A group of American soldiers stationed in Iraq at the end of the Gulf War find a map they believe will take them to a huge cache of stolen Kuwaiti gold hidden near their base, and they embark on a secret mission that's destined to change everything.
Direction
Russell's handheld chaos makes war visceral and absurd
Cinematography
Bullet wound POV shots still unmatched
Writing
Sharp pivot from comedy to gut-punch drama
Director
David O. Russell
George Clooney
Archie Gates
Mark Wahlberg
Troy Barlow
Ice Cube
Chief Elgin
Spike Jonze
Conrad Vig
Cliff Curtis
Amir Abdullah
Nora Dunn
Adriana Cruz
Jamie Kennedy
Walter Wogaman
Saïd Taghmaoui
Captain Said
Mykelti Williamson
Colonel Horn
Holt McCallany
Captain Van Meter
Judy Greer
Cathy Daitch
Jon Sklaroff
Paco
Liz Stauber
Debbie Barlow, Troy's Wife
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Warner Bros. hated Russell's chaotic directing so much they briefly shut down production; Clooney allegedly headbutted him during a screaming match about it.
Released six years before Iraq War II, its critique of abandoned Iraqi rebels proved horrifyingly prescient — the 'Shiite uprising' the characters fail to prevent happened for real in 1991 and was brutally suppressed.
US
