Hi martialartsplanet readers, I'm new on the forums and I was reading the Movies forum, and thought since there's no mention of Ong-Bak anywhere, that I should recommend it to all and sundry. Seriously, if you like martial arts movies, you NEED to see this film. Action doesn't get much better than this. I'm sure it's very hard to find though, don't know if peer-to-peer sharing services might have it, but it's worth a look. For more information, check out a pretty accurate review at: http://www.nixflix.com/reviews/ongbak.htm
hmmm, I'll have to have a look. Pretty good is it?? By the way, Welcome to the Forum, Ting. Enjoy your stay.
Aiding Ting in his quest is former villager Mum Jokmok, whose village name is "Dirty Balls", but has since changed it to George. (Can you blame the guy?) LOL
Thanks for the kind welcoming words guys. Back to Ong-Bak.. I didn't write more on it since the review I linked says pretty much everything I would write about it. It really is an awe-inspiring little action flick. I saw it both in theatres and now at home on DVD, the action scenes are so good that at my house the DVD gets repeated viewings whenever we get guests who haven't seen the movie yet.. Just showing them the running chase scene and the fight scenes because they're so amazing. The fight moves are all Muay Thai, the makers of the movie say that they're ancient Muay Thai moves that are no longer incorporated into competitive Muay Thai but still exist in old books. Lots of flying knees, elbow strikes and some very acrobatic kicks. I honestly feel that if this DVD was widely available in the western world, it would gain a 'cult' following akin to that of old Bruce Lee movies.
Yep, good luck Ving Tsun. I heard the movie premiered in theatres in Singapore very recently, don't know if they're planning to show it elsewhere (except for film festivals, I think they showed it at the Toronto Int'l Film Festival). You being in Oz you might have a better chance of getting your hands on the DVD than someone in, say, the UK. The DVD that's sold in Thailand has no subtitles, but they're not really necessary for following such a simple plot.
Those ancient muay thai moves is called Mae Mai. I too am practicing that a bit now. Movie is great, is one of the best in my opinion. Is pure hardcore muay thai with real contact, not cheat hit with camera angle. Also got loads of acrobatic movies like double front-tuck, standing back-full off the table, and 2x 540 in mid air. Tony Ja is a living legend. Here a link to my friend review if you wanna check it out. http://www.neo-modus.com/stuntpeople/articles/ongbak.htm
The type of Muay Thai you are describing is alive and well and is called Muay Boran (or Muai Boran to be more precise). What Kof Andy is describing 'Mae Mai', are the 15 Master tricks of Muay Thai and Luk Mai are the 15 Complimentary Tricks of Muay Thai. Ong Bak is apparently a very good film. I have been sent a copy on DVD from Thailand, to review on my website www.martialartsadvice.com but I haven't had the time to watch it yet. I have also received the entire Suryothai trilogy and Bang Rajan the film about the Thai villagers that held out against the Burmese army. Both of which are excellent movies. There's loads of really great movies coming out of Thailand now, it's like Hong kong was in the 70s and 80s.
Kof_Andy, Thanks for the link. Great detailed review with a lot of snapshots, pretty much the next best thing to seeing the movie itself. SoKKlab, yeah, Muai Boran is thai for "ancient boxing". Look forward to reading your opinions on Ong Bak later. Suriyothai isn't really a trilogy, it's just one loooong movie.
VT, yeah I guess it'll take a while for them to start distributing a subtitled version internationally. I still think it's worth buying though, even without subtitles. The plot is easy to follow (what plot?) and the oneliners aren't really very funny at all so you're not missing anything by not understanding them. Yeah I'm in Thailand, but I'm not from here though.
Yeah I know no subtitles blows, but i can pretty much guess what there saying. Is a pretty straight foward movie.
The latest news on Ong Bak 'In the tuk-tuk chase scene, the tuk-tuk speeds past a pillar,' 'And on that pillar, there is a sign written in Thai which says, 'Hi Luc Besson, we are waiting'.' French director Luc Besson not only answered the call, he also bought the movie's distribution rights for the United States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Ong Bak II will also be produced by Besson. Oh for more on the star Tony Ja ... Rising action star Tony Ja is being compared to the likes of Jackie Chan and Jet Li
i would like to know where to where to get the dvd too with english subtitles. all the reviews are great about it.
wow. I got it today. This movie is totally brutal. Fantastic scenes. *SMACK* ouch... I bet that hurt abit.... As for the subtitles.... they are completely hopeless, and not worth having. I don't think you need them anyway... I got the jist of the story. So yeh, great MA movies, but don't worry about getting the subtitlesed version I have -not worth it. No sence whatsoever.
