Synopsis

In the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, four American soldiers discover a map leading to stolen Kuwaiti gold hidden in an Iraqi bunker. Their planned heist changes when they encounter civilians caught between Saddam Hussein's forces and a doomed rebellion. Pursued across the desert, the soldiers must decide whether to escape with the treasure or risk everything to help the people they have encountered.

Factoids & Trivia

• The project began as a Gulf War heist screenplay by John Ridley, originally titled Spoils of War. The script was later substantially reworked for the finished film.

• Although the story takes place in Iraq and Kuwait, filming was carried out in desert locations in Arizona, California, and Mexico. Some of the extras were actual Iraqi refugees.

• The film's unusual color and texture came from experimental processing. Much of the footage was shot on Ektachrome transparency stock and cross-processed in color-negative chemicals to evoke the look of Gulf War news photography.

• Handheld cameras and Steadicam work were combined to give the combat scenes a documentary-like immediacy. The production also used different film stocks and processing methods to reflect changes in mood and setting.

• The internal images used to depict gunshot wounds were based on medical information supplied by an emergency-room doctor. Reports that a real corpse was used for one of the effects were later denied.

• The famous exploding-cow sequence was among the scenes that reportedly caused concern at Warner Bros. during production because of the film's graphic violence and politically controversial subject matter.

• The film was released in the United States on October 1, 1999. It earned approximately $107.7 million worldwide against a reported production budget of $48 million.

• For a planned 2004 re-release, a new Iraq War documentary titled Soldiers Pay was produced as companion material. Warner Bros. ultimately abandoned the theatrical re-release, and the documentary was later broadcast separately.