Deal of the Century (1983) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The movie takes place primarily in San Miguel, a fictional war-torn South American country caught in civil conflict. The story also unfolds across the United States, where defense contractors operate and where a major arms exposition takes place.

• san miguel
• setting
• south america
• location

The events occur in the late 1980s, during a period of deregulated arms trade and the rise of privatized defense contractors. This era is characterized by high-tech weapons demonstrations, widespread bribery, and a global market for conflict.

• 1980s
• time period
• late 1980s
• arms trade
• era

Deal of the Century is a satire about the global arms trade, following competing weapons dealers who vie for lucrative contracts with a South American dictator. The film critiques how profit-driven deals fuel conflict while masking the human cost behind corporate maneuvering.

• arms trade
• satire
• theme
• weapons
• military-industrial complex

The Greed theme explores how arms dealing is driven by massive profit incentives, with characters pursuing billion-dollar defense contracts regardless of ethical consequences. Bribery, tax-deductible kickbacks, and corporate manipulation show how money and political power intersect.

• greed
• profit
• bribery
• corporate
• corruption

The film critiques technology's role in creating distance between combatants and consequences, featuring high-tech weapons like the Peacemaker drone. The reliance on technological solutions to political problems is portrayed as masking moral costs and creating false senses of control.

• technology
• drones
• weapons
• modern warfare
• peacemaker

The Morality theme examines characters grappling with personal conscience in a profit-driven industry. Ray Kasternak undergoes a religious conversion that conflicts with his past, while other characters face the consequences of their schemes, exploring how personal ethics clash with global arms dealing.

• morality
• ethics
• conscience
• conversion
• values

Eddie Muntz is a small-time arms dealer played by Chevy Chase who thrives on exploiting conflicts for profit. He is pragmatic and opportunistic, willing to bend ethics to win contracts, though escalating chaos increasingly weighs on him throughout the story.

• eddie muntz
• chevy chase
• arms dealer
• protagonist

Ray Kasternak is an ex-fighter pilot turned devout critic of the arms industry, played by Gregory Hines. His religious conversion creates a moral crisis that conflicts with his past work in warfare, and his subsequent missionary path highlights the theme of personal redemption versus complicity in violence.

• ray kasternak
• gregory hines
• conversion
• missionary
• pilot

Mrs. DeVoto is Harold DeVoto's widow, played by Sigourney Weaver, who seeks vengeance after the collapse of the arms deal. She is resourceful and determined, shaping the plot's moral arc through her quest for retribution and later ambiguous partnership with other characters.

• mrs devoto
• sigourney weaver
• vengeance
• widow
• antagonist

General Cordosa is San Miguel's military leader whose decisions shape the fate of the arms deal and the ongoing conflict in the country. He represents the link between political power and arms deals, negotiating with both his own regime and rebel forces.

• general cordosa
• san miguel
• dictator
• military leader

Masaggi is a wealthy arms merchant who champions the corrupt system and explains why the global economy depends on arms sales. He rationalizes bribery and industry manipulation, representing the entrenched interests that keep the weapons market thriving.

• masaggi
• richard libertini
• arms merchant
• corruption

Deal of the Century blends Crime and Comedy genres, using satire to critique the arms trade. The tone is predominantly dark and cynical, reflecting the film's satirical lens on warfare as a business, but the comedic framework prevents it from becoming overwhelmingly intense.

• comedy
• satire
• tone
• genre
• dark humor

The film contrasts San Miguel's war-torn instability with the US corporate-dominated defense industry scene. This contrast underscores the global stakes of modern warfare, showing how external arms deals fuel conflict in impoverished regions while remaining abstract business transactions for American contractors.

• contrast
• setting
• united states
• san miguel
• global

The ending is bittersweet; while the immediate threat is neutralized, the protagonists retreat to mundane lives, selling used cars or doing missionary work. This suggests a pyrrhic victory and leaves their moral dilemmas ambiguously resolved, reflecting the film's cynical view of the arms industry's consequences.

• ending
• resolution
• bittersweet
• moral
• closure