25 more films picked for Thai historical registry

A still from Chok Song Chan (Double Luck). Only about one minute of the 1927 film survives.

King Rama VIII's arrival in Bangkok, a fragment of a 1927 silent and aerial footage of Bangkok being bombed during World War II are among the additions this year to the Thai Culture Ministry's Registry of Films as National Heritage.

The listing by the Culture Ministry and the Thai Film Archive coincides with Thai Film Conservation Day. The registry was initiated last year with 25 entries, and this year's list has 25 more historic films.

From 1938, King Rama VIII's Arrival in Thailand is "rare and precious" footage, archive director Dome Sukwong was quoted as saying by The Nation today. The newsreel chronicles the arrival of 13-year-old King Ananda Mahidol and members of his family, including his younger brother, the present king, the Princess Mother and sister Princess Galyani Vadhana. Picked as king when he was 9 years old, the boy monarch was born in Germany and raised overseas. He was chosen king after the abdication of King Rama VII, following a coup that established the constitutional monarchy.

The earliest entry on this year's list is 1927's Chok Song Chan (โชคสองชั้น, Double Luck), the first film produced by a Thai company, the Sri Krung studio. Before then, there was the Hollywood co-production Miss Suwanna of Siam, which has been lost. King Kong director Merian Cooper's jungle adventure Chang was made around the same time. But Double Luck is considered the first actual Thai feature film. Unfortunately, all that remains is about 82 feet – around 1 minute – of a car chase.

The World War II footage was shot aboard a B-29 bomber on December 14, 1944. Thailand, having been occupied by Japan, actually issued a declaration of war against the Allied powers. Another news clip from the World War II era is a parade of soldiers fighting for the Seri Thai or Free Thai movement, which was opposed to the Japanese occupation and the totalitarian Thai government of the time.

An interesting artifact is 1967's Gnathostoma Spinigerum and Gnathostomiasis in Thailand, a short film made by a Thai physician to present his findings about roundworms and the illness caused by them.

Another historic reel is the first Thai animated film, 1955's Hed Mahassajan (The Miraculous Incident), by the "Walt Disney of Thailand", Payut Ngaokrachang. The short depicts a humorous city outing by a gentleman – Payut himself – and culminates in a traffic pileup caused by a policeman being distracted by a popped button on an attractive lady's outfit.

Feature films on the list include the 1958 musical drama Dark Heaven, the first color film by pioneering auteur RD Pestonji. There's also 1959's Mae Nak Phra Khanong, the first of many adaptations of the famous legend of the ghost wife.

The romantic drama Reun Pae (The Houseboat) from 1961 is another enduring classic. Even today, youngsters can hum along to the theme song. Historic for a number of reasons, it was a Hong Kong co-production and was shot on 35mm with sound, rare for the era when post-dubbed 16mm films were still prevalent. It was chosen for restoration through a grant by Technicolor and the Thomson Foundation a few years ago.

Iconic screen couple Mitr Chaibancha and Petchara Chaowarat star in the 1965 entry, the sprawling musical comedy Ngern Ngern Ngern (Money, Money, Money) and 1970's action drama Insee Tong (Golden Eagle), which Mitr died making, being killed in a fall from a helicopter while filming the last scene. Petchara's first film, 1961's The Love Diary of Pimchawee, is also on the list.

Even the costumed B-movie antics of notorious cult director Sompote Sands are honored in this year's list, with Hanuman vs Seven Superheroes from 1974 making the cut. It has footage of Thai mythological characters intercut with footage from a Japanese Ultraman movie.

There are also examples of "social problem" movies, with Kru Bannok (The Country Teacher) from 1978 and MC Chatrichalerm Yukol's taxi-driver drama The Citizen starring Sorapong Chatree from 1977. Another social-realism stalwart, Vichit Kounavudhi, is represented with his early effort, 1961's Hands of a Thief.

Newer notable films are also included, such as 1999's gritty urban homelessness drama Kon Jorn. The most recent entry on the list being Uruphon Raksasad's award-winning farmer drama Sawan Ban Na (Agrarian Utopia) from 2009.

Registry of Films as National Heritage, 2012

1. Chok Song Chan (เรื่องโชคสองชั้น , Double Luck), 1927
2. Cheewit Kon 2475 (ชีวิตก่อน 2475, Life Before 1932, 1930
3. Hae Rattathamanoon (แห่รัฐธรรมนูญ , National Constitution Parade, 1933
4. King Rama VIII's Arrival in Thailand, 1938
5. The bombing of Bangkok, 1944
6. Seri Thai March, 1945
7. Hed Mahassajan (เหตุมหัศจรรย์ , The Miraculous Incident), 1955
8. Sawan Meud (สวรรค์มืด , Dark Heaven), 1958
9. Mae Nak Phra Khanong (แม่นาคพระโขนง), 1959
10. World Boxing Championship, match between Hua Hin native Pon Kingphetch and Argentina's Pascal Peres, Bangkok, 1960
11. Meu Jon (มือโจร, Hands of a Thief), 1961
12. Reun Phae (เรือนแพ , The House Boat), 1961
13. Bunteuk Rak Khong Pimchawee (บันทึกรักของพิมพ์ฉวี, The Love Diary of Pimchawee), 1962
14. Ngern Ngern Ngern (เงิน เงิน เงิน, Money, Money, Money), 1965
15. Saneh Bangkok (เสน่ห์บางกอก , Charming Bangkok), 1966
16. Gnathostoma Spinigerum and Gnathostomiasis in Thailand, 1967
17. A Drug Inmate's Execution by Firing Squad, 1967
18. Insee Thong (อินทรีทอง, Golden Eagle), 1970
19. The Dalai Lama Visits Suan Mokkh, 1972
20. Hanuman Pob 7 Yod Manut (หนุมานพบ 7 ยอดมนุษย์ , Hanuman vs the Seven Superheroes, 1974
21. Thongpoon Khokpho Rassadon Temkhan (ทองพูน โคกโพ ราษฎรเต็มขั้น, The Citizen), 1977
22. Kru Bannok (ครูบ้านนอก, The Country Teacher), 1978
23. Muang Nai Mhok (เมืองในหมอก , City in the Mist), 1978
24. Kon Jorn (คนจร ฯลฯ ), 1999
25. Sawan Ban Na (สวรรค์บ้านนา, Agrarian Utopia), 2009

Kong Rithdee further details the list in his article today in the Bangkok Post.

Culture Ministry lists 25 films as Thai national heritage

Thailand's Culture Ministry and the Thai Film Archive have started a registry of national heritage films. The initial 25 titles go back as far as the beginning of film history up to the accomplishments of today and range from shorts to features. It includes newsreels, travelogue, documentaries, experimental films and fictional features.

The earliest is 1897's Berne: Arrivee du Roi de Siam, chronicling the arrival of King Chulalongkorn in Berne, Switzerland, likely the first filmed record of a Siamese person.

The most recent is last year's history-making Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, the first Thai film to win the prestigious Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

A news release says that according to Culture Minister Sukumol Khunpluem "the films deserved to be the national heritage for they are the masterpieces of Thai filmmakers and are about Thai people and Thai culture."

Among the entries is The Flood in Bangkok 1942 by Tae Prakardwuttisan, which has been making rounds at a time when Bangkok is threatened by a record deluge of water. It's embedded above. Many other examples on the list, including episodes from Thai history that are politically sensitive topics, can also be found on YouTube.

Here's the list of 25 Films as National Heritage 2011, in Thai alphabetical order:

1. การต่อสู้ของกรรมกรหญิงโรงงานฮาร่า, The Struggle of Hara Factory Workers (1975) by Jon Ungpakorn – A documentary about the women workers in the Hara Jean factory who seized the factory to fight back at the owner.
2. คล้องช้าง, Klongchang (1938) – An elephant round-up filmed by a Japanese crew, the first half is a look at old Bangkok's streets and lifestyle, which even today is popular stock footage for TV shows and news programs. The second half is the actual elephant round-up.
3. ทองปาน, Tongpan (1977) – This documentary-style drama, directed by Euthana Mukdasanit and Surachai Jantimatorn and written by Khamsing Srinawk, Paijong Laisagoon and Mike Morrow, is a look at a man who lost his farm because of dam construction attending a seminar about the building of another dam. Because of its socialist leanings, the film was actually banned for a time.
4. ทวิภพ (ฉบับผู้กำกับ), Siam Renaissance (Director’s Cut) (2005) by Surapong Pinitkha – This is one of many adaptations of writer Thommayanti's novel Thawipob, about a present-day woman who time-travels through her mirror to Rama V-era Siam and falls in love with a man from the past.
5. โทน, Tone (1970) by Piak Poster – The debut feature by Piak, this sweeping romance, musical and action drama follows a poor young man (Chaiya Suriyun) as he's spurned by the girl he has a crush on, eventually moves to Bangkok to attend college but trouble from his home village follows him. Roj Ronnapop, Aranya Namwong, Jaruwan Panyopas, Sa-ad Piempongsan and Sangthong Seesai also star. The movie is notable for the music of the popular "string music" group of the 1960s and '70s, the Impossibles.
6. นิ้วเพชร, The Diamond Finger (1958) by Ratana Pestonji – A khon (masked dance) episode of the Ramakien is lavishly mounted by the pioneering filmmaker.
7. น้ำท่วมกรุงเทพ 2485, The Flood in Bangkok 1942 (1942) by Tae Prakardwuttisan – Tae was a photographer, journalist and film producer who was named a National Artist of Performing Art (Cinema and Drama) in 1999.
8. Record of October 6, บันทึกเหตุการณ์ 6 ตุลา (1976) – This was the date of the 1976 Thammasat University Massacre, which was a deadly crackdown on anti-dictatorship students and protesters by the police and military.
9. Pi Tong Leaung, ผีตองเหลือง (1962) – An ethnographic film about the Mra Bri people, also known as the "yellow banana leaf tribe".
10. ผีเสื้อกับดอกไม้, Butterfly and Flowers (1985) by Euthana Mukdasanit – Adapted from the award-winning 1978 book by the writer Nipphan, this drama is about a boy who sells ice treats at a southern Thailand railway station and is forced by economic hardships to smuggle rice across the border.
11. แผลเก่า, The Scar (also Plae Kao, 1977) by Cherd Songsri – Classic star-crossed romance in the ricefields, with the headstrong Kwan (Sorapong Chatree) hopelessly in love with Riam (Nantana Ngaokrachang), the daughter of a rival village chief.
12. พระเจ้ากรุงสยามเสด็จ ฯ ถึงกรุงเบิร์น, Berne: Arrivee du Roi de Siam (1897) – King Chulalongkorn's arrival in Berne, Switzerland, was recorded and when the entourage returned the king's brother Prince Thongthaem "the Duke" Sambassatra brought filmmaking equipment, making him "the father of Thai cinema".
13. พระเจ้าช้างเผือก, The King of White Elephant (1941) by Santi Wasutharn – Statesman Pridi Banomyong produced this epic, set during the Ayutthaya Kingdom era, about a monarch who is reluctant to go to war, but then does so when he's attacked. Made as the threat of Japanese occupation loomed, the English-language film, featuring students and faculty from Pridi's Thammasat University, was intended as anti-war propaganda and a statement to the outside world that not everyone in Thailand were ready to side with Japan.
14. พระราชพิธีเฉลิมกรุงเทพมหานครและพระราชวงศ์จักรีอันประดิษฐานมาครบ ๑๕๐ ปี, The Celebrations of the 150th Anniversary of the Founding of Bangkok (1932)
15. The Coronation of King Prajadhipok (1925) – King Rama VII ruled 25 from 1925 until his abdication in 1935.
16. ไฟเย็น, Fai Yen (also Cold Fire, 1965) – An anti-communist propaganda film.
17. ประมวลภาพเหตุการณ์สูญเสียพระเอกผู้ยิ่งใหญ่ มิตร ชัยบัญชา, Chronicle of the Loss of Mitr Chaibancha (1970) – This film clip is a record of the outpouring of grief over actor Mitr Chaibancha, who fell to his death from a helicopter on October 8, 1970, while performing a stunt for the movie Golden Eagle.
18. มนต์รักลูกทุ่ง, Monrak Luk Thung (1970) – This musical romance, set in the countryside, starred the era's classic screen couple Mitr Chaibancha and Petchara Chaowarat. The soundtrack was hugely popular and the movie remained in cinemas for six months.
19. รัฐประหาร 2490, Coup d' Etat (1947) by Tae Prakardwuttisan – The coup, led by Lt-General Phin Choonhavan, ousted the unpopular government of Rear Admiral Thawan Thamrong Nawasawat and eventually led to the return to rule by the wartime dictator Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsonggram.
20. โรงแรมนรก, The Country Hotel (also Rong Raem Narok, 1957) by Rattana Pestonji – A cavalcade of music acts, arm-wrestling, boxing and comedy skits enliven this crime drama about a mysterious man and woman on the run from the mob hiding out at a bizarre bar and one-room guesthouse.
21. ลุงบุญมีระลึกชาติ, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) by Apichatpong Weerasethakul – A terminally ill man is visited in his last days by his closest surviving family members who pay witness to the strange and spiritually supernatural aspects of their dying uncle's incredible life.
22. ลูกอีสาน, Son of Northeast (also Look Isaan, 1982) by Vichit Kounavudhi – This landmark drama follows the migrations of a close-knit group of struggling farming families in northeastern Thailand of the 1930s.
23. สุดสาคร, Sudsakorn Adventure (1979) by Payut Ngaokrachang – The first Thai animated feature is adapted from poet Sunthorn Phu's epic Phra Aphai Mani and follows the adventures of a boy who is the son of a mermaid and a minstrel prince.
24. อนุทินวีรชน ๑๔ ตุลา, Diary of October 14 Heroes (1974) – Recounting the events of October 14, 1973, in which a deadly crackdown on pro-democracy student activists resulted in His Majesty the King removing a field-marshal dictator and the country's return to a democratically elected government. It's an earlier bookend to 1976's Record of October 6, which marked a bloody return to military dictatorship.
25. ! (1977) by Surapong Pinitkha – An exclamation mark is the title of this experimental film about poverty.

Many thanks to Chalida Uabumrungjit, deputy director of the Thai Film Archive, for translation of the list.

In Memory of Mitr Chaibancha on Saturday at the Film Archive

Forty-one years ago this Saturday, October 8, superstar actor Mitr Chaibancha fell to his death from a helicopter while making Insee Thong (Golden Eagle).

As they do each year in memory of Mitr, the Thai Film Archive will have a special program including some of Mitr's movies.

They'll screen the 1966 comedy Sam Kler Jer Long Hon (สามเกลอเจอล่องหน, "three friends meet the invisible man") at 10.30am, with a team of live dubbers. Petchara Chaowarat and Ruj Ronnapop also star.

Following lunch, at 2pm, actress Butsakon Sakonrat, who co-starred with Mitr in some other movies, will have her hand-and-foot impressions made in the Star Terrace outside the Sri Salaya Theatre.

And at 3.30, there will be a presentation of a voice clip of Mitr from 1965, obtained from the Rank Organization in the U.K. It's a rare opportunity to hear Mitr's voice, because in all his films, his voice was dubbed.

Update: More details by Kong Rithdee, the Bangkok Post.

Outdoor movie dubbers stage swordfights with forks and spoons

Movies on the Beach in the nang klang plang tradition of Thai outdoor cinema are continuing this week at the Ramada Plaza Menam Riverside Bangkok.

I caught last Saturday's double feature of 1966's Suek Bang Rajan and 2000's Bang Rajan.

The setting is a sand-covered plaza on the riverfront at the Ramada hotel, which is downstream from the Saphan Taksin pier. It's easily reachable from the pier by a shuttle boat from the hotel that runs every half hour.

Instead of movie-theater seating, there are beach-style lounge chairs set up in rows.

Starting well after dusk, at around 7.30, the first feature was 1966's Battle of Bang Rajan, starring Sombat Metanee in a commanding performance that won him a Tukata Tong (Golden Doll) award, which was handed to him personally by His Majesty the King.

Instead of the soundtrack, a team of five dubbers handled all voice work, music and sound effects. They worked from a table next to the projector tent, which was set up behind the beach chairs.

Two men and two women handled all the voices, from the heroic leading man to the comic-relief characters. Sound effects for this historical action epic were simple but effective – forks and spoons from dinner provided the clanging of swords, a pair of small coconut shells were the sound of pounding horse hoofs. Braying horses, trumpeting elephants, gunshots, cannon fire and the cries of dying men and women were all covered by the men and women behind the mic. A fifth member of the team worked a cassette player, swapping tapes in and out with music suited to the mood – rousing orchestral cues for the action scenes, and slow Thai traditional instrumentals for the romantic settings.

Fantastic as the movie was – it's the Alamo-like tale of heroic villagers who put themselves between the capital at Ayutthaya and the entire army of invading Burmese – it was hard to not turn around and see how the dubbers worked their magic.

Just how effective they were became evident when director Thanit Jitnukul's 2000 remake Bang Rajan was the second feature and the dubbers went away to let the soundtrack play. I felt like it was missing something, even with all the modern movie magic of CGI blood and digitally hacked-off limbs.

Compared to the newer version, the first Bang Rajan is lots more colorful, with lots of reds, yellows and greens, especially the women's costumes. The stories are the same. The village is up against overwhelming odds. Even the women get in on the two-handed swordfighting action. And yes, the village drunk climbs aboard a water buffalo to gallop into battle, though in the old version, the ride is short-lived – a letdown compared to the awesomely heroic ride Bin Binluert takes in 2000's version.

They showed films. Actual film reels, running through a projector. That was good to see in this age of DVDs and digital projectors. In previous outdoor film screenings I've been to, they have two projectors, which the projectionist uses to keep the flow steady, with no discernable interuption between reels. I swear I've even seen that feat accomplished with one projector, but the projectionists handling Saturday's screening had trouble keeping up with the cigarette burns, so there were pauses between reels.

And I was surprised at just how bad a shape the print of 2000's Bang Rajan was in. It seemed just as scratched up and jaggedy as the 1966 film.

Shows just how fragile a medium film is.

Movies on the Beach continue through Sunday.

Tonight's show is the 1970 smash-hit musical Monrak Luk Thung (Magical Love in the Countryside), starring Mitr Chaibancha and Petchara Chaowarat. Back in the day, it played in cinemas for six straight months.

Christmas Eve has 1970's Insee Tong (Golden Eagle), which features the fateful helicopter stunt that killed Mitr on October 8, 1970. I expect the dubbing team will be handling that one.

It's on a double bill with this year's Insee Dang (The Red Eagle), an action-packed reboot of Mitr's long-running franchise by director Wisit Sasanatieng, featuring Ananda Everingham in the lead role of the masked vigilante crimefighter.

Christmas night has a pair of monastic comedies, Luang Ta 3: Seeka Khang Wat from 1991 and Phranakorn's 2005 smash-hit Luang Phee Theng (The Holy Man).

The screening series closes on Sunday with the 2001 romantic drama Khang Lang Phab (Behind the Painting), the final film by the late director Cherd Songsri, starring "Ken" Theeradej Wongpuapan and Cara Pholasit.

The price is a bit steep, which may be the reason audiences are so sparse – 350 baht for the one-movie nights and 450 baht for the double-feature nights. That includes your choice of beverage and/or food.

Eagles and Mitr fly in outdoor movie shows

Thai films will be screened in the classic nang klang plang (open-air) style – including live dubbing – nightly from Friday until December 26 in the Movies on the Beach show at the Ramada Plaza Menam Riverside Bangkok Hotel on Charoenkrung Road.

Filmmaker Pantham Thongsang curates the program, mixing classics with contemporary Thai movies.

The program starts with Khoo Kam, a classic tale of star-crossed lovers during World War II. Many versions of this story have been filmed, and they'll show two of the best remembered – the 1973 version starring Nat Phoowanai and Duangnapha Attapornwisan and 1996's with Thongchai "Bird" McIntyre in the role of a Japanese officer and Apasiri Nitibhon as the Thai woman he's in love with.

Saturday's show will have dueling historical dramas, starting with 1966's Suek Bang Rajan, starring Sombat Metanee in a performance that won him a Tukata Tong (Golden Doll) award, which was handed to him personally by His Majesty the King. Phitsamai Wilaisak also stars. It's in a double-feature bill with Thanit Jitnukul’s blood-soaked battle epic Bang Rajan, which became an international cult hit after its release in 2000.

Sunday will feature the martial-arts exploits of legendary actor Mitr Chaibancha and his leading lady Petchara Chaowarat in the high-flying Hong Kong wire-fu swordfighting fantasy Atsawin Daap Gaaiyasit (อัศวินดาบกายสิทธิ์). According to Thai Worldview, another actor named Chat Chayaphum from Chayaphum province was brought in to complete the film after Mitr died.


During the week, there will be the films by Pantham and Somkiet Vituranich: the talking-dog drama Ma Mha (Mid-Road Gang) on Monday, and 2004's social drama Ai Fak (The Judgement) on Tuesday.

Nonzee Nimibutr's 1997 debut feature Dang Bireley's and Young Gangsters about teenage hoodlums in the 1950s (screenplay by Wisit Sasanatieng) shows on Wednesday.

And there's the smash-hit 1970 musical Monrak Luk Thung (Magical Love in the Countryside), starring Mitr Chaibancha and Petchara Chaowarat.

Christmas Eve has more Mitr action in 1970's Insee Tong (Golden Eagle), which features the fateful helicopter stunt that killed Mitr on October 8, 1970. It'll be in a double bill with this year's Insee Dang (The Red Eagle), an action-packed reboot of Mitr's long-running franchise by director Wisit Sasanatieng, featuring Ananda Everingham in the lead role of the masked vigilante crimefighter.

Christmas night will offer spirituality and laughs in the Buddhist monk movies Luang Ta 3: Seeka Khang Wat from 1991 and Luang Phee Theng (The Holy Man).

The program closes with the 2001 romantic drama Khang Lang Phab (Behind the Painting), the final film by the late director Cherd Songsri, starring "Ken" Theeradej Wongpuapan and Cara Pholasit.

Tickets are Bt350 for one screening and Bt450 for two movies on Friday and Saturday. Part of the proceeds will benefit the Thai Film Foundation. Call (02) 688 1000.

Ananda Everingham in action as Red Eagle

Tempting fate, a red-masked, black-leather-clad Ananda Everingham dangled from a rope ladder and rode a motorcycle yesterday in a live stunt-show promotion in Pattaya by Five Star Production for the October 7 release of Insee Daeng (อินทรีเเดง, Red Eagle).

It was 40 years ago on October 8, 1970 at Dong Tan Beach, Jomtien, a few miles down the Gulf of Thailand coastline from Pattaya, where the original Red Eagle star, superstar actor Mitr Chaibancha, fell to his death while dangling from a rope ladder on a helicopter as it soared into the skies. He was making Insee Thong (Golden Eagle), the last in his long-running series of Red Eagle movies. There's a shrine to Mitr at Jomtien that to this day receives daily visits from fans and people praying for luck.

And, it was just a couple years ago that leading man Ananda himself took a nasty spill on a motorcycle and suffered serious injuries that delayed his work on this reboot of the Red Eagle franchise, which being directed by the imaginative director of Tears of the Black Tiger and Citizen Dog, Wisit Sasanatieng.

The original series, which started in the 1950s, is based on crime novels by Sake Dusit, about drunken playboy lawyer Rome Rittichai, whose alter-ego is the masked vigilante crimefighter Insee Daeng, similar to Green Hornet or Batman. Mitr starred in the series, with actress Petchara Chaowarat as his plucky confidante and assistant. There've also been other movie incarnations of Red Eagle, as well as TV dramas.

The Pattaya Daily News has an account of the stunt show with more photos, and says a helicopter was involved in yesterday's events at the Central Festival shopping mall on Pattaya Beach.

Actually, the sturdy steel-cable ladder was suspended on a sling between buildings at the shopping center, as photos show.

And, had the actor's grip on the ladder loosened, as Mitr's did back on that fateful day in 1970, Ananda would have been okay, because he was rigged into a climbing harness, attached to a safety rope.

Though the actors weren't in danger, it still must have been a thrill for Pattaya folks to get a look at the red-masked man and the movie's heroine, musician and actress Yarinda Bunnag.

You can get another look at Ananda in action in the Red Eagle trailer.

Teaser poster and Thai release date for Red Eagle

Red Eagle is really happening.

The much-anticipated reboot of the Thai action-movie franchise by Tears of the Black Tiger director Wisit Sasanatieng has a Thai release date of October 7.

Red Eagle (Insee Dang, อินทรีเเดง ) stars Ananda Everingham as a masked vigilante crimefighter.

Ananda steps into a role most famously played by Thai screen legend Mitr Chaibancha from the 1950s to 1970, when Mitr took a fatal fall from a helicopter while filming Insee Tong (Golden Eagle).

The release date of Red Eagle is timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Mitr's death on October 8, 1970.

Musician and actress Yarinda Bunnag, who previously starred in Best of Times (Kwaam Jam San Dtae Rak Chan Yaao, ความจำสั้น แต่รักฉันยาว), co-stars.

During the Mitr Chaibancha era, Red Eagle was backed up by screen siren Petchara Chaowarat, making for one of Thai cinema's most popular pairings.

The plot of the new Red Eagle goes like this:

A nuclear power plant is about to be commissioned upon the signing of corrupt and power hungry politicians. The citizens are in frenzy, as they oppose this plan but they cannot do a thing about it. And so, a hero was born, chasing down the criminals and the corrupt, killing of whatever threatens the city's well being. He leaves a card with his name simply as "THE RED EAGLE". However, the hero becomes the hunted, when the politicians send out their best defense, known as “THE BLACK DEMON”.

A teaser trailer will coming soon.

I hope to be among the first to see it.

Meanwhile, there's also Wisit's Iron Pussy: A Kimchi Affair, a short that Wisit did with Michael Shaowanasai as part of Camellia, a.k.a. the Busan Project, due to premiere at this year's Pusan International Film Festival.

It's going to be a busy October for Wisit and his fans.

Update: Oh, check this out.

CNNGo's 'best films and greatest actors from Thai cinema'

It's Asia Film Week at CNNGo, and with the Subhanahongsa Awards, aka the "Thai Oscars" coming up on Sunday, the travel website's Bangkok bureau has a new list to peruse: "The best films and greatest actors from Thai cinema."

It includes the likes of screen icons Mitr Chaibancha and Petchara Chaowarat and their 1970 musical, Monrak Luktung (มนต์รักลูกทุ่ง). "It is our Star Wars, our Wizard of Oz, the birth of modern Thai cinema," writes Cod Satrusayang, better known as @fishmyman.

I like that 1970's Tone (โทน) is included on the list.

Have a look yourself and see if there's any movies or actors you think have been left out.

Thai classics online at Asia Pacific Film

Classics of Thai cinema, including films by Ratana Pestonji, are available at Asia Pacific Films, a new online film library that is offering free viewing until November 1.

From Thailand are three classics by Ratana Pestonji -- 1957's crazy musical-comedy-film noir Country Hotel, 1958's tale of tragic love Dark Heaven and 1961's film noir Black Silk. There's also 1955's story of chained-up cheating lovers Forever Yours, which had Pestonji as cinematographer and was directed by Tawee na Bangchang.

And there are two more films from Thailand's classic era, 1965's musical Ngern Ngern Ngern (Money Money Money) starring Mitr Chaibancha and Petchara Chaowarat, and the 1969 musical comedy Paradise Island, starring Sombat Metanee and Aranya Namwong. They are directed by Prince Anusornmongkolgan.

Apart from Thailand, other countries represented include Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. These selections tend to be newer, indie titles, such as Riri Riza's pot-smoke-tinged Three Days to Forever, James Lee's romances like Things We Do When We Fall in Love, John Torres' Years When I Was a Child Outside and Kan Lume's The Art of Flirting.

There's also movies from China, India, Iran, Japan, South Korea and Sri Lanka. There's nothing yet from Cambodia, Laos or Burma, but give them time.

AsiaPacificFilms.com is offering unlimited access in a free trial until November 1, after which the subscription rate will be US$8.99 a month for unlimited access.

According to the website, the money will be filtered back to the filmmakers and rights-holders in the form of royalties, and also benefit the work of the Network for Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC). From the website:

By acquiring digital rights and streaming our film collection on our website, we give our subscribers access to half of the world’s films: films made by Asians and Pacific Islanders.

Fact: 95 percent of these films are never seen outside of their own countries because mainstream distributors don’t bring them to the global market, or filmmakers from these areas lack access to distribution channels.

Our curators -- experts in Asian and Pacific cinema studies – hand-pick our films for their cultural nuances and historical significance, and for their themes, filmic techniques and styles.

Our film selections present artistic works that offer viewers a broad historical and cultural context about Asia and Pacific. We are creating an online library and archive because we believe the virtual environment is the best way to keep our cinematic heritage in perpetual circulation.

AsiaPacificFilms.com features high-quality reviews, excusive interviews, theme-based searches, online commenting, podcasts, and much more.

Our filmmakers -- among them, renowned directors from China, Korea, India, Iran, and Southeast Asia -- receive royalties. A portion of our profits go to support the important work of NETPAC. In the future, a special research and development fund will support future film projects of filmmakers who have contributed films to this website.

All the Thai films so far are available on DVD with English subtitles from the Thai Film Foundation, but for well-connected Internet users, the Asia Pacific Online Film Library might be an appealing alternative. I can't use it myself, because my Internet connection sucks.

(Via ThorGB and Babel Machine)

It was 39 years ago today

Movie star Mitr Chaibuncha died on October 8, 1970, at Jomtien Beach near Pattaya, after falling from a helicopter. He was filming a stunt for the closing scene of Insee Tong (Golden Eagle). He was 36 years old and had appeared in around 266 films.

This Saturday, October 10, the Film Archive in Salaya, Nakhon Pathom, remembers Mitr.

It's a special commemoration this year because director Wisit Sasanatieng has started filming a reboot of Mitr’s famous Insee Dang (Red Eagle) series, with Ananda Everingham stepping into Mitr’s shoes, portraying the masked vigilante hero.

Yarinda Bunnag has been cast as the leading lady. In Mitr's era, that role was held by Petchara Chaowarat, the now-blind former actress who's recently made high-profile appearances in a TV commercial for a brand of lipstick and in a photo spread for Lips magazine.

Activities at the Film Archive start at 9.30, with movies and discussions in the morning and a break for lunch at 12.30. The afternoon session starts at 2, and includes a 39-minute compilation of clips from Mitr’s popular movies. His contemporaries and biggest fans will take part in the talk, “What We Miss About Mitr”. Wisit, Ananda and crew are expected to be there as well.

Petchara making an appearance

Petchara Chaowarat, the biggest-name actress in the Thai movie business in the 1960s and '70s, had her career sidelined by blindness. Legend has it that make-up to give her trademark "puppy-dog eyes" even more sparkle combined with the bright lights of film sets to take her vision.

Public appearances by her are extremely rare, but tomorrow, she'll be on TV as a presenter for the Mistine cosmetics brand. Her classic image is being used for the 70-million-baht campaign to sell the "Diamond" lipstick collection. The Nation/Daily Xpress has a story today:

It is not easy for a famous actress to return to the limelight after so long. She told us she’s worried about being ignored because her looks have changed so much,” said Danai Derojanawong, managing director of Better Way, which owns the Mistine brand.

Petchara says the comeback will be a one-off to help her charity work for the blind. Her decision was made easier when the company agreed to give a percentage of the lipstick’s sales revenue to the Thailand Association for the Blind.

Danai said that as this will be the last time we see Petchara on our screens, the company has created something special to remember her by. “We want to bring down the curtain on this legend’s career with a commercial that becomes the talk of the town.”

Better Way are making a habit of breaking records with budgets for adverts with a social conscience. Last year they spent Bt100 million on “To Be Number 1”, which tagged a drug-prevention message onto the launch of a limited-edition lipstick in a campaign that starred Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya.

In addition to her TV campaign, an exhibition based on the 20 things Petchara most values in life is running at CentralWorld shopping complex in Bangkok.

Tomorrow will be the first time viewers see Petchara’s face since she gave up appearing in public three decades ago. Confirming that she is still an extraordinary beauty, makeup artist Apichart Norsetthaporn says it will be the highlight of his career to work with such a screen legend.

Will it really be the last time we see her? I hope not.


Petchara is also the face of this year's Bangkok International Film Festival. Her classic 1960s look adorns a poster designed by filmmaker and illustrator Wisit Sasanatieng. In a glamorous pose inspired by Gone with the Wind, she 's dancing or embracing with a non-specific Westerner-looking man.

As part of the festival, there's an exhibition sponsored by Mistine, dedicated to Petchara in the first-floor Dazzle Zone at CentralWorld. It has film posters, her awards and a dozen or so of her costumes, including swimwear and evening wear. It'll be up through October 4.

Update: Here's the commercial at YouTube. In addition to a percentage of lipstick sales going to the charity, Petchara's fee, reportedly 10 million baht, is being donated to the Foundation for the Blind.

Update 2: Petchara has also posed for Lips magazine.

Update 3: Kong Rithdee writes about her comeback in his Saturday column.

Update 4: A lengthy profile in the Bangkok Post (cache).

Bangkok International Film Festival '09: Are you ready for the big dance?

Undaunted by a bribery scandal, the Bangkok International Film Festival gets under way tomorrow with an invitation-only VIP gala opening of Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.

It's an odd choice, considering the Hollywood producers now convicted of bribing the festival's former president produced Herzog's previous film, 2007's Rescue Dawn, which was actually made in Thailand.

But then maybe that's a connection to the festival's organizers that never occurred to the planners of the red-carpet galas and fancy black-tie parties. Or did it?

Perhaps it's a message to Hollywood that Thailand's movie business has a soul that's still dancing. And please, shoot it. With your film cameras.

Neither Herzog nor the zany Port of Call star Nicolas Cage will be present for the opening film -- a pity, since both have made movies in Thailand -- but Hollywood guests already arrived for the festival include James Belushi. He's being squired around to Thailand's tourism hotspots in hopes he'll return to Hollywood and tell everyone what wonderful place Thailand is -- for vacationing, to meet friendly people and most of all, to make movies. Yesterday, the Tinseltown entourage was treated to a night out on Phuket's Patong beach, with one of Belushi's classic films, K9, unspooling at SF Cinema City Jungceylon.

Other guests include Pulp Fiction heavy Ving Rhames, veteran Hong Kong actor Carl Ng, enduring character actor William Forsythe, young actresses Scout Taylor Compton (Rob Zombie's Halloween) and Olivia Thirlby (Juno), young actor Kyle Gallner (A Haunting in Connecticut), Sung Kang from Fast and Furious, Japanese actor Kazuaki Kiriya and action-film actor Gary Daniels. There's also a yogi, Master Kamal, to keep everyone limbered up. Many appear in a video, talking about how stoked they are to be invited to Thailand and the Bangkok film festival.

Also, the "Muscles from Brussels", action star Jean-Claude Van Damme is expected to make a return visit this year, after kicking it on the red carpet at last year's fest. Perhaps he'll even have the reels for his latest effort, The Eagle Path, tucked under his arms, ready for a surprise screening. The movie was filmed in Bangkok, which is dressed to look like a nondescript anywhere city, even though Bangkok's taxi-meters, one of which Van Damme drives, are unmistakable.

After the red-carpet gala on Thursday night, the stars will party at Bangkok's swanky Q Bar. And who knows what other events their Thai handler -- Tyler Brujah Panichpakdee -- has planned for them. He'll probably make them wear traditional Thai uniforms and dance around and sing Thai folksongs at the VIP-only Thai night on Saturday at the Siam Niramit theater.

Aside from that list of folks who don't have any films in the festival, and are just here to provide publicity -- mission accomplished -- the Bangkok International Film Festival's programming team of artistic director Yongyoot Thongkongoon from the Thai Film Directors Association and the programming directors, indie filmmakers Pimpaka Towira and Mai Meksuwan, have put together an incredible line-up that will unspool over six hectic days. Scheduled in two cinemas -- the SF World Cinema at Central World and Siam Paragon's Paragon Cineplex -- movie lovers will have to work twice as hard and walk twice as far to keep up.

Industry folks will be kept busy shuttling back and forth between the cinemas and the festival's seminar venue, the riverside Chatrium Suites, which will have talks on such things as “Films in Crisis?”, "Protecting Your Film in the Digital Era” and “Thailywood – Evolving and Involving”.

Film lovers, check the schedule (PDF). You'll surely find something you'll like. Tickets go on sale tomorrow.

In the World Cinema category, there is the Cannes Grand Prize winner A Prophet by Jacques Audiard, as well as Danish director Lars Von Trier's controversial Antichrist, for which the Cannes jury gave a best actress prize to Charlotte Gainsbourg. It had audience members passing out, walking out or vomiting. There's even something for genre-film films -- Nazi zombies in Norway in Dead Snow.

And there's one called Double Take by Johan Grimonprez. It stars the master himself, Alfred Hitchcock, as a paranoid history professor, unwittingly caught up in weirdness during the Cold War period.

French director Claire Denis is expected to be on hand for screenings of her latest, 35 Shots of Rum, which is on the "to see" wish list of Bangkok cinephile blog Limitless Cinema. There's also Film Sick's wishlist. You would be doing pretty good to see half of what those two have planned.

More wish-list movies can be found in the World Competition, where there are directors' first or second films. These include the Cannes Directors' Fortnight Prix Regards Jeune winner I Killed My Mother by Canada's Xavier Dolan, Altiplano by Peter Brosens & Jessica Woodworth from Belgium, Inland by Tariq Teguia from Algeria, Everyone Else by Germany's Maren Ade and Huacho by Alejandro Fernández Almendras from Chile. Across the River by Iran's Abbas Ahmadi Motlagh, The Search by Pema Tseden from China and Breathless by South Korea's Yang Ik-june.

The jury for this selection is Chinese director Li Yang as jury head with Cannes-winning Filipino director Brillante Mendoza and Thai filmmaker Ekachai Uekrongtham. Mendoza's controversial Kinatay from Cannes is showing in the non-competition Southeast Asian Panorama.

More mind-blowing stuff can be found a parallel festival, the inaugural Bangkok International Animation Festival, unveiled and hammered together when its budget was approved just three weeks ago by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology. It'll have the world premiere of Yona Yona Penguin by Japanese director Rintaro, as well as Australian claymation in Mary and Max and Irish fantasy in The Secret of Kells.

The schedules for both the BKKIFF and the BKKIAF (PDF) are merged, so taken together, there's something like a dizzying 120 features and shorts to try and wrap your head around.

Personally, I prefer to concentrate on the Southeast Asian films, because those will be harder to find once they are gone from the festival circuit. And I think that's where the Bangkok International Film Festival is strongest and most relevant. It is well positioned to be a major platform to showcase the region's cinema, offering premieres, retrospectives and competitions. Bangkok is easy to get to from all the region's capitals, so many of the directors will be on hand for Q&A sessions after the screenings.

In the World Cinema competition is Adrift by Thac Chuyen Bui from Vietnam.

The Southeast Asia competition has the world-premiering Aurora by Adolfo B. Alix, Jr. of the Philippines, Call If You Need Me by Malaysia's James Lee (a past winner at the BKKIFF), the Cannes-premiering HERE, by Singapore's Ho Tzu Nyen, Imburnal by Filipino indie filmmaker Sherad Anthony Sanchez, In the House of Straw by Singapore's Yeo Siew Hua, a Cannes Un Certain Regard selection Independencia by the Philippines' Raya Martin, genre-fan approved horror-suspense in The Forbidden Door by Indonesia's Joko Anwar and The Moon at the Bottom of the Well by Nguyen Vinh Son from Vietnam.

Two juries will hand out awards for the regional competition. The festival's own jury is headed by the German film critic Vincenzo Bugno with Singaporean director Royston Tan and Tul Waitoonkiat, the singer of the Thai indie rock band Apartmentkhunpa.

And new to the festival this year is a jury from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema, an international Asian film business and cultural organization whose members are authorities on and professionals within Asian cinema. This year’s NETPAC jury consists of Jung Soo-wan from South Korea, Thai film critic and writer Graiwoot Chulphongsathorn and Ranjanee Ratnavibhushana from Sri Lanka.

Other important films for Southeast Asian cinema fans and political observers are in the documentary category, with Burma VJ, featuring videocam footage of the 2007 democracy uprisings smuggled into Thailand and made into a feature by Denmark's Anders Høgsbro Østergaard. There's also Malaysian director Amir Muhammad's latest, Malaysian Gods, revisiting the case of Malaysia's persecuted and imprisoned former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim. And the late Malaysian director, Yasmin Ahmad, who died in July, will be remembered with a retrospective of three of her films: Chocolate, Sepet and her latest, Talentime.

There are also two more short-film packages -- the 10-film Indonesian shorts anthology 9808 and this year's edition of the Jeonju Digital Project, with shorts by Hong Sang-soo (Lost in the Mountains), Naomi Kawase (Koma) and the Philippines' Lav Diaz (Butterflies Have No Memories).

And don't forget this is a Thai film festival, please! So in the Southeast Asian Competition there's Nymph by Pen-ek Ratanruang, which premiered in Cannes and recently played in Toronto to good reviews.

Making its Bangkok premiere will be another favorite of this year's festival circuit, the politically tinged rural ode Agrarian Utopia by Uruphong Raksasad. It's playing in the Documentary Showcase.

There is the Thai Panorama, intended as a "best-of" of Thai cinema from the past year or so. It includes Yongyoot's Best of Times, now tipped as Thailand's submission for the Oscars, as well as another festival-circuit hit, martial-arts star Tony Jaa's feverish and troubled magnum opus Ong-Bak 2.

Rewardingly, there's a retrospective for director Cherd Songsri (1931-2006), who would have been 78 this month. An avid attendee of film festivals around the world, he was a pioneer for Thai cinema's presence on the international stage. Four of his films will be shown: 2001's Behind the Painting, 1994's historical women's rights tale Muen and Rid, the seaside romance Ploy Talay (The Gem from the Deep) and his masterpiece, The Scar (Plae Kao).

And don't forget to check out the CentralWorld exhibition on actress Petchara Chaowarat, the "Queen of Thai cinema". The leading starlet of the 1960s and '70s, before she was tragically sidelined by blindness, the classic Petchara is featured on this year's festival poster.

Closing the festival will be Sawasdee Bangkok, an anthology of nine shorts by big-name Thai directors -- Pen-ek, Wisit Sasanatieng, Kongdej Jaturanrasamee, Aditya Assarat and Prachya Pinkaew among them -- who offer their views on the city. Commissioned by the Thai Public Broadcasting Service (TV Thai), four of the shorts were cherry-picked to premiere to a decent reception in Toronto. But BKKIFF09 will likely be the only time to see all nine of them at once -- full-length running around three hours -- before they hit the airwaves.

Classic outdoor cinema for Bangkok Bananas!!

Bangkok … Bananas!!, a multimedia contemporary arts festival, starts on Thursday at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre and other venues, mainly around Siam Square, including the Skywalk between Siam Square and CentralWorld, at Siam Paragon and also at the Emporium.

The outdoor cinema portion of the program -- called "Cine Bananas!!" and put together by the Thai Film Foundation -- starts on Friday, May 1, with screenings taking place in the open-air plaza between Siam Center and Siam Discovery Center. The screenings start at 7pm. Here's the schedule:

• May 1 -- Operation Revenge (Torachon Khon Suey), featuring James Bond-style action with Mitr Chaibancha and Petchara Chaowarat. There's no subtitles but it's still worth checking out for the 35mm print.
• May 2 -- Chang: A Drama in the Wilderness, the 1927 silent docu-drama by King Kong directors Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack will feature live musical accompaniment, though not by the Alloy Orchestra. But no matter who's playing, it should be a memorable experience.
• May 3 -- Mae Nak Phra Khanong, the famous, often-told story of the ghost wife. This is the 1958 film starring Preeya Rungruang and it will feature the traditional "nang khai ya" live dubbing, usually improvised on the spot and taking the film to an entirely different level.
• May 4 -- 3 Screens Battles, a multi-screen compilation of archival footage of old Bangkok on 16mm and 35mm.
• May 5 -- Soon Ruam Heng Duagjai (Center of the Heart), a feature-length documentary made by MC Chatrichalerm Yukol for the Tourism Authority of Thailand for His Majesty the King's 60th birthday.
• May 6 -- Khon Jorn, directed by Attaporn Thihirun. This 1999 drama was selected in August 2007 for the list of 75 Hidden Gems by Sight and Sound magazine. (There's a second Thai film on the list, 1975's Grounded God (เทวดาเดินดิน) by Prince Chatrichalerm.) Depicting family life, police indifference and contemporary Thai society, Khun Jorn premiered at the 1999 Bangkok Film Festival. It's a rarely shown, provocative film and will have English subtitles.
• May 7 -- Dedicated to Payut Ngaokrachang, father of Thai animation. The artist and animator, who turned 80 on April 1 (no fooling!) is best known for his 1979 animated feature The Adventure of Sudsakorn. But he created many other works, and this screening gathers together his first cartoon, Het Mahasajan, commercials and shorts by other Thai animators.
• May 8 -- The Light of Asia (Prem Sanyas), a 1925 Indian silent about the enlightment of the Lord Buddha. Live musical accompaniment will be provided by Baby Arabia, a Muslim rock band.
• May 9 -- Home Movie Meets Home Video, a compilation of home movies.
• May 10 -- Spooky Night, devoted to ghost and horror films. Three films will be shown, starting with the first Baan Phee Pop film, about a malevolent spirit that possesses women and turns them into clawed demons with a hunger for raw liver, prompting villagers to run around and scream. It's an enduring comedy-horror series, the latest installment of which came out last year. And Pop's due to battle another famous regional ghost later this summer in Krasue vs. Pop. Other films will be Pi Thong Leung, a documentary about mysterious hilltribe people in the North and Vampire, a short that Apichatpong Weerasethakul made last year for a compilation for the Louis Vuitton Space.

There's also an exhibition of old-time cameras and movie ephemera.

Bangkok Bananas!! is the Thai contemporary art community's tougue-in-cheek answer to the Venice Biennale, according to a story in The Nation's Ace magazine on Sunday (PDF). Around 15 million baht is being spent by the Ministry of Culture to bring art to the masses. Here's more from Apinan Poshyanond, the ministry's deputy permanent secretary (formerly head of the Office of Contemporary Art and Culture):

Hosting a proper biennial requires a lot more money and professional commitment, so in the meantime Bangkok Bananas is like a rehearsal! We’re going bananas anyway. Bangkok is crazy with conflicts between people in different-coloured shirts, but beneath the craziness, our art and culture is very solid.”

In addition to the film screenings, there will be art exhibitions and live performances of music, theater and dance. More than 100 artists are taking part. Patravadi Theatre will stage contemporary dance, physical theater, puppet shows and workshops in Parc Paragon for the festival.

Among the performers will be Silpathorn honoree Pichet Klunchuen -- Tony Jaa's dance teacher -- with his dance production Kap Hay Kluay, inspired by the poetry traditionally sung for Royal processions. Another Silapathorn winner, Manop Meejamras, will revive The Eclipse.

Bands taking the stage at CentralWorld will include Fongnam, Khun In, Apartment Khunpa, Teddy Ska, Paradox and Oh of Doobadoo.

There will also be mimes, human robots, clowns, jugglers, magicians, breakdancers and skateboarders. So watch out for those.

The complete schedule is at the Bangkok Bananas!! blog.


(Thanks Li! Cross-published at Bangkok Cinema Scene)

Classic Thai films in the Week of Siam

The last week of every month until August is designated the Week of Siam at House cinema on Royal City Avenue in Bangkok, where classic Thai movies will be shown as a benefit for the National Film Archive.

Not many of the films will be subtitled in English.

Happily, one exception to that will be showing this week, an oldie, but a goodie -- Ai Tui -- a uproarious musical comedy from 1971 that stars Sombat Metanee and Petchara Chaowarat.

A new print of the film was struck for the 2nd World Film Festival of Bangkok in 2004, and I'm overjoyed that it will once again be unspooled.

Directed by Dokdin Kanyamarn (who also co-stars) Ai Tui is part of the week of films under the theme of "Laan Laew Jaa" -- "It's a million!" -- a phrase coined by Dokdin to signify a 1-million-baht box-office smash.

Ai Tui will screen at 1pm on Saturday, March 28, 4pm on Monday, March 30, and will be closing film for the week at 7pm on Wednesday, April 1.

Subsequent weeks will be Than Mui Week (May 28-June 3), featuring films by director MC Chatrichalerm Yukol; comedy (June 25-July 1), featuring more Dokdin movies; Different Kinds of Love (July 23-29) with classic romances, and Week of Sinjai (August 27-September 2), featuring films of leading lady Sinjai Plengpanich.

The media will be a mix of 35mm, 16mm and DVDs. Admission is 120 baht (100 baht for members) for film screenings and 80 baht (50 baht for members) for DVD screenings.

Proceeds will benefit the effort by the National Film Archive -- upgraded to a public organization under an executive decree approved by the Cabinet -- to build a new vault to preserve Thai films.

Daily Xpress has more on Week of Siam, as does Filmsick. You can also check the schedule at House.

(Cross-published at Bangkok Cinema Scene)

The music of Thai movies on Monrakplengthai

Quite sometime ago, Peter of the Thai music blog, Monrakplengthai (มนต์รักเพลงไทย) contacted me to let me know of his existence, and I duly added the link under my Thailand blogroll and started following it. I just never got around to actually writing about it. Until now. Thai 101 also recently featured Monrakplengthai.

It's a great blog. Peter's digitized cassettes of mainly older music, like Suraphol Sombatcharoen (whose music is featured in Pen-ek Ratanaruang's Monrak Transistor) and violinist Eua Sunthonsanan's Suntharaporn big band, which has influenced the soundtracks of Wisit Sasanatieng's period films Tears of the Black Tiger and The Unseeable.

There's newer stuff too, like songs-for-life icons Carabao.

The most recent post is a tape featuring the dulcet tones of 4DK Todd's favorite character actor, Sangtong Seesai, who was a seriously good singer.

My favorite so far is the soundtrack to Monrak Lukthung (มนต์รักลูกทุ่ง) the 1970 smash-hit musical romance starring Mitr Chaibancha and Petchara Chaowarat, which played in cinemas for six months. The music (songs by Phaibun Butkhan and others) is the reason why it was -- and is -- so popular.

Not entirely lovelorn ballads and superb crooning, there's also serious rocking, like Buppah Saichon's "Rup To Thom Pai" ("รูปหล่อถมไป"). Filmsick Twittered me the link to the song in the movie on YouTube and I've embedded it below. The condition of this historic, classic film is horrifically heartbreaking, but at least the songs survived.

Thai film review roundup: Insee Thong, Khu Gam, Operation Black Panther

Thai films continue to captivate bloggers worldwide, and I wanted to spotlight a few of the recent reviews I've come across.

On Coffee Coffee and More Coffee, film critic Peter Nellhaus is digging Insee Thong (อินทรีทอง, Golden Eagle), the last filmed appearance by action star Mitr Chaibancha. Peter seeks to put things into perspective, stating "Insee Thong is a key film to understanding Thai cinema", and that for all its technical flaws, it is actually an entertaining film.

I would go as far to say that, except that it's in Thai, and roughly made by Hollywood standards, it has everything current audiences are looking for in a movie, and more.

Insee Thong is available on DVD with English subtitles, but the condition of the film is pretty poor. Still, it's a rare, subtitled example of 1960s Thai action cinema starring Mitr and his frequent leading lady Petchara Chaowarat.

Next, Lakorn Central has a look at Khu gam (คู่กรรม), an oft-adapted tale of star-crossed romance between a Japanese officer and a Thai woman set in Thailand during World War II. A novel by Thommayanti, Khu gam has been adapted around a half dozen or so times. There was a film in 1973 starring Nart Poowanai, Sayun, Ling Lee Ju, and Rachun, another in the 1980s starring Jintara Sukkapat and Warut Worrantum and a 1996 film, Sunset at Chaophraya, starring Thongchai "Bird" McIntyre and Apasiri Nitibhon. The '96 film was adapted from a popular TV series that also starred Bird. There's been a sequel, Khu gam 2, a 2004 soap opera with Sornram Theppitak and Benz Pornchita na Songkhla, a soap opera series of the sequel and most a stage musical with Japanese actor Seiki Oseki in the lead. From the comments on Lyn's blog, it looks like lakorn fans favor the 1980s film with Jintara and Warut.

Last, but certainly not least is Die, Danger, Die, Die, Kill!, which reviews Operation Black Panther (แหย่หนวดเสือ), a loopy 1977 spy spoof directed by and starring Sombak Metanee. In a bit that could be in an Austin Powers movie, there's an action sequence that involves a car with two front ends. I'll let Die, Danger's Todd explain:

Sombat's car ... looks to be made out of two Mini Cooper front ends welded together, complete with opposite facing steering wheels. This allows Sombat to drive the car from either end, something that is demonstrated to amusing effect in an early chase scene where he keeps hopping from one seat to the other to extricate himself from whatever apparent dead-end his pursuers have backed him into. (Yes, I know there's such a thing as reverse, but what's the fun in that?) A later chase in an underground parking garage sees Sombat and his female accomplice (played by Aranya Namwong) each taking control of one of the car's steering wheels and working in tandem to evade the bad guys who are baring down on them. Finally, a well placed burst of machinegun fire from one of the heavies separates the two halves of the car, leaving Sombat and Aranya to complete the chase by each driving their own truncated half-cars with the back ends dragging noisily against the pavement.

And that is far from all from Todd -- he's also reviewed Insee Thong and in doing so surveyed Mitr's entire Red Eagle series. He must have VCDs of old, unsubtitled Thai action films stacked up to the ceiling. For example, there's his ongoing "Films of Sompote Sands" series, which I intend to try and summarize at some point soon.

Five Star opens its vaults

One of Thailand's oldest film studios, Five Star Production, has started a new DVD line, Five Star Remastered, under which it is reissuing its older films. The Nation business daily has a story about it today in its print editions. (I can't seem to find the story on The Nation's website.)

English subtitles likely will not be offered on these DVDs and VCDs, but the quality of the films will be pristine, says Five Star executive director Aphiradee "Amy" Iamphungphorn.

The first issue is Boonchu (บุญชู orBoonchoo), the start of an eight-film teen romantic comedy series directed by Bhandit Rittakol in the 1980s and early '90s. The Boonchu DVD went on sale over the weekend, and 2,000 copies have already been sold even though the disc has not been distributed in all shops, according to The Nation. Rentals will start next month. Also, pre-orders are being taken for a box set of the existing films in the Boonchu series through Five Star's Thai Movies Wiki.

By next month, Boonchu 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 will be ready for sale, Amy says. Boonchu 3 and 4 seem to be missing in action from the six-disc box set.

Five Star has a back catalog of around 250 films, stretching back to the 1970s, when the company was founded. It plans to issue 20 of them in the Five Star Remastered line.

Here is more from The Nation article:

To remaster the movies, Aphiradee said the company had hired two companies – Kantana and The Post – to remove all flaws in the old films and record a perfect version in digital format for further recording onto DVD and VCD copies. The two companies started the process two years ago.

Aphiradee said the new business plan created added value for all its films and helped the company once again make money from the old movies after they have been sitting quietly for a very long time.

“We know that these old movies have their fans. We have already seen the high demand with the first movie that we started selling last Saturday. Buyers were people of various ages, from grandmothers to working people,” Aphiradee said.

The company has a special department to run the new business. Aphiradee said the sales should account for 20 per cent of Five Star’s revenue this year, which would be 500 million baht.

Five Star’s core business is producing Thai movies for show in local theatres and for further sales to international broadcast operators. This year it has allocated Bt300 million to produce movies.

She estimated the whole Thai movie industry this year would not see obvious growth from last year due to the current economic uncertainty.

Five Star is mining more nostalgia with Red Eagle, a 1950s and '60s action film series that starred Mitr Chaibancha and Petchara Chaowarat. Tears of the Black Tiger director Wisit Sasanatieng, a devotee of the old Thai films, is directing a reboot of the series, with Ananda Everingham cast in the lead. If the first film does well, it will be continued with a second part already written by Wisit.

Five Star is also behind the hit Art of the Devil series, with the third film still raking in receipts in local cinemas. I'm too scared to go see it.

Meanwhile, the veteran director Bhandit is at work on Boonchu 9, which reunites the classic screen couple of Santisuk Promsiri and Jintara Sukapat. Apinya "Saiparn" Sakuljaroensuk from Ploy will be featured in the new film, due to open sometime this August. Apinya, by the way, has had her hair straightened back out since her appearance as the Afro-haired title character in Pen-ek Ratanaruang's Ploy (a Five Star production). She appears in rival studio GTH's horror anthology, 4bia, which opens tomorrow.

Links roundup: Thai action cinema

Here are a few recent items concerning Tony Jaa, the Chocolate DVD release in Thailand, a Tom Yum Goong spinoff and some old Thai action DVDs and VCDs.

• Tony Jaa is on the set of Naresuan III, playing a slave boy in chains named Kham. Photos from Pantip.com show him working with director MC Chatrichalerm Yukol. It is entirely possible this film will be released on December 5, His Majesty the King's birthday. For Tony, this small role in Naresuan III is in addition to work on his own Ong-Bak 2, which he is directing and is also due out later this year. (Via TonyJaaBlog.fr)
• The Thai DVD release of Chocolate is set for this week. As usual for Thai-film DVDs, it won't have English subtitles, but Chocolate is apparently very much sought after, and the Thai DVD release will be the first chance for eager action fans who can't wait for a possible English-subtitled release to get their fix of Jeeja. Twitch is hinting at possible problems with The Weinstein Company's U.S. distribution deal, but doesn't really give any details about what those problems might be. Meanwhile, Chocolate has opened in Hong Kong cinemas, so perhaps there will be another venue for a subtitled DVD in the coming months. The Thai DVD of Chocolate is available for pre-order from HK Flix.
• Nathan Jones, the towering former WWE wrestler who sparred with Tony Jaa in Tom Yum Goong has been filming a kid-friendly sort of food-themed spin-off of Tom Yum Goong called Somtam, co-starring Narawan Techaratanaprasert, the child-actress daughter of Sahamongkol Film International boss Somsak "Sia Jiang". Prachya Pinkaew is producing, with stunt work by Panna Rittikrai. From the poster, it appears the spicy papaya salad fed to him by the little Thai girls turns the hulking Jones into a red-faced madman. Popcorn Mag has photos from a press conference, with Nathan taking a turn at the mortar and pestle to chop up some spicy salad. (Via Deknang)
• Jong-arng Payong, a 1971 action flick starring Sombat Metanee, Suthisa Pattanuch and Lee Ling Ling is reviewed over at Die, Danger, Die, Die, Kill! Says reviewer Todd: "When the action comes, it's gratifyingly feverish and insane ... I enjoyed the scenes where people's arms kept flapping around after they'd been lopped off." The VCD released by Triple X is available through eThaiCD.
• Finally, a bit of a belated shout-out to Rikker, who has been an active and helpful commentator here. Over on his Thai 101 blog, he's compiled a list of old Thai movies on DVD, covering the action-packed releases by Triple X, such as Chumpae with Sombat Metanee, Tone, Insee Thong, Ruen Pae, Piak Poster's Adulterer and Narok Tarutao, which all have English subtitles, plus a load of other fun films that don't have subs, such as Operation Bangkok, Jao Insee (another in the Red Eagle series with Mitr Chaibancha), and Monrak Lukthung, the classic, beloved 1970 musical romance that stars Mitr and Petchara Chaowarat.