Fails the Bechdel test

Lord of War

Name: Lord of War
Released: 2005

2005. Directed by Andrew Niccol, written by Andrew Niccol.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

2 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
9 women characters. 4 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
Women do talk to each other.
No 3. About something besides a man
Every conversation between women that our parser found mentions a man.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 2 out of 3.

The film

Yuri Orlov abandons his family's restaurant business after witnessing street violence and discovers a talent for selling weapons. With help from his younger brother Vitaly Orlov, he expands from small deals into a vast international operation fueled by war, political instability, and collapsing governments. As Interpol agent Jack Valentine closes in, Yuri builds a luxurious life and marries Ava Fontaine while hiding the truth behind his wealth. Growing pressure from family, law enforcement, and increasingly brutal clients forces Yuri to confront the human cost surrounding his business, even as opportunity continues pulling him deeper.

Released: 16 Sep 2005
Genres: Crime, Drama
Rated: R
IMDb: 7.6 / 10
Metascore: 62 / 100
Awards: 2 wins & 3 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

Women
Men
Not in the cast list
Bigger name, more lines

Yuri 410 lines, man
Ava 66 lines, woman
Vitaly 51 lines, man
Valentine 48 lines, man
Andre Jnr 20 lines, man
Dmitri 19 lines, man
Anatoly 18 lines, man
Baptiste 17 lines, man
Andre Baptiste 14 lines, man
Liberian Man 9 lines, man

Full cast, 52 people

Nicolas Cage as Yuri Orlov
Bridget Moynahan as Ava Fontaine Orlov
Jared Leto as Vitaly Orlov
Ethan Hawke as Jack Valentine
Eamonn Walker as Andre Baptiste Sr.
Ian Holm as Simeon Weisz
Sammi Rotibi as Andre Baptiste Jr.
Tanit Phoenix as Candy
Shake Tukhmanyan as Irina Orlov
Jared Burke as Ukrainian Mobster
David Shumbris as Ukrainian Mobster
Weston Cage as Vladimir
Jeremy Crutchley as Arms Fair Salesman
Jean-Pierre Nshanian as Anatoly Orlov
Eric Uys as Ukrainian Mobster
Stewart Morgan as Ukrainian Mobster
Jasper Lenz as Gregor
Kobus Marx as Boris
Stephan De Abreu as Liev
Stephen Gregor as Eli Kurtzman
Tanya Finch as Ingrid
Lize Jooste as Natasha
Yaseen Abdullah as Lebanese Customer
Donald Sutherland as Colonel Oliver Southern (voice)
David Harman as Colonel Oliver Southern
Neil Tweddle as Colonel Oliver Southern
Sajad Khan as Mujahadeen Leader
Chi Zhang Yi as Borneo Officer
Tony Caprari as Raoul
Jack Niccol as Young Nicolai
John Sferopoulos as Freighter Captain
Stanislav Majer as Ukrainian Guard
Evgeniy Lazarev as General Dmitri
Larissa Bond as Alena
Annelene Terblanche as Angel
Gugulethu 'Gugu' Zulu as Andre's Driver
Mirriam Ngomani as Cheerleader Asura
Tony Kgoroge as Mbizi
Jerry Mofokeng as Ernest
Kutcha as Interpol Agent Maxwell (as Kutcha Hardy)
Mzwanele Jafta as General 'No Living Thing'
Akin Omotoso as General Solomon
Steve Ruge as A.T.F. Agent Callahan (as Steven Ruge)
Sonni Chidiebere as Monrovian Militiaman (as Sonni Genius Chidiebere)
Nalu Tripician as Older Nicolai
Young Bakubas as Hotel Africa Band
Hlomla Dandala as Interpol Pilot
Liya Kebede as Faith
Jasmine Burgess as Gloria
Siyamthanda Ndlangalavu as Boy Lieutenant
Dexter Nwayna as Hotel Africa Porter
TAYO OYEKOYA as Liberian Lieutenant

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 5% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 140

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers

Scenes	Women's lines	Men's lines
1 to 3	0	5
4 to 6	1	10
7 to 9	0	3
10 to 12	2	8
13 to 15	0	14
16 to 18	5	18
19 to 21	3	4
22 to 24	0	16
25 to 27	0	15
28 to 30	0	10
31 to 33	0	15
34 to 36	0	28
37 to 39	0	8
40 to 42	0	13
43 to 45	0	15
46 to 48	0	13
49 to 51	0	1
52 to 54	4	6
55 to 57	9	14
58 to 60	8	31
61 to 63	0	7
64 to 66	0	13
67 to 69	0	16
70 to 72	0	23
73 to 75	0	42
76 to 78	10	21
79 to 81	3	8
82 to 84	0	19
85 to 87	6	16
88 to 90	0	2
91 to 93	0	3
94 to 96	1	8
97 to 99	0	19
100 to 102	5	36
103 to 105	7	33
106 to 108	3	14
109 to 111	15	21
112 to 114	2	20
115 to 117	7	7
118 to 120	1	17
121 to 123	0	26
124 to 126	0	5
127 to 129	0	1
130 to 132	1	22
133 to 135	0	7
136 to 138	0	2
139 to 140	0	3

The evidence

Straight from the script
Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 12 are women's.

93 lines from women, 658 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

9 women and 20 men in the cast. 4 women and 16 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 11 of 792. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 146 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 9% of the words (778), men 91% (8,147). Women have 12% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.

Exhibit D: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Two women

Two men

Exhibit E: behind the camera

2 of the 15 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 20% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Andrew Niccol (man)
Written by: Andrew Niccol (man)
Produced by: Christopher Roberts (man), Teri-Lin Robertson (gender not listed), Andrew Niccol (man), Nicolas Cage (man), Philippe Rousselet (man), Norman Golightly (man) and 1 more
Shot by: Amir Mokri (man)
Edited by: Zach Staenberg (man)
Music by: Antonio Pinto (man)
Production design by: Jean-Vincent Puzos (man)
Costumes by: Elisabetta Beraldo (woman)
Cast by: Mindy Marin (woman)