The Order

"Unleash the power."

2001 1h 29m EN

😐

5.1

MID

★5.1TMDB · 280

AdventureActionComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When Rudy, an artifacts smuggler, goes to Jerusalem to rescue his kidnapped archeologist father, he faces deportation by a scheming police chief. Now, to find his dad and recover a sacred scroll, he'll have to outwit officials and a ruthless sect. With the help of a beautiful Israeli cop, Rudy battles a faction of religious zealots determined to see a holy war at all costs.

“Unleash the power.”

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Cast

Jean-Claude Van Damme
Rudy Cafmeyer
Charlton Heston
Professor Finley
Sofia Milos
Dalia
Brian Thompson
Cyrus
Ben Cross
Ben Ner
Vernon Dobtcheff
Oscar
Sasson Gabai
Yuri
Alon Aboutboul
Avram

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Sheldon Lettich
Writers: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Les Weldon
Languages: Russian, Hebrew, French, English, Arabic
Countries: Aruba, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

89 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

25 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 5 languages: Russian, Hebrew, French, English, Arabic.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Aruba, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Sheldon Lettich, shot by David Gurfinkel. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Pino Donaggio. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Donn Aron shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jean-Claude Van Damme and Charlton Heston and Sofia Milos carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Sheldon Lettich directs. David Gurfinkel behind the camera. Pino Donaggio scores. Donn Aron cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Aruba, United States of America. Dialogue in Russian, Hebrew, French, English, Arabic.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
225 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 5 languages: Russian, Hebrew, French, English, Arabic.
4International production across 2 countries: Aruba, United States of America.
5Directed by Sheldon Lettich, shot by David Gurfinkel. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Pino Donaggio. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Donn Aron shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Jean-Claude Van Damme and Charlton Heston and Sofia Milos carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Unleash the power.".
10IMDB entry: tt0193364 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 9 themes, including "martial arts", "crusader", "car crash", "artifact".

The technical file

Cinematography: David Gurfinkel
Original score: Pino Donaggio
Editing: Donn Aron
Production design: Carlos Silva Da Silva
Costume design: Elsa Zamparelli
Makeup / hair: Eli Almani
Stunt coordinator: Scott J. Ateah
Runtime: 89 min · 1h 29m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $25,000,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Order (2001)

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Sheldon Lettich

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What people are saying

tmdb280390232022-09-05
★ 3/10
The prologue recounts the legend of Flemish knight Charles Le Vaillant who, just after the Siege of Jerusalem at the end of the First Crusade, “was struck by the hypocrisy of killing fellow human beings in the name of religion [one has to wonder what exactly he imagined he and the other armed-to-the-teeth crusaders were going to do in the Holy Land]. Especially since these people professed belief in the same God [uh, no they didn’t].” Charles had an “epiphany, which became the basis for a new religious sect. An order that would combine the fundamental tenets of the three major religions of his day. His first converts were Christian knights who'd also become disenchanted by the bloodshed. The force of his convictions even won over a number of Muslims and Jews. Former enemies who now became willing converts to the new faith.” The script for The Order was co-written by Jean-Claude Van Damme, who according to Wikipedia has his own wacky religious notions (Christianity is wrong because "snakes are good" and "apples contain pectin, which is anti-cholesterol"); I want to believe that he and his co-writer Les Weldon are in on the joke, but whether or not they take this material seriously, the real probleem is that they don't really tap into the comedic potential of their premise. Specifically, the film should have been a mock 'biography' of Charles Le Vaillant, especially if he were to be played by JCVD; I have no doubt that Charles delivering sermons in Van Damme's frenchglish and casting pearls of wisdoms such as the ones quoted above might just be able to produce a new "Blessed Are the Cheesemakers". Sadly, JCVD and Weldon never really delve into this nameless religion known simply as The Order, thus missing out on what could have been a huge source of humor. Instead, the film skips to the present and introduces thief and smuggler Rudy Cafmeyer (Van Damme), who is in the process of stealing a Fabergé egg (presumably to sell it to "Bleeding Gums" Murphy). Rudy's father is archaeologist and museum curator Oscar 'Ozzie' Cafmeyer (Vernon Dobtcheff). Ozzie travels to Israel and is kidnapped while on the phone with Rudy, who then travels to Jerusalem himself to rescue dear old dad. There Rudy meets an old friend of his father, archeology professor Walt Finley (Charlton Heston. Really). This Heston cameo can only be explained as a manifestation of his then-incipient Alzheimer's; moreover, it's another wasted opportunity. The legendary actor would have been equally perfect in both the farcical sword-and-sandal epic that The Order could and should have been, and the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade knock-off it ends up aspiring to be; in either case, though, he would have needed more screen time, and in the latter case, he should have had the role of Rudy's father. The rest is just standard JCVD, complete with a foot chase scene with Van Damme disguised as a Hasidic Jew, fleeing from and fighting Israeli police (how Rudy gets his costume, particularly the beard and curls, is a mystery; why not show him buying it in a souvenir shop, as if it was a set of Mickey Mouse ears at Disneyland?).

Production companies