The Way of the Gun

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Christopher McQuarrie directs. Dick Pope behind the camera. Stephen Semel cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Spanish, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 126 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
• 2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Spanish, English.
• 3Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, shot by Dick Pope. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 4Editor Stephen Semel shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 5Ryan Phillippe and Benicio del Toro and Juliette Lewis carry the top of the cast.
• 6Marketing tagline: "Choose your side carefully, because the only way out is the way of the gun.".
• 7IMDB entry: tt0202677 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 8Classified under 17 themes, including "hotel", "gunslinger", "mexico", "ransom".

The technical file

Cinematography

Dick Pope

Editing

Stephen Semel

Production design

Maia Javan

Costume design

Genevieve Tyrrell

Makeup / hair

Erin Lyons

Sound

Chris David

Stunt coordinator

Gary Paul

Runtime

119 min · 1h 59m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$8,500,000

Box office

$19,125,401

Return

225% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

The Way of the Gun (2000) ↗

Rotten Tomatoes

46% 🥫 Rotten

Metacritic

49/100

IMDB rating

6.6/10 · 36,690 votes

MPAA

R

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• 
  Jack Reacher

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Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  The Way Of The Gun | Theatrical Trailer | 2000

  Trailer

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Wuchak2023-01-20
  ★ 6/10

  Convoluted crime drama in the wake of Pulp Fiction Two low-life criminals (Ryan Phillippe & Benicio Del Toro) kidnap a pregnant surrogate (Juliette Lewis) of a rich couple who, unknowingly, has ties to the mob. "The Way of the Gun" (2000) is an offbeat flick in the tradition of "Pulp Fiction" written & directed by a proven screenwriter and featuring a quality cast, which includes James Caan. It's touted as a "modern Western" with two protagonists patterned after Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (their names in the film are the last names of Butch & Sundance). It starts out as a black comedy with cussing every other word, but then morphs into a serious crime drama with flashes of gunplay. The score is notable. Two issues hinder the film: (1) A plot that becomes convoluted and therefore increasingly unbelievable, and (2) unlikable characters, except for maybe the surrogate. Concerning the second issue, I understand the concept of antiheroes, but even antiheroes require some redeemable or universally human qualities to make the audience root for them or care about them. Wolverine and Clint Eastwood's Western characters, like Josey Wales, are good examples, as are the antiheroes in films like "Runaway Train" and "Apocalypse Now," two cinematic masterpieces. These two points naturally create disinterest and tempt the viewer to tune out. The first time I watched it I gave up by the 90-minute mark with a half hour to go, I could care less about the characters, their story or how it turned out, even though I tried. On my second viewing, I decided to pay closer attention and stick with the movie till the end. I'm glad I did because this is a well-written examination of crime & violence and the fools involved. An attempt is made to flesh-out all the main characters and I'm talking no less than nine people, each of whom are a piece of the interlocking puzzle, often with their own agenda. While it's no where near great like the seminal "Pulp Fiction," it has style and glimmerings of depth. If you can get past the convoluted story and unlikable characters, it certainly has its points of interest, like well-scripted dialogues and Del Toro's towering performance, not to mention Taye Diggs's interesting heavy. The film was shot in Utah in the Salt Lake City area. GRADE: B-

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Artisan Entertainment

  US

• AQ

  Aqaba Productions

Key crew

• Second Second Assistant DirectorSusie Balaban
• Script SupervisorSuzanne Bingham
• Key GripArly H. Thomsen
• Camera OperatorIan Fox
• Stunt CoordinatorGary Paul
• Property MasterIan Roylance
• Dolby ConsultantThom 'Coach' Ehle
• Best Boy GripJulie Fife
• Second Unit DirectorKenneth Kokin
• Color TimerMike Milliken
• Costume DesignGenevieve Tyrrell
• Chief Lighting TechnicianJohn Farr
• Best Boy ElectricianJohn Raymer
• Supervising Sound EditorChuck Michael
• Sound Re-Recording MixerChris David
• Music EditorLise Richardson
• Craft ServiceMelinda Haynes
• Sound Re-Recording MixerChuck Michael
• Art DirectionTom Meyer
• Foley ArtistDawn Fintor
• Key Hair StylistErin Lyons
• Negative CutterGary Burritt
• Dolly GripJeffrey A. Johnson
• Set DesignerLinden Snyder

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• hotel
• gunslinger
• mexico
• ransom
• kidnapping
• gangster
• mexican standoff
• sperm bank
• rags to riches
• surrogate mother
• money
• gunfight
• drifter
• criminal
• desert
• millionaire
• neo-western

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical2000-09-08R

Also known as

International titles

• Путь оружияRU