Ong-bak (2003)

Regista:

Prachya Pinkaew

Writers:

Prachya Pinkaew (story)
Panna Rittikrai (story)

Data di uscita:

23 ottobre 2003 (Singapore)

Genere:

Adventure | Crime | Thriller

Slogan:

To fight for the honor of his village, he must unleash the ancient art of Muay Thai: 9 Body Weapons

Plot:

When the head of a statue sacred to a village is stolen, a young martial artist goes to the big city and finds himself taking on the underworld to retrieve it.

Plot Keywords:

Good Versus Evil | Wrath | Money | Crime | Fixed Fight

Premi:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Recensioni degli utenti:

Entertaining

Cast

Petchtai Wongkamlao	...	Humlae / Dirty Balls / George (as Petchtai Wongkamlao)
Tony Jaa	...	Ting (as Panom Yeerum)
Pumwaree Yodkamol	...	Muay Lek
Suchao Pongwilai	...	Komtuan
Chumphorn Thepphithak	...	Uncle Mao
Cheathavuth Watcharakhun	...	Peng
Wannakit Sirioput	...	Don
Rungrawee Barijindakul	...	Ngek
Chatthapong Pantanaunkul	...	Saming
Nudhapol Asavabhakhin	...	Toshiro
Pornpimol Chookanthong	...	Mae Waan
Udom Chouncheun	...	Ta Meun
Boonsri Yindee	...	Yai Hom
Arirat Ratanakaitkosol	...	Tang On
Woravit Tanochitsirikul	...	Sia Pao

Alias:

Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (Philippines: English title) (USA) (trailer title)
Daredevil (USA) (informal literal English title)
Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior (Singapore: English title)
Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior (International: English title) (festival title)
Thai Fist (Hong Kong: English title)
Ong-Bak - Nato per combattere (Italy) [it]

MPAA:

Rated R for sequences of strong violence, language, some drug use and sexuality.

Durata:

104 min (director's cut) | USA:105 min | Spain:100 min (DVD edition) | Canada:105 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | Hong Kong:108 min

Nazionalità:

Thailand

Lingua:

Thai | Inglese

Colore:

Colore

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sonoro:

Dolby Digital EX

Divieti:

Spain:13 | New Zealand:R16 | Canada:18A (Alberta) | Iceland:16 | Canada:14A (British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Malaysia:18SG | South Korea:15 | Australia:MA | Austria:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB (cut) | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Italy:T | Netherlands:12 | Philippines:R-13 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:PG (cut) | UK:18 | USA:R | Mexico:B15

Luoghi delle riprese:

Bangkok, Thailand

Company:

Baa-Ram-Ewe

Curiosità:

In the three-wheeled taxi scene, when one of the little taxis flies and crashes into a building, on a wall in the lower left of the screen, under the highway, you can see writing that says: "Hi Luc Besson we are waiting for you".

Errori:

Revealing mistakes: Obvious stunt double when Don throws Humlae against a gas pump - Humlae's stunt double has a smaller head and more hair.

Citazioni:

Humlae: At least let me help you start your motorcycle.

Movie Connections:

Citato in D.E.B.S. (2004)

Entertaining

I saw Ong-Bak for the first time on the Stockholm Film Festival in November of 2003, and now recently saw it again on DVD. I usually see at least 4-5 Asian films on the festival every year and each one is a gamble. At worst Asian action films can be unbearably slow and dull with uninteresting action scenes and horrible acting. At their best they can be like a wonderful ballet with astonishing moves and moods. Ong-Bak falls somewhere inbetween these two.

The story and set-up in Ong-Bak is nothing very original. The head of the village Buddha-statue (named Ong-Bak) is stolen which spells bad luck for the village. So they send their best man to the city to find the son who moved away, and they can search for the head together. Of course the villager is completely lost in the city and soon gets himself into trouble.

So the story is nothing new, neither is the setup which is more or less van Damme standard fare movies like "Lionheart" except in Thailand. We see some street-fighting and some tournament-style fighting in seedy bars. So, what makes Ong-Bak stand out? Well, the fighting! I have seldom seen such well-made fighting scenes. Both well choreographed and plentiful! The thai-boxing done here might be very stylized to look good, but it really does the trick. The fights are simply put amazing! The lead actor really knows his moves and his acrobatics, and many times you can really feel the crushing hits as kicks and elbows hit home. Also the pace is very high with almost constant fighting in the last half of the movie. And it all looks very very nice.

So, Ong-Bak is definitely for those of you who are suckers for martial-arts and fighting. Don't expect an original story or terribly solid acting. But expect a fun ride, lots and lots of violence. And for me that's enough. Ong-Bak receives a 7/10.