Rules of Engagement (film)
| Rules of Engagement | |
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Home video release poster
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| Directed by | William Friedkin |
| Produced by |
Scott Rudin Richard D. Zanuck |
| Screenplay by | Stephen Gaghan |
| Story by | Jim Webb |
| Starring |
Tommy Lee Jones Samuel L. Jackson |
| Music by | Mark Isham |
| Cinematography |
William A. Fraker Nicola Pecorini |
| Edited by | Augie Hess |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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128 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English Arabic Vietnamese |
| Budget | $60 million |
| Box office | $71.7 million |
Rules of Engagement is a 2000 American mystery war-drama film directed by William Friedkin, written by Jim Webb and starring Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson plays U.S. Marine Colonel Terry Childers, who is brought to court-martial after men under Childers' orders kill a large number of civilians outside the U.S. embassy in Yemen.
In 1968, a disastrous American advance in the Vietnam War has 2nd Lt. Terry Childers (Samuel L. Jackson) executing an unarmed prisoner in order to intimidate a Vietnam People's Army officer into calling off an ambush of U.S. Marines. His act thereby saves the life of wounded 2nd Lt. Hayes Hodges (Tommy Lee Jones).
In 1996, Col Hodges is about to retire from the Marine Corps, and is reminiscing about his years in uniform. As a result of wounds he sustained during Operation Kingfisher, he was no longer able to continue as an infantry officer, so the Marine Corp sent him to law school and he continued his career as a JAG officer. He subsequently enters the Camp Lejeune Officers Club, where numerous Marine officers wait to honor his service at a pre-retirement party. Hosting the event is his old friend, Col Terry Childers, who is now the commanding officer of a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU).
Subsequently deployed to Southwest Asia as part of an Amphibious Readiness Group, Col Childers and his embarked MEU are called to evacuate the U.S. Ambassador to Yemen from the embassy grounds, as a routine demonstration against American influence on the Arabian peninsula and in the Persian Gulf turns into rock-throwing and sporadic automatic rifle fire from nearby rooftops. After escorting the ambassador to a waiting helicopter, Childers returns to the embassy to retrieve the American flag; meanwhile three Marines are killed by snipers on nearby rooftops with more gun fire following. Childers then orders his men to open fire on the crowd and "waste the motherfuckers", resulting in the deaths of 83 civilian protesters and injuries to over 100 more.
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