Frequently asked questions about going to the movies in Thailand

Do Thai films in cinemas in Thailand have English subtitles?

By all means, if you are in Thailand, you should see a Thai film and find out what all the excitement is about.

Most always in central Bangkok the Thai films will have English subtitles, especially if they are from a major studio like Sahamongkol, GTH, Phranakorn, Five Star or RS Film. Some small studio and independent releases won't have the subs. If you're not sure, ask at the box office.

Often, seeing a Thai film in the cinema will be the only way you can see it with subtitles, because when they are released on DVD in Thailand, there are no English subtitles and not all Thai films are released in English-friendly territories (see FAQs about Thai films on DVD).

However, outside of the Bangkok metro area (but still in Thailand), sometimes the Thai films will not have subtitles.

What about Hollywood movies? Will they have the original soundtrack?

In the Bangkok metropolitan area, the Hollywood imports will most always have the original soundtrack and Thai subtitles. This will also be the case for major tourist areas and cities with major expat populations, such as Pattaya, Phuket and Chiang Mai, but most notably not Hua Hin, where Thai-dubbed movies seem to be the rule.

Often there will be a choice of "soundtrack", meaning the original audio, and a Thai dub.

What about movies from other Asian countries?

These are trickier. For Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Hong Kong and Taiwanese films, the original soundtrack with English and Thai subtitles will generally be found at the Apex cinemas in Siam Square (Lido, Scala), House on RCA, and sometimes at the two major-chain flagship multiplexes in central Bangkok -- at Paragon Cineplex (run by Major Cineplex) and SF World Cinema at CentralWorld. Outside of those, the non-English, non-Thai films will generally be dubbed in Thai.

Where are the best places to watch movies?

I tend to prefer the Apex cinemas in Siam Square. The Scala, a 1,000-seat single-screen Art Deco edifice, generally has first-run Hollywood features. The Siam, a 900-seat single-screener, showed a lot of imports from Japan and Korea, but it burned down in the May 19, 2010 arson attacks and rioting that followed the Thai army's crackdown on anti-government protesters. In between the Scala and the former Siam location is the Lido, a three-screen multiplex, which shows independent and arthouse features. Their movies tend to hang around longer than they will at the other multiplexes in Bangkok.

There is also the House cinema on the third floor of the UMG multiplex and Tops supermarket in RCA Plaza on Royal City Avenue. House has a lot of the same selection as the Apex chain, but is more eclectic, showing a greater variety of foreign features, arthouse and documentaries. The big drawback about House is its location, which is not within comfortable walking distance of any of the mass-transit rail lines. The closest stop is the subway's Petchaburi station. From there it's perhaps a five-minute taxi ride. And then it's harder to get away from, because of the way traffic flows. It's well worth the effort in getting there though.

Paragon and SF World are standbys. Just because of their sheer size, there is generally always something starting at any time of day, often until late. Other cinemas easily accessed along the Skytrain line include SF Cinema City MBK at National Stadium. Century is at Victory Monument and there's SFX The Emporium at Phrom Phong and Major Cineplex Sukhumvit at Ekamai. Along the subway, there is Esplanade Ratchayothin at the Thailand Cultural Centre Station. As of 2011, two more cinemas are being built, SF branches at the Terminal 21 mall at BTS Asok/MRT Sukhumvit and Central Rama IX at MRT Rama 9 station.

How do I find out what's playing and when?

MovieSeer used to be a standby, but a redesign in 2009 made it cumbersome to use. Major Cineplex, which includes EGV, Paragon, Paradise and Esplanade, has showtimes on its main website. The No 2 chain, SF Cinemas, has a website too. Apex and House also have websites. You can also check the Bangkok Post. Often at the big multiplexes, the showtimes will change, so the websites and newspaper ads will be incorrect.



What's so cool about going to the cinema in Thailand?

It's freaking cold! Most places keep the air conditioning at frigid temperatures, so a jacket or extra wrap wouldn't be a bad idea.

Seating is assigned. You pick out your seat at the ticket window. Seats cost around 120 baht to 140 baht, though it is occasionally cheaper, depending on the day of the week and the time of day.

If you're a night owl, the theaters in Pattaya have shows starting at 1am. Least they did last time I checked.

Or, you want to splurge? Go for the Gold Class seats at the Grand EGV Siam Discovery, the Ultra Screen at Paragon or the First Class at SF World. There, the tickets will be six to eight times the usual cost, but you'll get a reclining chair, pillow, blanket and there's sometimes a free welcoming drink and then menu service, in which your popcorn or soft drinks or whatever is brought to your seat. These are really great for long movies or the big "event" movies.

Bangkok also has IMAX cinemas, including one at Siam Paragon. They've been great about bringing in the IMAX-enabled features

What about censorship?

Prior to August 2009, all films were subject to censorship by the police. Their rules were enforced inconsistently, but generally took a dim view on sex and nudity, and the scenes deemed offensive would be smudged out or clumsily chopped with scissors. But after August 2009, a ratings system came into place, and foreign films are given a rating and are theoretically not censored. The ratings system has six classifications: P for films that should be promoted as educational, G for general audiences, 13+, 15+ and 18+ age advisories and 20+ age restriction with ID check required. There is also a hidden seventh category, which is for films that are banned. Thai films continue to be subject to censorship, primarily for political reasons with national security being invoked. The Thai films that are censored and make it to the big screen have gone through a vetting process and are edited by the filmmakers, so most audiences will be unaware of the behind-the-scenes censorship dealings.

Do I have to stand up for the Royal Anthem?

Yes. The Royal Anthem is played after the previews and commercials and before the main feature. It accompanies a montage of images in tribute to His Majesty the King and it's customary to stand. You will likely be in serious trouble if you do not. Take your seat again after the anthem concludes.


(Photos cross-published at Wikimedia Commons)

Frequently asked questions about Wise Kwai's Thai Film Journal

What is your blog about?

Wise Kwai's Thai Film Journal is a regularly updated weblog on news and reviews of the cinema of Thailand and Southeast Asia, as well as Thai art, entertainment and culture.

Why Thai film?

It's a matter of time and place. I'm most interested in where I am, and I'm interested in film. I live in Thailand, so being interested in Thai film seems natural.

How did you get into Thai films?

In 1999 I moved from the U.S. to Southeast Asia to start a new job. Before then, I really hadn't been exposed very much to Asian cinema, although I had always been interested in films of any kind from anywhere. While living in Cambodia, I developed friendships with co-workers who were very keenly interested in Asian films and cultures. Those connections pointed me in the direction I've been heading since then.

On a visit to Bangkok in 2000, I had a chance to see two films that really cemented things for me: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Tears of the Black Tiger. I saw them back-to-back in the same cinema on the same day. I thought Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was really beautiful and was a revolutionary way of presenting martial arts, which of course I found out later wasn't really that revolutionary at all. But it nonetheless inspired me to seek out more Chinese and Hong Kong martial arts films, particularly the old Shaw Brothers films. However, it was the Thai film, Tears of the Black Tiger, that really put the hook in me. Why would someone in Thailand make a western? Why was it so colorful? What the heck was going on? I wanted to find out more, and most of all, see more Thai films.

When did you start writing about Thai film?

After I moved to Bangkok in 2001, I found I was in the midst of the Thai New Wave, so it was really a perfect time to find out more about Thai films. There wasn't that much information, though. Being a journalist helped, and I was able to devour anything having to do with Thai film that would come out in the local newspapers. At the same time, I had gained access to the Internet and became better acquainted with it. There still wasn't enough information in English. So around the end of 2003, I started writing a journal about Thai films on Rotten Tomatoes, as a means of compiling and keeping track of what little was available. Gradually, other people around the world started to take interest in Thai films, too. Once Ong-Bak became a huge hit, and films by Apichatpong Weerasethakul won prizes at Cannes, and other directors like Tears of the Black Tiger's Wisit Sasanatieng and Pen-ek Ratanaruang (Monrak Transistor, Last Life in the Universe) became known worldwide, everything just kind of snowballed.

Do you speak Thai?

Not really, no. Definitely not enough to follow dialogue in films without any subtitles. Not being able to understand the Thai language is a big drawback if you love Thai films. I suppose if I took time off from writing about Thai film, as well as my regular "day job" and spent that time taking Thai lessons, I could probably learn.

How do you find out about Thai films?

I have a few sources, but mainly I just read the newspapers and scan the Internet and pay attention to what films others are writing about. A lot more English-language sources have become available since I started. Worldwide, even the mainstream media are covering the cinema of Thailand more frequently.

Mainly, though, I just go see the films when they are playing in the cinemas, and try to write down my thoughts about them. Once I've seen a film, I can reference back to it, and I try to follow its reception if it goes to film festivals.

Do Thai films have distinguishing characteristics apart from films from other Asian countries?

Thai films are just like films from anywhere in the world: They tell a story. But Thai films are imbued with aspects of Thai culture, the language, as well as Buddhism and belief in ghosts, which makes them different from films from other Asian countries.

Some of the most entertaining Thai films take things to extremes: bone-jarring violence, scream-out-loud scares, gut-wrenching heartbreaks, debilitating sadness and just plain craziness. It's hard to define, but there's a certain loopy quality about Thai films that I love.

What if I don't live in Thailand? How can I see Thai films?

Watch for film festivals near where you live, and pay attention to special screenings at local arthouse cinemas, cinema clubs, community centers, club meetings, colleges or universities. There are also DVDs, but that raises a whole other set of frequently asked questions.

Are you affiliated with Rotten Tomatoes?

No. When I started out my Thai film blog on Rotten Tomatoes at the end of 2003, it seemed like a good place to be. I was already keeping an online film journal there, and I was enjoying the then-new experience of social networking with others who kept journals there. Originally, the Thai Film Journal started out as a fan page on Rotten Tomatoes for Tears of the Black Tiger, but I soon expanded my journal entries to include other Thai films. The journal was on a part of Rotten Tomatoes called The Vine. Rotten Tomatoes was just a host for my journal. I was not affiliated with them in anyway.

Why did you start a blog on Blogger?

Well, there was a lot of confusion with my having a blog on Rotten Tomatoes. People thought I was professionally affiliated with Rotten Tomatoes or was representing Rotten Tomatoes. I wasn't. Other bloggers and websites would take my stuff and just say it came from Rotten Tomatoes without acknowledging me as the writer or source. So the move to a unique URL on Blogger was a bid to alleviate that confusion and raise my profile. I finally made the move at the end of 2007.

Now, with the setup on Blogger, it's possible to have a URL that can be memorized, repeated and more easily written down -- thaifilmjournal.blogspot.com. I have access to RSS feeds and other tools so it's easier for readers to subscribe and share the blog. I have much more flexibility in terms of site design, a better handle on visitors, and it's easier for people to make comments.

I am also slowly working on mirroring my old entries from Rotten Tomatoes on the new site. It will make them easier to search for and reference back to.

What's the deal with the ads?

I have set up an Amazon store, and I have an associations with Yesasia. Theoretically, if you click on the ads from this site, and follow all the way through and actually buy something, I'm supposed to get a little bit of money. I haven't actually received a check from anywhere yet. When possible, I have tried to customize the ads in order to create direct links to the coolest, most unique and most popular DVDs of Thai films that are available. I view the ads as a service. So take advantage of them.

Why is your name Wise Kwai?

I thought it would be cool to have a pseudonym. Kwai in Thai language means water buffalo. Since moving to Southeast Asia, I'd always admired the water buffalo for its strength, serenity and steadfastness. But I was shocked to learn that "kwai" is an insult in Thai slang, meaning "stupid". I thought I was being pretty cheeky when I chose my pen name. With Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas, based on the book Wiseguy in mind, I sought to turn the slang meaning on its head and have fun with word play. But after a few more years of living in Thailand, I came to realize I probably wouldn't choose that name if I had to do it all over again. But now I'm stuck with it.

Can you write something for my blog/website/newspaper/magazine/academic paper?

No. I have a demanding full-time day job already. This blog is a hobby and I barely have time to keep it up and see movies. In the past I have had guest posts on other websites, but I am increasingly reluctant to accept assignments or fulfill requests for articles.

Can I interview you for a documentary or news article?

I am also reluctant to do that. I have granted interviews and been quoted in the past, but I am uncomfortable with that type of attention. I don't consider myself an expert or an authority. I am just a fan who watches a lot of movies and keeps a blog. I might, however, be able to refer you to to a real "expert".

Do you know where I can download a film?
No.

I'm a graduate student working on a thesis about Thai film. Can you help me?

I get a lot of these types of requests, and they are usually so broad I don't don't where to even start. So my usual answer is to do a search of my blog – what I have to say is said there already. If you still need help looking for answers, please ask me something specific and I'll try to narrow things down for you.

Can you help me contact a certain film company or obtain a certain film for distribution in my country?

Web links to most of the film companies are listed in the sidebar to the blog. Please have a look there and try to contact the companies yourself.

Frequently asked questions about Thai films on DVD

There's a film playing in Thailand right now that I want to see, but I don't live there. When will it be released on DVD?

Thai films are usually released on DVD within a few months after their theatrical run in Thailand, but even though the films in the cinemas are subtitled, the DVDs of Thai films released in Thailand usually do not include English subtitles.

What? No subtitles? Since when?

Never assume a Thai film is going to be released on DVD with English subtitles. Around 2002 or 2003, it became common practice for the Thai DVD publishers to omit the English subtitles. The movie that heralded this trend to the world was Ong-Bak, the wildly popular martial arts film starring Tony Jaa. There were some fan-subbed pirated versions, and a pretty poor subtitled Chinese VCD, but fans who wanted a legal, English subtitled version had to wait a couple of years for it to be released.

Why don't the DVDs of Thai films have English subtitles?

I've heard various reasons. One is because the studios and DVD distributors don't want to pay royalties to the subtitle writers.

Another reason, probably the main reason, is that leaving the subtitles off gives the studios control over foreign sales and distribution. They have effectively shut down the grey market of mail-order sales of Thai DVDs to English-speaking countries. This exclusivity is a selling point when the Thai studios are promoting their films to overseas sales agents and distributors.

But wouldn't the Thai studios stand to make a lot of money by offering subtitled DVDs of their films?

Apparently not. At some point, the major players in the industry did some accounting and decided they could maximize profits by leaving off the English subs. First and foremost, the Thai studios are marketing their DVDs for sale in Thailand, to Thai people. It is apparently not worth their effort to include English subtitles for the relative handful of non-Thais in Thailand who are Thai film fans and haven't bothered to learn the Thai language. The studios stand to make more money through lucrative sales deals with foreign distributors.

So I can get a Thai film on DVD with English subtitles, if it has been distributed outside Thailand?

Yes, but not all Thai films. The problem is that not all Thai films are picked up or promoted for overseas distribution. This is where the entertaining "extremes" of Thai cinema can come back and bite the film. If it's not "extreme" enough, namely not martial arts or horror, it likely won't be picked up for overseas distribution.

This situation means that many meaningful dramas, genuinely funny romantic comedies and sharply satiric films won't ever been seen by overseas audiences outside of film festivals. And this is a lamentable situation.

There are exceptions to this, of course. Most of the feature films by acclaimed arthouse director Apichatpong Weerasethakul have been picked up for release on DVD outside Thailand, as have films by other well-known, well-regarded directors, like Wisit Sasanatieng, Pen-ek Ratanaruang and Nonzee Nimibutr.

But mainly, the Thai films that end up being released on DVD outside Thailand are limited to the martial arts and horror genres. If you're waiting for a Thai romantic drama to be released on DVD with English subtitles, you'd better be prepared for a long, futile wait, or start learning to speak Thai -- you'll have mastered the language before your favorite Thai romantic drama ever comes out on DVD with English subs.

What about censorship of Thai DVDs?

Some DVDs are censored, and some are not. There is no consistency. But, one company that seems to be pretty consistent about censorship is Mono Film the distributor Rose Media, which is notable for the fact that they are about the only Thai company still including English subtitles on their DVDs. But the censorship is atrocious! They do this "foggy blurring" pixellation of guns, drugs and smoking. On Mono Film's 2005 action film, The Tiger Blade, which had a lot of guns, drugs and smoking, there was so much pixellation censorship, it was difficult watch the DVD.

Some releases of foreign films in Thailand by Thai DVD distributors are censored, too. So approach those releases with caution, even if they seem like bargains.

Where can I find Thai film DVDs with English subtitles?

In Thailand, the Mangpong (Scorpion) shops and other DVD retailers in shopping malls have back-stock of some of the older, Thailand-released titles that had subtitles. These include the older films by M.C. Chatrichalerm Yukol, which are all worth picking up. They are generally along the bottom shelf in the Thai section at the back of the store. Five Star released a bunch of classics in its Legends series but really missed an opportunity by not including English subs. What a waste. The Triple X company released a lot of 1960s and '70s Thai action cinema on DVD, some with subtitles, some without. The quality of the DVDs depends on the original prints, and many from that era are in horrible shape. A lot of the old Thai DVDs with English subs are making their way into the discount bins and are going out of print.

The mail-order website eThaiCD as a full catalog of whatever DVDs, VCDs and music CDs are being sold in Thailand. Yesasia is a good place to look. Often, the first places a Thai film will be released on English-friendly DVD will be in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore or Malaysia, though increasingly those are without English subs as well.

Beyond that, there are a few specialty labels in the U.S. and U.K. that release Thai films. Tartan released a few Thai titles under their Asia Extreme line. Magnolia (and its Magnet label), Palm Pictures, Kino International and Strand Releasing have a variety of Thai titles, including arthouse, action, suspense and drama. The Weinstein Company's Dragon Dynasty line has several Thai martial arts titles, and their Dimension Extreme label is getting in on the Thai horror and suspense action. You can find these by browsing the Thai Film Journal Store at Amazon.

Also, check the foreign films section of your local library, DVD rental shop or mail-rental house. You'd be surprised at the number of Thai films you'll find.

Do you know where I can download a film?
No.

Well okay then. How about fan subs?
I don't have any experience dealing with fan subs, though I am curious to try. I'm aware that they exist, but I don't know yet where they come from or how they work. However, I understand there are programs that allow fan-created subtitles to be imported into a movie while the DVD of that movie is playing.

See also:

• Frequently asked questions about the Thai Film Journal