The Art of War (film) The Art of War (film) The Art of War is a 2000 Canadian-American action spy film directed by Christian Duguay and starring Wesley Snipes, Michael Biehn, Anne Archer and Donald Sutherland. The film's title refers to the ancient Chinese text of the same name by war strategist Sun Tzu. The film was followed by two direct-to-video sequels, "" and "". The latter did not feature Snipes. Neil Shaw (Snipes) is an operative for the United Nations's covert dirty-tricks squad, using espionage and quasi-ethical tactics to secure peace and cooperation. In Hong Kong, Shaw infiltrates a Chinese New Year party held
Leadership trust results in folly. Dependence on the strength of courage results in violence. Excessive discipline and sternness in command result in cruelty. When one has all five virtues together, each appropriate to its function, then one can be a leader. — Sun Tzu Machiavelli's "The Prince", written in the early 16th century, provided a manual for rulers ("princes" or "tyrants" in Machiavelli's terminology) to gain and keep power.In the 19th century the elaboration of anarchist thought called the whole concept of leadership into question. (Note that the "Oxford English Dictionary" traces the word "leadership" in English only as far back