The Legend of Suriyothai
| The Legend of Suriyothai | |
|---|---|
 DVD box for the US release of Suriyothai. | |
| Directed by | Chatrichalerm Yukol |
| Produced by | Kamla Yukol Kim Aubry |
| Written by | Sunait Chutintaranond (story) Chatrichalerm Yukol (screenplay) |
| Starring | Piyapas Bhirombhakdi Sarunyu Wongkrachang Chatchai Plengpanich Johnny Anfone/ Mai Charoenpura Sorapong Chatree Amphol Lampoon |
| Music by | Richard Harvey Michael Pärt (music editing) |
| Cinematography | Anupap Buachand Stanislav Dorsic Igor Luther |
| Editing by | Chatrichalerm Yukol Patamanadda Yukol Francis Ford Coppola (US release) |
| Distributed by | Sahamongkol Film International (Thailand) Sony Pictures Classics (US) |
| Release date(s) | August 17, 2001 (Thailand) |
| Running time | 185 min (Thailand) 142 min (US) |
| Language | Thai |
| Budget | 350,000,000 baht (estimated) |
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Plot
The film follows the course of the life of Suriyothai from her adolescence to her death. As Suriyothai is only known from three lines in a chronicle, most of the film relies on an invented story rather than claiming to be actual history [1]. It presents a young woman of minor royal standing who has strong opinions and a great deal of self-determination. She loves Lord Piren, but is promised to Prince Tien, the son of the second king of the realm. In an attempt to escape a marriage she does not want, she runs away but is captured by the principal king who explains the possible problems her marriage to Piren might cause to Siam. For the good of the kingdom, she marries Tien to keep peace in the royal families. From this point on she remains loyal to the man she likes but does not love, but remains strongly independent.The principal king dies, and Tien's father inherits the throne. A few years later, smallpox makes its first appearance in Siam and the king is stricken with the disease. On his deathbed he extracts a promise of support for his young son from Chai Raja, his nephew, and Tien. Burma invades in the north and Chai Raja assumes the throne in order to protect Siam. He executes the child king, which Tien protests but on Suriyothai's advice accepts Chai Raja as his ruler.
Chai Raja's wife, Queen Jitravadee, dies shortly after giving birth to the heir Yodfa. The king takes a new consort, Srisudachan, and has another son by her. After several years of peace, Chai Raja leaves the capital, Ayutthaya, for a military campaign in the north. Soon after, Srisudachan, descended from the deposed U-Tong dynasty, takes Boonsri Worawongsa, another U-Tong descendant, as a lover and starts plotting to take over the throne.
The king is wounded in battle and comes back to the capital to recuperate, where Srisudachan poisons him and attempts to blame the deed on Tien. Tien saves his own life by becoming a Buddhist monk. Srisudachan proceeds by naming Worawongsa as regent and promptly poisoning young Yodfa, thereby assuming power. Suriyothai then summons her old friend Piren, who was Chai Raja's troop commander, to help set things right. His troops ambush and kill Worawongsa and Srisudachan, and Tien accepts the throne despite his monkhood.
Upon hearing this, Burmese King Hongsa invades again and lays siege to Ayutthaya. In a desperate attempt to boost the morale of their troops, both the un-warlike King Tien and Queen Suriyothai join the battle. The queen is slain, falling in slow motion from the elephant in full uniform with her throat cut.
[edit] Production
[edit] Background
The film was financed by Queen Sirikit, who also appointed royal family members to the directorial position (Chatrichalerm) and to the role of the lead actress. Chatrichalerm wrote the screenplay and directed, and Kamla, his wife, designed the costumes and served as a producer. Because of Queen Sirikit's backing of the film, when the script called for a large number of men in the battle scenes, Royal Thai Army and Royal Thai Navy personnel were called upon to help make up the thousands of extras required.Chatrichalerm states that this film was originally the idea of Queen Sirikit. According to Chatrichalerm, the Queen wanted the Thai people to have a better understanding of their history and felt that a motion picture would be a good way to accomplish this.Chatrichalerm and Queen Sirikit mutually agreed to use Suriyothai as their first subject. Documents sent to King John III of Portugal (1521—1557) from Domingos de Seixas, a mercenary in the Ayutthaya Kingdom from 1524 to 1549, were consulted in the making of the film.[2] The film depicts some Portuguese, and their introduction of Early Modern warfare, but the only one with a speaking part depicts a physician called to the deathbed of the poisoned king. A follow-up film on King Naresuan, King Naresuan was planned for release in 2007.
Amporn Jirattikorn argues that other motivations for the film included a fear of foreign influence after the 1997 Asian financial crisis and competition from another historical figure, the sister to King Naresuan[3]. According to Jirattikorn, the film attempts to provide a national hero connected to the current monarchical dynasty, in contrast to other Thai films presenting events of the same era (e.g. Bang Rajan).
The movie uses many locations and sites within Thailand as its sets and with its massive cast and expensive production richly displays life in the 16th century. The battle scenes employed thousands of extras and there are hundreds of real elephants used as moving battle platforms. It took three years to shoot. It is rumored that the film cost between 8 and 20 million US dollars, making it the most expensive Thai film ever made. However, due to the involvement of the Thai Royal Family, any figure is hard to substantiate. Additionally, the royal family’s association with this motion picture allowed filming in locations that would have been difficult or even impossible for any other director to access.
[edit] Alternative versions
When the film was released on August 12, 2001 in Thailand, it was simply titled Suriyothai and had a running time of 185 minutes. This is pared down quite a bit from its intended eight-hour length. A five-hour version exists in a DVD box-set released in Thailand.In 2003, the film was released in the United States, with a running time of 142 minutes. This version was edited by Francis Ford Coppola. The US release by Sony Pictures Classics was entitled Francis Ford Coppola Presents: The Legend of Suriyothai. Some critics argue that the original Thai release was the better presentation of the film, with still others even preferring the five-hour DVD set, which does have English subtitles.
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