuningat (Estonia) [et]
Kolme kuningasta (Finland) [fi]
Sivatagi cápák (Hungary) [hu]
Three Kings (Italy) [it]
Three Kings - Es ist schön König zu sein (Germany) [de]
Três Reis (Portugal) [pt]
Tre konger (Norway) [no]
Tre kungar (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Trois rois (Canada: French title) [fr]

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic war violence, language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English | Arabic

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:18 | Brazil:18 | Italy:VM18 (tv rating) | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Canada:18A (Alberta) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 (w) | Hong Kong:IIA | Iraq:(Banned) | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #36912) | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Arizona, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The role of Major Archie Gates was offered to Nick Nolte, who turned it down, saying he was too old. Jeff Bridges wanted to play Gates, but was turned down as a result of the poor box office run of The Big Lebowski (1998).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the milk truck is entering the village and the Iraqi Soldiers blow a hole in the trailer, the first trailer tire "turns" to steer the trailer towards the wall.

Quotes:

Debbie Barlow, Troy's Wife: Hello?
Troy Barlow: Honey, it's me.
Debbie Barlow, Troy's Wife: Troy? Oh my god! Oh, baby, I was hoping it was you.
Troy Barlow: It's me honey.
Debbie Barlow, Troy's Wife: Oh god, the baby's crying.
Troy Barlow: How's she doing?
Debbie Barlow, Troy's Wife: She hasn't been sleeping too good, and my mom had to go back to work, so I'm real tired baby.
Troy Barlow: Oh, I wish I was there to help, gooney bird.
Debbie Barlow, Troy's Wife: Oh, gooney bird, when are you coming home?
Troy Barlow: Well I'm working on that right now baby.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Battlefield: Bad Company (2008) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Can't Do Nuttin' For Ya Man

overlooked gem shows what a modern war really is

It's hard to really adequately describe this movie. Let me try.

For starters, in spite of the advertisements, it's not merely a remake of "Kelly's Heroes". Yes, we are in a postwar situation, where a bunch of Americans are trying to "recover" gold stolen by the enemy, but that's the end of the similarities.

"Three Kings" does an excellent job of showing just how gonzo modern warfare has become. You've got unemployed reservists going to the Middle East for kicks fighting Saddam, who uses gas attacks, electric shock torture and other atrocities to fight the rebels. Thrown in the mix are a U.S.-educated Iraqi whose businesses were destroyed by the Americans, a bunch of rebels and refugees living in bunkers, a CNN-type correspondent facing the threat of younger reporters, and Mark Wahlberg's character finding a cell phone in the Iraqi bunker and using it to call his wife in the U.S.

The movie is extremely funny at times, graphically violent at times, but always on target. It provides a lot of insight into how non-Americans view the U.S. I cannot think of another major movie which showed people in a third-world country as modern people without patronizing. Even the soldiers shooting at our heros, gassing the refugees, and torturing Mark Wahlberg's character are shown as human beings.

Somehow this movie got lost last year amongst all the hype for "American Beauty". "Three Kings" looks to have much more staying power. George Clooney continues to shine in yet another under-appreciated performance. For somebody with a Hollywood legacy, he really seems to have pushed some of the wrong buttons in Hollywood. I cannot think of any other explanation for why he has yet to achieve the acclaim his performances deserve.