It stands in the shadow of Saving Private James Ryan and The Thin Line, but Three Kings is one of the best war films of the 90s. Now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Three Kings is one of the best war films of its decade. Breathless, crazy, gripping and stylistically daring, David O. Russell’s film shows the adventure of three soldiers around Major Archie Gates (George Clooney) in the Gulf War. Behind the scenes, however, there was a huge row between director and star. The 1999 masterpiece is now available on Amazon Prime.
On Amazon Prime: War movie masterpiece that pushed its star to his limits
Three Kings is set shortly after the end of the Second Gulf War. Elite soldier Gates (Clooney) unexpectedly comes across a treasure map that supposedly marks the hiding place of stolen gold bars. Together with Sergeant Barlow (Mark Wahlberg) and Sergeant Elgin (Ice Cube), he sets off on a search and slides straight into a murderous conflict.
Watch the English trailer for Three Kings here:
Although the result was celebrated by many critics (via Metacritic ), Three Kings was an ordeal for Clooney. As Far Out Magazine quotes from articles in Vanity Fair and Entertainment Weekly, he and Russell couldn’t stand each other. In one scene, the two allegedly even came to blows as the director lashed out at an extra. The star later described the experience as “the worst experience of my life”.
Russell’s behavior towards cast and crew has also attracted negative attention on other film sets since then, as a New York Times article shows. “Would I ever work with David again? No, never,” Clooney said. “But do I think he’s incredibly talented and should be nominated for Oscars? Absolutely.” So far, the nominations have remained. Some stars won’t mind
