Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness

Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox film Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness, also known simply as Chang (from Thai ช้าง, "elephant") is a 1927 American silent documentary film about a poor farmer in northern Nan Province (northern Thailand) and his daily struggle for survival in the jungle. The film was directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was released by Famous Players–Lasky, a division of Paramount Pictures.

Plot

Kru, the farmer depicted in the film, battles leopards, tigers, and even a herd of elephants, all of which pose a constant threat to his livelihood. As filmmakers, Cooper and Schoedsack attempted to capture real life with their cameras, though they often re-staged events that had not been captured adequately on film. The danger was real to all the people and animals involved. Tigers, leopards, and bears are slaughtered on camera,<ref name="BP-20190721"/> while the film's climax shows Kru's house being demolished by a stampeding elephant.

File:Chang A Drama of the Wilderness (1927).webm

Full Movie

Release

Home media

Chang was released for the first time on DVD by Image Entertainment on November 21, 2000.<ref name="allmovidvd">Template:Cite web</ref> Milestone Video would release the film on VHS and on DVD on January 8, 2002<ref name="amazonvhs">Template:Cite book</ref> and October 29, 2013, respectively.<ref name="allmovidvd"/>

Reception

Chang was one of the "biggest movies of 1928."<ref name="BP-20190721">Template:Cite news</ref>

Author and film critic Leonard Maltin awarded the film three and a half of four stars, calling the film "[a] fascinating ethnographic documentary/narrative."<ref name="MaltinGreen2010">Template:Cite book</ref> Mordaunt Hall from The New York Times praised the film, calling it "vivid and thrilling."<ref name="hall27">Template:Cite news</ref>

Awards

Chang was nominated for the Academy Award for Unique and Artistic Production at the first Academy Awards in 1929,<ref name="BP-20190721"/> the only time that award was presented.

See also

• List of films shot in Thailand

External links

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