A reporter, trying to lose himself in the romance of war after his marriage fails, gets more than he bargains for when he meets a special forces agent who reveals the existence of a secret, psychic military unit whose goal is to end war as we know it. The founder of the unit has gone missing and the trail leads to another psychic soldier who has distorted the mission to serve his own ends. Written by

Plot Synopsis:
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The movie opens with Brigadier General Dean Hopgood (Stephen Lang) staring intently at his wall from behind his desk. He tells his secretary that he will be going into the next room and charges into his wall, hoping to phase through it. He hits the wall hard and says shit.

More of this is true than you would believe.

Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) is a reporter at a local newspaper in Ann Arbor Michigan. He opens the film with a narration about how his story doesnt begin where he thought it would. He wanted it to start when he married his college sweetheart, Helen (Rebecca Mader), but he acknowledges that his story started when he interviewed a local man who he heard on talk radio claiming to be part of a secret government initiative. He meets with Gus Lacey (Stephen Root) and Lacey tells him about the psychic spy initiative and tells Bob that he killed his hamster with his mind. Lacey shows Bob a video of his hamster, staring intently at a wheel and then keeling over. Bob is wowed, despite thinking that Lacey is crazy, but then the hamster gets up. Bob asks why it isnt dead and Lacey replies that his mother didnt want him to show the hamster dying so he put in a video if it acting strangely. Lacey mentions that everyone in his unit had different methods and that the strongest Psi-warrior was a man named Lynn Cassady.

Bob writes a small piece on Lacey and forgets about him. A year later in 2003, one of Bob and Helens fat coworkers has a heart attack and dies, which serves as a catalyst for Helen leaving Bob. Helen tells Bob that life is too short to spend not looking for true happiness and leaves to be with Bobs one armed editor, Dave. Bob grows increasingly aimless, and decides that he will go to Iraq in order to get the perfect scoop.

Bob goes out to the Middle East, but he cant get into Iraq. He lounges around hotels and calls Helen to tell her about his tour in Iraq. When he realizes that shes still with Dave and not missing him, Bob hangs up and goes to get drunk in the hotel lobby. He starts doodling in a notebook and notices a man sitting at the table next to him works for a company trying to make a sales pitch to the newly appointed Iraqi government and decides to talk to him. The man (George Clooney) introduces himself as Skip, but when the power goes out and he lights up a candle, Bob sees the mans nametag says Lynn Cassady.

Bob asks Lynn if he knows Lacey, and Lynn runs away. As Lynn runs away, the power in the building fluctuates and Bob pursues him until they arrive at the kitchen. Lynn is on edge and asks Bob who sent him, but Bob tells him that hes just a reporter from Michigan looking for a story. Lynn brings Bob up to his room and tells him about the New Earth Army.

The New Earth Army was founded by Bill Django (Jeff Bridges). A Vietnam Vet, he was shot during a mission and had a vision of his attacker which told him that Love would be the winner of wars. Perplexed, Bill offered to research a different way to wage war, and the United States government founded his research. Bill returned years later, after experimenting with numerous drugs. He created a manual which established the New Earth Army as a branch of psychic warfare, supported by Brigadier General Hopgood. Hopgood had read that the Russians believed that the US was researching psychic warfare, so he suggested that the US actually start researching it to prevent the Russians from developing a way to beat them first. Lynn, who made the computers in Area 51 crash and go haywire, was transferred over to the New Earth Army unit to harness his psychic abilities and become a Jedi.

Bob is fascinated by the story and convinces Lynn to take him with him into Iraq. Lynn tells Bob that he is retired and doesnt want to have to deal with Bob, but notices Bobs doodling of an All Seeing Eye from the dollar bill and changes his mind. Lynn takes an injection of steroids for what he says is Crohns disease and Bob goes to sleep.

The next day, the duo head out into Iraq by car. They drive all day until its lost. Lynn tries to cook some hamburgers with a strange solar cooker made by the New Earth Army. Hours later, the meat is ruined and Lynn is pissed. The pair go to sleep in the car. The next morning, Bob wakes up alone in the car and flips out, thinking Lynn abandoned him to die in the dessert. However, Lynn was just on the cars roof saluting the Sun. Lynn starts driving them toward Baghdad, but as he practices his cloud bursting, crashes the car into a large stone on the side of the road.

Bob and Lynn wait for rescue and Bob learns more about the New Earth Army. The unit was not officially recognized as a branch of the military but was dedicated to invisibility, psychic remote viewing and Bill helped Lynn reach his full potential and trained his unit to be the best that they can be. Lynn went from an uptight awkward soldier to a great remote viewer; able to locate whoever he needed to, using his mind. Bob is starting to think that Lynn is insane, and his suspicions are seemingly confirmed when Lynn hurts him with an object in several different ways. After a while, a truck pulls up and picks the pair up.

The men on the truck pick up the two and immediately go through their bags. Bob asks Lynn if theyve just been picked up by terrorists and Lynn confirms it as a gun is cocked in their face. They are kept in a holding cell and Bob freaks out after Lynn tries to tell him more about the New Earth Army. Lynn explains that Bob was destined to be with him in this cell because of the drawing Bob had in his notebook of the All Seeing Eye. Lynn shows Bob his All Seeing Eye Tattoo on his chest, which calms Bob down a bit. Lynn tells him that they have been kidnapped by lower level gangsters and that they cannot allow themselves to get traded off to real terrorists.

The next morning, at the swap, Lynn refuses to move, and the standoff gets tense. The terrorists are ready to shoot when Bob screams I Am a Reporter! in Arabic. They immediately begin shooting at him, but Lynn tackles the shooter and takes him out. A third hostage runs away into the dessert and Lynn takes the terrorists gun and truck and drives away with Bob. They try to pick up the third hostage, Mahmood, but end up running him over. They are surrounded by White Jeeps, owned by a private defense contractor named Todd Nixon (Robert Patrick). He takes the three into the city, exposing his plans to bring franchises to Baghdad and westernize the region. As hes bragging, a firefight breaks out between his contractors and their rivals (both claiming to have been fired on by Iraqis). The trio escapes and heads to Mahmoods house.

At Mahmoods house, he finds that his wife is missing and no one knows where she is. Hes depressed and Lynn apologizes to him for how Nixon acted in the car, saying that not all Americans are like that. That night, Bob watches Lynn inject his last bottle of medication and Lynn pretends he doesnt notice. Mahmood lends his car to Bob and Lynn and the pair continues their journey. They drive to a crossroads and Bob ridicules the fact that Lynn doesnt know where to drive. He takes a right and their car does a backflips when a hidden mine explodes.

The pair survive and Bob is carried from the wreck by Lynn. Bob is upset that hes still chasing Lynn through the jungle and asks about Bobs mission. Bob tells him that he was reactivated by Bill. He got a message through astral projection to come to Iraq and find him. Bob realizes that Bob is truly insane and starts yelling at him. Lynn tells him that its something he needs to do because it was his fault the New Age Army was destroyed.

Lynn had excelled in remote viewing and was able to locate people at will. This pissed off Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey), a psychic who wanted to be number one. Lynn continuously defeated Hooper in testing, so Hooper sought to use psychedelics to even the playing field. He tricked a green lieutenant into taking LSD and the lieutenant went insane from Hoopers experiments. Naked, the lieutenant went into the training yard and started firing at soldiers. Bill approaches him and asks him to surrender the gun, but the lieutenant just shoots himself in the head instead. Bill is brought before a military oversight committee and Hooper buries him by accusing him of miss using funds to hire prostitutes and buy drugs (the hooker thing is a lie!). Bill is dishonorably discharged and says goodbye to Lynn. Soon after, General Holtz (Glenn Morshower) takes over the New Earth Army and Hooper tells him that there are offensive applications to thier psychic abilities. Holtz orders Lynn to psychokinetically stop the heart of a goat. Lynn stares at the goat and it dies after a few minutes of intense staring. Lynn finished the remainder of his tour and leaves, but not before Hooper gives him the Death Tap. Ever since he used his power for evil, Lynn has been cursed.

Lynn and Bob go to sleep and when they wake up, Bob sees a goat. He follows it to water and Lynn and Bob drink it as a helicopter appears overhead. The two pass out and come to in a hospital beds. Lynn sees a man looking at them and follows him. They pass through a chamber full of goats and another full of prisoners forced to listen to Barney while being forced to watch strobe lights. They then find an older Bill, burnt out from booze and drugs, working for Hooper at Psi Securities, a psychology/psychic firm which focuses on overseas subliminal messaging. He offers Lynn a job, but Lynn is broken by seeing Bill in such bad shape.

Bob walks around and finds Lynn in bed. Lynn tells him hes dying. Bob tries to explain that the death palm is nonsense, but Lynn tells him its his cancer that is killing him. Bob is saddened for his friend and Lynn gives him an old eagle feather Bill had given him to honor his psychic abilities. Bob finds Bill, but Bill shrugs it off. He and Bob find common ground and Bob convinces him to help Lynn get out of his rut. They go into the pantry to get ice cream. Bill then teaches Bob about how to embrace the Jedi lifestyle.

Hooper pays Lynn a visit. He wakes him up on purpose, offers him a job and tells Lynn that he knows his abilities are a sham and that Lynn had gotten the location from a former New Earth Army soldier who had hinted that there was work to do. Hooper maliciously taunts Lynn, and Lynn goes back to sleep.

The next morning, Lynn goes to join Bob and Bill in the mess tent for breakfast. Bob tells him not to eat the eggs since they laced them with LCD. The entire army is high and hallucinating. Unfortunately, Bill also spiked the water, so Bob, Lynn and Bill are also high. They run to the goat and prisoner storage barns and Bob convinces Lynn to get redemption by freeing the goats. They heard the goats and prisoners out of the camp without a hitch due to the drug induced chaos around them, until they are blocked by Hooper. Hooper points a gun at them, but then puts the gun in his own mouth (mirroring his test subjects suicide). However, before he can shoot himself, he succumbs to the munchies and goes to get food instead. The prisoners and goats leave.

Bob sees Lynn and Bill get into a helicopter. He follows them and asks to come, but Lynn tells him that his job is to go and tell the world of their story. Lynn and Bill take off and vanish. Bob tells us that the official word is that they crashed in the desert (because thats what happens when you fly a helicopter while you're tripping on Acid). He wrote the story, but the public didnt even consider it. They just made a joke about the part where prisoners were tortured with Barney. Disappointed, he realized that life happens when you dont try to go against the current (something Lynn had told him personally). He becomes editor of his paper and stares at his wall. He focuses on it intently, smiles, then charges as he phases through the wall like a real Jedi.

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Soundstage8 from United States
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I just got back from seeing "The Men Who Stare at Goats" at the Woodstock Film Festival. I walked in knowing the main plot, and I expected it to be pretty good because of the great actors it has, the premise of the story and the music used in the soundtrack. My expectations weren't only met, but they were greatly exceeded.

The story follows a broken-hearted journalist (McGregor) who goes on the job to Iraq to prove to his ex-wife he isn't weak or frail. There, he meets Lyn Cassidy (Clooney) who is a "psychic" soldier for the US government, trained by his hippie instructor Billy (Bridges) to use his mind, peace and love to overcome hairy military situations. The story is the two mens' adventure together.

The movie is essentially broken down into I'd say 3 parts. The first part is the main story of the journalist and Lyn as they travel in Iraq on a special mission Lyn is on. The second is the very humorous back-story of the history of the creation and existence of the "psychic soldiers" of the military. When I say "back-story" and "history" I mean the main background to Lyn and Billy's character, as well as the main antagonist of the story, played by Kevin Spacey. The third part is the first person narration provided by Ewen McGregor about the things that are going on. He offers insight into his mind and opinions on the things he says and of himself and Lyn as the story progresses.

The Men Who Stare at Goats is a very hilarious movie, with many quotable lines and excellent acting by the entire cast. The story is very unique and the film uses that as a great advantage to itself in setting up the humor. The characters are very real and are taken to heart right away. The film is funny, intriguing, smart, witty, fast-paced, emotional, enjoyable and inspirational. I highly recommend it to any Ewen McGregor, George Clooney, Kevin Spacey or Jeff Bridges fan, for fans of those men will not be disappointed with the acting and mannerisms of the characters those actors portrayed.

The Men Who Stare at Goats is a very fun movie to see in theaters and everyone in my audience were cracking up laughing many, many times. It is a movie for casual movie goers and film aficionados alike. Go see it.

8.5/10

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pete-wiley from Always everywhere, never somewhere
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Watching Grant Heslov's "The Men Who Stare at Goats" was tantamount to staring at a stick of dynamite - for 93 minutes - that never exploded. All the critical mass of a quirky, eccentric comedy (i.e., an able cast, a political pseudo-relevance) seemed to be undercut by clunky writing, tacky 'Watch people fall down, get run over, and laugh' stunts, and a painfully disjointed plot which can barely be deemed a plot at all. Rather, the movie featured more of a direction: an ill-defined, ill-conceived mission toward which two characters (Clooney's Lyn Cassady and McGregor's Bob Wilton) floated. The problem with the loose plot development, in this case, is that Clooney's chemistry with McGregor feels forced and their connection in the film equally contrived. The film was peppered with flashback (to which Bridges and Spacey owe the majority of their on-screen time) which jettisoned any chance the viewer had with feeling an investment toward the central story or its characters. In fact, the film stumbles from character to character so often that the viewer is caught juggling them under the central story arc -- and we never really care about most of them in the first place.

"The Men Who Stare at Goats" allows for some laughs and some admirable situational ironies. But don't expect the brilliance and subtlety of "The Big Lebowski" or "American Beauty."

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Gareth Pontin from Leicester, United Kingdom
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Well, I must say that I was looking forward to this movie - after reading the cast list and hearing a brief overview of the plot I felt that it had good potential. And whoever made the trailer did a very good job of making me want to see it.

Unfortunately, there seemed to me to be a certain amount of confusion about the film - were the directors entirely sure what type of film they were making? There are elements of comedy, satire, drama, action... but without having enough of each of these things to really give the movie a proper feel or direction. It veers close to being funny... and then veers off. It comes close to satirising American military tactics... and then goes off in another direction. I felt that a little more focus was needed overall to bring the film together.

In terms of acting, I think that generally the actors can be pleased with their work - I don't remember any specific cases of over or underacting, and the characters were about as believable as they could be in a film like this. As far as the comedy goes - this film was primarily marketed as a comedy - there are some genuinely funny moments! Overall, however, I felt that some bits needed to be trimmed down - the constant Jedi references were funny the first time but quickly wear thin.

The plot also needed a little bit of work: it started off with a promising storyline, and good editing I might add, but seemed to lose its way towards the end. It seemed as if the film-makers didn't really know where to go next. There were a few scenes that really didn't need to be included either - Robert Patrick's contribution to the film really added nothing, and could easily be removed. It was entirely forgettable and was simply a device to get the characters to the next place that they needed to be.

Overall I'd say this this is a fairly good film, certainly worth seeing. As for buying the DVD, that I'm not so sure about. If you're looking for a way to spend and hour and a half of your evening, while there are better films to see than this there are also considerably worse ones.

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bilko-1 from United Kingdom
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After reading some of the reviews here, I came to this film expecting to be disappointed. How wrong I was! It turned out to be one of the funniest, most powerful films that I have seen in years. It reminded me of some of the great movies of the sixties and seventies. Times have changed and it seems that people no longer get the kind of satire that grabbed us back then. I was constantly reminded of films like "Catch 22,"" M.A.S.H." "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest," and "Steelyard Blues." In those days, we got it. Now, people see that "Hippy Philosophy" thing as a clich�. They cannot see the relevance to today's world, which is a pity. "The Men Who Stare At Goats' is a genre film, in the tradition of those great comic satires that challenged the status quo so effectively, 40 years back. I truly believe its reputation will grow, over the years.

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Doctor_Mongoose from United Kingdom
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I'm going to say its definitely up there in the top few films I've seen at the cinema this year. It has been criticised for lacking more biting criticism of the US government, but I think people who are saying that are missing the point. It does have a fair bit to say about how stupid the US Military can be and how they like to blow money on obviously pointless ventures, but there is a whole other side to it.

I thought that the film was more about the human spirit and how that if you want to make a difference and want to do something you've got to really go for it no matter how stupid the aim. Obviously the idea of trying to be a psychic spy is unattainable and may sound ludicrous, but so may be the notion of trying to create world peace and help bring different people together over a united cause. The film was more about how these drifters and lost souls managed to find something that they found worthy of pursuing and really devoted themselves to it, and I think this message is more admirable than any side-criticism of the USA.

The film plays out mainly as a buddy movie with Geogre Clooney, who is doing his usual comic act very well, and Ewan McGregor as they head around Iraq not really knowing what they are looking for and getting into loads of hilarious antics along the way. I don't think I've laughed so much in the cinema this year, and the whole audience was laughing along as well.

I thought the structure was hardly groundbreaking, but done really well. Flashbacks involving Jeff Bridges and Clooney help add comic relief during some of the straighter scenes in the film and also at times are used to rack up the tension and reveal interesting insights. It is of course up to your interpretation if the flashbacks are 100% real, because they are told from the point of view of Ewan McGregor, recounting stories that were told to him by Clooney. This sorts out another common criticism that the film is extremely unrealistic, but there are some key scenes saying that Clooney might not be telling the whole truth that I feel have been overlooked.

It isn't going to be Oscar-fare or the greatest thing you'll ever see but with a good cast and a lot of laughs there isn't really going to be a much better way of spending a lazy Saturday afternoon with some popcorn and a buddy or two.

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cleardawn-1 from Canada
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I laughed so much I ended coughing! Even more so when I imagined how hard it had to be for the actors to remain that serious trough the hilariously stupidities of almost every scene.

I found it brilliant because it had not an ounce of sanity, and it is difficult now a days to catch a good, funny script that says so much in saying nothing. It's all in the eyes!

Do not expect coherence, it cannot have it and that's the geniality of the whole movie. All the characters are as absurd as they can be, ambivalent, retarded, inspired and generous... No need to look for more ingredients to make a perfect funny concoction, worthy of your time and money.

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sabretoothmovies from Canada
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Even from the title, a person can guess that this movie will be different. Men staring at goats doesn't seem like the most interesting plot line; maybe then does the movie aim to be original rather than just having commercial appeal? The answer is a resounding yes. Men Who Stare at Goats is absurd, odd, hilarious, amusing, definitely original, possibly good and not at all what you would expect.

The plot, well the plot is complicated and involves a present-time storyline that is broken up between flashbacks. In short, George Clooney and Ewan McGregor are on one hell of a road trip in Iraq while Clooney tells McGregor about his time in a secret army training program, bent on creating Jedi warriors. So it's your typical movie. What it really is is one of those smart-and-dumb-at-the-same-time -comedies-that-involves- George-Clooney; films such as Burn After Reading and The Informant (which he produced) also fall into this category. Whether you like this movie or not, will depend on how accepting you are of the ridiculous. The movie deals with developing Jedi warriors in a comedically serious way that will be just too much for some people. The sixties counter culture is popular target for jokes in films, but an army program run by a long-haired hippy, working on world peace by dancing, that's pushing it. My personal feeling for the movie was overall positive; it was original and some segments were genuinely funny. Also on the plus side was the acting. The two leads were good, though McGregor had some accent slips, but the supporting cast was also impressive. Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges and Stephen Lang all embraced the absurdity of their roles and played them with relish.

As for the comedy, the movie is funny. Some parts drag on a little long with no laughs but patience is always rewarded. Jokes in this movie are both smart and dumb, mixing slapstick with intellectual comedy. Clooney running over someone he's trying to rescue falls in the slapstick category; a guy explaining why the US has to finance the Jedi training because the USSR thinks there already financing it is smart funny. Kevin Spacey's "psychic voice" is just plain funny.

To finish off, I can only think to repeat that the movie is absurd and just plain odd, but then again so is real life. If the US can torture people with Barney why can't they train people with Star Wars?

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Kyle Hodgdon from United States
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I did like "The Men Who Stare at Goats", however, it was not as good as I set my hopes for. This is one of those movies where the trailers and adds on television showed the funniest parts of the movie.

The story was neither here or there and I spent a majority of the time hoping they would really go somewhere, yet it never did.

I felt that the idea of the movie was very splendid, but the execution left a lot to be desired.

Clooney and Spacey were great as always. Bridges (who I am not quite as familiar with) was enjoyable as well. McGregor was not bad, yet nothing special.

Overall, not bad acting, not bad ideas, but the story could have been better. Check it out if you have a chance but don't worry if it passes you by.

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gavin6942 from United States
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While doing his boring job as a reporter-journalist, one man stumbles upon the existence of an old military secret: a branch of soldiers trained in harnessing their mental superpowers. Coincidentally, after heading off to Iraq for an inside scoop on the 2003 war, he meets another member of this secret group and his misadventures begin.

There's some weird obsession with "Star Wars" in this film. Besides the obvious talk of Jedi Warriors, there's a scene early on where the main character makes a reference to blonde farm boy, which is clearly meant to be Luke Skywalker. (What's interesting is that later the guy claims to have not seen the movies, so it's odd that he would make cryptic references.)

I cannot say enough about the amazing cast. Ewan MacGregor, Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges and George Clooney, among others. The most disappointing thing about this film is that with such an amazing cast that you would think this would be the year's blockbuster, but actually will more than likely be no more than a blip on the cinematic radar.

I don't know what's up with Roger Ebert and his Lebowski obsession. In his review, he repeatedly says that Lebowski fans will like this one and that Jeff Bridges plays his role as Lebowski playing a military man. Well, I could see some Lebowski in there, and like that other film, they both involve Iraq. But, really, I see Lebowski when I see Jeff Bridges, so that's not really a stretch. Ebert really took it beyond the necessarily bounds.

Ultimately, the film comes up short. With this cast, as I said, I expect something more. There is humor, but it's here and there. And even the plot, which is interesting, doesn't really seem to be as strong as it should be. A good film, and one I recommend to George Clooney fans, but not a hidden treasure.

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Jeff Coatney from United States
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The story borrows liberally from the exploits of Joe McMoneagle and Ingo Swann and the cadr� of Remote Viewers stationed at Fort Meade, MD, under the operational detachment Project Stargate. Yes, as the film states upfront: "More of this is true than you would believe". There are instances in the film that incorporate actual Stargate operations: tracking submarines, finding a kidnapped American General in Italy and the search for Noriega following the US invasion of Panama. The comedy comes from the disconnect that the professional military hierarchy has from the rest of us. The Pentagon has too much money at its disposal and its internal political dynamics encourage a bizarre mixture of risk-averse yet forward-thinking innovators. This was particularly rampant after our loss in Vietnam. Vietnam and the Cold War combined to pull the Pentagon Brass in a thousand different directions and created a schism in the strategic planning sectors that is ripe for comedic exploration. Grant Heslov deftly captured this cultural watershed through his direction of the film. He ably guided the actors in performances that while sometimes brief, captured the totality of the real absurdity that the military can sometimes give us, while keeping the characters real and grounded and not drifting into farce. Heslov has captured an elusive tone, entirely his own, that I've only previously seen in Coen Brother's films. This is a story I've longed to see told on the big screen and it was worth the wait. You could say its a story about the Military-Insanity Complex, but that's too broad a brush for this slice of American military history. Clooney is brilliantly understated as always, he's a master of subtlety and an actor that understands how powerful the camera can be. Kevin Spacey is throughly despicable as the film's only real villain. If the film has any flaws at all its that Spacey is not in it enough. But the most poignant character is beautifully drawn by Jeff Bridges, who in just a few scenes depicts the inevitable trajectory of the innovative free-thinker in a rigid, uncaring system. Bridges shows us the cost of being that individual and Heslov gives the film room to explore this aspect of the story without sacrificing the reason we're all there to watch: and that is to have a laugh at something that maybe should never have happened but did.

The "Evolutionary Tactics" field manual shown is the actual one created by Jim Channon in 1978 for the U.S. Army.
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Jeff Bridges' character Bill Django is based on Army Lt. Colonel Jim Channon, who wrote the First Earth Battalion field manual. In the mid-1970s, Channon took a leave of absence (with pay) from the Army to go on a fact-finding tour of the New Age Movement, before coming back and writing the First Earth Battalion manual. The movie combines two or three separate programs: the Army's Remote Viewing program (run by the Army's Intelligence and Security Command), the "Jedi" program run by the Special Forces, and Jim Channon's First Earth Battalion (which was a concept and a field manual rather than an operational unit).
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This film talks extensively about being Jedis and using Jedi powers. Ewan McGregor played Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels.
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George Clooney's character, Lyn Cassady, appears to be based partly on US Military top Remote Viewer Joe McMoneagle, and RV Project Database Manager Lyn Buchanan. A scene where information on a missing general is provided by Cassady in a Remote Viewing session is likely drawn from inspiration from McMoneagle's partly successful attempt to RV kidnapped US Brigadier General Dozier's location in Padua Italy (1981). The scene where computer systems are destroyed, seemingly by Lyn, resulting in his initial recruitment by General Hopgood, is very close to fact.
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The advertising poster for this movie is a spoof of a frequently used style for movie posters. Instead of trying to communicate anything about the plot or content of the film, it just contains multiple stacked faces of the stars. On this poster, the last face visible in the row is a goat's, and the billing line above their photos reads, "George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, and Goat." It's also a reference to the iconic drawing posters from the Soviet communist era, showing profiles of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Vladimir Lenin (in some eras or world regions, often completed by profiles of Joseph Stalin or Mao Zedong).
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The conical First Earth Battalion solar stove looks like a smaller Sibley stove, which was also conical but used wood coals as its heat source. It was invented for the U.S. Army in the 1850s by Major (later Confederate General) Henry Hopkins Sibley. The Army discontinued its use by World War II.
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When George Clooney's character mentions the poem about the sailor and the seagull, he is talking about the poem 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' by English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, which involves an albatross.
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Exterior shots of Ft. Bragg were filmed at The New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, New Mexico.
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The character Brigadier General Dean Hopgood is based on Major General Albert "Bert" N. Stubblebine III.
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The screenplay was featured in the 2006 Blacklist, a list of the "most liked" unmade scripts of the year.
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The character of "Gus Lacey" is a fictionalization of Guy Savelli, father of Jennifer Savelli.
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In the 1980 Ft. Bragg scene, portraits of President Reagan and Defense Secretary Weinberger are hanging on the wall. Reagan was elected in 1980, but took office in 1981, and appointed Weinberger soon after.
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Norm Pendleton shoots at his fellow soldiers on the courtyard at Ft. Bragg. After each shot, a shell casing drops on the tarmac. During the last shot, Norm stands on a grass patch, where the falling casing would not make a sound.
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At the gas station in Iraq, the characters speak Egyptian Arabic, not Iraqi Arabic.
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When Brigadier General Dean Hopgood is introduced, his uniform shows two stars, indicating a Major General. A Brigadier General has one star.
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The morning they wake up in the desert, when Lyn is on top of the car, he leaves a large dent in the car. In the next scene, the dent is gone.
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A helicopter approaches Bob and Lyn as they drink water from the puddle in the desert. When Bob turns over onto his back, his face and mouth are completely dry.
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When Bob awakens in the desert, and runs from the car looking for Lyn, footsteps in the sand show at least one previous take. In the preceding scene, when Bob scans the same area (prior to running from the car), the sand has no footprints.
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In the disclaimer near the end of the credits, the character of Lyn Cassady is identified as Lynn Cassady.
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During the gun fight at the gas station, the black security van is shot in the windshield. The bullet holes disappear in subsequent shots.
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Just before Lyn Cassady hits the rock with the car, Bob Wilton is not wearing his seat belt right. When the impact occurs and the camera pans to Bob, a seat belt holds him in place.
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After they escape captivity, Lyn and Bob chase down Mahmud in the pickup truck. In shots from inside the truck, Mahmud is running in the middle of the road, only veering off at the last moment. All other shots show him running on the side of the road.
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In the desert "cooking dinner" scene, in shots facing Lyn, the blue and silver cooler is within grabbing distance of him. In shots facing Bob, the cooler is 6 steps away from Lyn, near the car. Lyn takes 6 steps to and from the cooler in subsequent shots.
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Bob Wilton raises his arms to surrender as Todd Nixon and his militiamen capture the soldiers. His t-shirt rises up, exposing his navel and midriff. As they escape from the ambush two scenes later, wearing the same clothes, the t-shirt reaches past his waistline.
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The name plate on General Hopgood's desk identifies him as Brigadier General F. Hopgood. Later, he is identified as Dean Hopgood.
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After Bob wakes up by the sand dune and sees the goat, an ear plug is clearly visible in his right ear as he gets up.
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Only a general court-martial can give a dishonorable discharge, and only to enlisted personnel. Commissioned officers receive a dismissal from the service, which carries the same penalties and social stigma associated with a dishonorable discharge.
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When Bob reads The New Earth Army Manual, he identifies "Lao Tze Tung" as one of the great imagineers. It should be either Lao Tze, or Mao Tze Tung.
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At one point, the New Earth Army is asked to help find General Manuel Noriega. He briefly sought refuge in the Vatican Embassy after the invasion of Panama, but U.S. forces knew he was there. Noriega was never in hiding.
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In the opening scene, Brigadier General Hopgood is supposed to be at Ft. Bragg, the home of the 82nd Airborne Division. The unit patch on his left sleeve indicates that he is part of the 2nd Infantry Division, primarily based out of Ft. Lewis, WA and South Korea.
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In the LSD scene at the end of the film, the troops' armored personnel carrier. is an FV432, is a British Army vehicle which has never been used by the U.S. Army.
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Ft. Bragg isn't a training post, but every scene shows troops marching in formation across parade fields.
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In the 1980s Ft. Bragg was an open post, with no guarded access points.
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In the "New Earth Army Presentation- Fort Bragg- 1980" scene, the soldiers wear Woodland Camo BDUs, which first appeared in September 1981.
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When Bob and Lyn are driving near the beginning of the film, they pass a sign that says "Baghdad" in English, with the Arabic spelling underneath. The Arabic is written left to right in the film, but Arabic reads right to left.
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After stopping the goat's heart the first time, the video monitor shows the goat laying on its side, still breathing.
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reporter|general|first person narration|hampster|reference to loch ness monster|saddam hussein|fall of bagdad|reference to mao tse tung|reference to jesus christ|reference to walt disney|reference to manuel noriega|reference to angela lansbury|reference to ronald reagan|reference to bart simpson|reference to timothy leary|hospital|roadside bomb|suicide by pistol|reference to oprah winfrey|reference to star wars|helicopter|lieutenant colonel|george w. bush|satire|psychological torture|jedi knight in training|crohn's disease|voice over narration|staring|escape|captive|liberation|archive footage|shootout|kidnapping|lsd|f word|walking through wall|oh 58 kiowa hilicopter|bandage|cigar smoking|army base|hummer|explosion|improvised explosive device|court martial|jogging|run over|fire fight|walking over hot coals|jeep|army training|dancing|pickup truck|cloud|airbag|american flag|daisy|desert|hot tub|new age movement|iraq war|vietnam war|shot in the chest|uh 1 huey helicopter|flashback|packing a suitcase|ann arbor michigan|begins with text|remote viewing|vietnam war veteran|told in flashback|secret past|secret military operation|paranoid fantasy|multiple narrators|kuwait|historical fiction|hippie lifestyle|hidden truth|government scandal|fate|explosive device|drug trip|drug humor|doodling|destiny|delusion|dark past|dark comedy|cold war|chance meeting|buddy movie|break up|black humor|black comedy|bad trip|adventurer|acid trip|absurdism|box office hit|staring contest|new age|hippie|goat|psychic power|animal in title|

AKAs Titles:
Argentina - Hombres de mentes
Bulgaria (Bulgarian title) - �œ�Šже�‚е, кои�‚о �е взи�€а�‚ в кози
Brazil - Os Homens que Encaravam Cabras
Canada (French title) - Les hommes qui regardent les ch�vres
Chile - Hombres de mentes
Czech Republic - Muzi, co z�raj� na kozy
Germany - M�nner, die auf Ziegen starren
Denmark - The Men Who Stare at Goats
Estonia - Mehed, kes j�llitavad kitsesid
Spain - Los hombres que miraban fijamente a las cabras
Finland - Vuohia tuijottavat miehet
France - Les ch�vres du Pentagone
Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title) - Oi antres pou koitoun epimona katsikes
Greece - �Ÿι άν�„�ε�‚ �€ο�… κοι�„ο�ν ε�€ίμονα κα�„�ƒίκε�‚
Croatia - Muškarci koji bulje u koze
Hungary - Kecskebűv�l�‘k
Israel (Hebrew title) - Gvarim shebohim be'izim
Italy - L'uomo che fissa le capre
South Korea - Cho (Minmanghan) Neungnyeokjadeul
Latvia - Viri, kas skatas uz kazam
Mexico - Hombres de Mentes
Norway - Menn som stirrer p� geiter
Poland - Czlowiek, kt�ry gapil sie na kozy
Portugal - Homens Que Matam Cabras s� com o Olhar
Serbia - Ljudi koji zure u koze
Russia - �‘ез�ƒмн�‹й �пе�†наз
Slovenia - Mozje, ki strmijo v koze
Turkey (Turkish title) - �–zel Kuvvetler
Ukraine - �‘ойовий гiпноз п�€о�‚и кiз
Uruguay - Hombres de mente

Release Dates:


Certifications:
Argentina:13 / Australia:M / Brazil:16 / Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) / Canada:PG (British Columbia) / Canada:13+ (Quebec) / Denmark:11 / Finland:K-13 / France:U / Germany:12 / Hong Kong:IIB / Ireland:15A / Japan:PG12 / Malaysia:18 / Mexico:B15 / Netherlands:12 / New Zealand:M / Norway:15 / Portugal:M/12 / Singapore:NC-16 / Singapore:M18 (Blu-ray rating) / South Korea:12 / Sweden:11 / Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) / Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) / UK:15 / USA:R (certificate #45563)