[Beragagnu]

Film for US release

The Nation, Published on Jul 11, 2004

"Bang Rajan", the Thai blockbuster movie about a village that warded off the Burmese army, is set for American release next month.

A Thai contingent consisting of the producer, director and stars will fly to the United States at the end of this month to promote it, according to BEC-Tero Entertainment, the company responsible for making it.

Producer Adirek "Uncle" Wattaleela, director Tanit "Pert" Jitnuku, and actors Jaran Ngamdee, Winai Kraibutr and Bin Bunluerit, led by BEC-Tero Managing Director Brian L Marcar will fly to Los Angeles to attend the premiere release at the end of this month.

The opening ceremony of the Bt151-million-grossing film will be at the Arclight Cinema on August 4, followed by general release two days later.

"I am very happy and excited that a Thai film has been given so much honour there [the US]. My previous film 'Crime King', released in Los Angeles, didn't get this much attention," said Pert yesterday.

The Thai director, "Uncle" and Channel 3 presenter Andrew Biggs will leave on July 28 for press conferences and interviews. The second contingent follows on August 1. The party on August 7.

Bang Rajan is 119 minutes long with English subtitles. The movie will be released in at least nine American cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Boston and Chicago.

Testimonials from American journalists have praised the Thai film.

Joe Williams of the St Louis-Dispatch wrote: "A true feast for films buff who thought that Asian battle epics had expired with [Akira] Kurosawa."

"The film takes on an elemental power and . . . a heroic stature," said Derek Elley of Variety.

"Thanit Jitnukul's muscular jungle bloodbath outdoes Hollywood's recent efforts at combat ultra-realism, if only because its chaotic landscape is so naturally shot and its machete-thwack conflict so unambiguous," wrote Michael Atkinson of The Village Voice.

"Bang Rajan proves that while Hollywood just can't make good epics any more, Thailand can," said Subway Cinema.com

The brand new poster of the Thai epic has no photo of Boonleung, the famous long-horned Thai fighting buffalo. The photo has been replaced with a bloodied Bin Bunleurit. "The idea was to present the movie as an epic battle in Asian style . . . a la Kurosawa," said Marcar.

The film, about a group of Thai villagers who fought off Burmese warriors, so enraptured Oliver Stone that he stood up and applauded Pert after a special showing at The Emporium.

Presented by Stone in its original form, without any re-editing, in contrast to Francis Ford Coppola's version of "Suriyothai", the highest-grossing Thai film thus far (Bt500 million), "Bang Rajan" is being distributed by Magnolia Pictures.

The American release will have English sub-titles written by Biggs.

"Uncle" has produced a succession of well-known Thai films, including "Tears of the Black Tiger", the only Thai movie to be distributed by Miramax in the US.

"Bang Rajan" was a box-office hit domestically when it debuted in 2001 and became the second highest-grossing Thai movie of all time.

In 1765, during the legendary struggle between the Burmese and Siamese empires in what is now Thailand, two years after they had defeated the armies of Chiang Mai, Burmese forces advanced on the Siamese capital. Two armies descended on the city by different routes. More than 100,000 Burmese troops entered Siam from the west and arrived at the city unhindered. The other column of 100,000, invading from the north, was delayed for five months by unlikely foes.

In the movie a small village holds off the Burmese army. As the Burmese oppression of the surrounding countryside grew more brutal, the village swelled with refugees, who had to trade their ploughs for swords.

Through eight bloody clashes, and with no aid from the capital, the farmers fought on. They struggled against the odds until Burma finally turned the sum of its wrath on the village and eventually razed Ayutthaya. The Burmese left the country in 1767.

The story of these villagers has endured throughout dynasties and across centuries to live on in the hearts and minds of Thais for all time.

Film Bangkok is the movie-producing arm of BEC-Tero Entertainment. Since its inception in 2000, Film Bangkok has contributed considerably to the Thai movie industry.

Besides "Tears of the Black Tiger", Film Bangkok has produced "Bangkok Dangerous", "Goal Club" and "Saving Private Tootsie", which earned respect for the company at both domestic and international levels.

In 2001 Film Bangkok became the first and only movie-production company to win the Thai Prime Minister's Export Award. Every film produced by Film Bangkok has been screened in international film festivals. The company's films have been sold to over 30 countries worldwide.

"Bang Rajan" has been picked up for distribution in France by producer Luc Besson.

Ken Ywin

[pavelChe]

I am pretty sure he died around the time of the movie release - there was a big funeral for him.