The Order (2001 film)
| The Order | |
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DVD cover
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| Directed by | Sheldon Lettich |
| Produced by | Avi Lerner |
| Written by |
Jean-Claude Van Damme Les Weldon |
| Starring | Jean-Claude Van Damme Charlton Heston Sofia Milos Brian Thompson Vernon Dobtcheff |
| Music by | Pino Donaggio |
| Cinematography | David Gurfinkel |
| Edited by | Donn Aron Alain Jakubowicz |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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89 min |
| Country | Aruba US |
| Language | Syriac Aramaic English Arabic French Hebrew Ukrainian |
| Budget | $12 million |
The Order is a 2001 American action film directed by Sheldon Lettich, and written by Jean-Claude Van Damme, who also starred in the film. The film was released on direct-to-DVD in the United States on March 12, 2002.
The film opens in 1099 at the end of the First Crusade, depicting Christian Crusaders sacking Jerusalem and slaughtering the local population. One of the Christian knights, Charles Le Vaillant (Jean-Claude Van Damme), becomes demoralized by the horrors of war, and decides to create a new religious order. This new order brings together members from the three main religions of the region: Christians, Jews, and Muslims. As a self-imposed leader and messiah, Charles writes the sacred texts of the Order. He is subsequently accused of heresy by the Christian church, who attack his stronghold, killing Le Vaillant. During the attack, the last chapter from their religious text becomes lost in the desert after he buried it in a secret place.
In modern-day Israel, a devout contingent of Le Vaillant's followers continues to practice his peaceful teachings; however, one of the disciples, Cyrus (Brian Thompson) holds a distorted view of the Order's ways. Cyrus ordered a priest killed by using a car bomb, to his delight. Meanwhile, Rudy Cafmeyer (Jean-Claude Van Damme), a thief and smuggler of valuable historical artifacts, breaks into a high-security building and steals a precious Fabergé egg. He triggers an alarm in the process and is forced to fight his way out of the building.
It is revealed that Rudy works for his father, archaeologist and museum curator Oscar "Ozzie" Cafmeyer (Vernon Dobtcheff), and that the Fabergé egg was stolen from the personal collection of a powerful Russian mafia boss. Ozzie discovers the lost manuscripts of the Order, lost ever since the Crusades, and reads their accounts of interfaith harmony. The manuscripts also contain an ancient map of Jerusalem, which depicts the location of a mythical Jewish treasure. Ozzie travels to Israel, where Cyrus has him kidnapped.
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Wikipedia