Choompae (ชุมแพ, 1976)

Did you know that every single movie Sombat Metanee did was released in 1976? No, just kidding - but that year seemed to have been a very productive year not only for Sombat but for a lot of filmmakers in Thailand. I have no idea why, but it was in the middle of the seventies, freedom probably got bigger and bigger and I'm sure most directors tried to boost themselves into making more and more spectacular movies. Choompae was one of the biggest hits that year and is still considered a classic, but the story is quite much like the other movies from the same time...

Pherg (pronounced Peeh) Chompae (which also seem to be the name of the town) comes back his old village to take revenge on the gangster, played by Kecha Plianvithee, who killed his father. Pherg is also a gangster and he's come back not only for revenge but to take over the crime business in the little town. No one wants him back, not the other bandits and not captain Chaiyo (Nard Poowanai). It won't take long until everyone is out to get Pherg and soon they're also going after his family, his old girlfriend and everyone close to him! It's time for Pherg to really clean up the trash!

What makes Sombat unique is his willingness to take on quite complex roles and his string of anti-heros from the seventies often outdoes both the Italian and American counterparts. Pherg is most of the movie quite un-sympathetic, but we're still willing to root for him. It's not only that he's very brutal, his behaviour towards women are more than nasty and in this movie he threatens with rape not only once but twice. But it's also a play with stereotypes, because he never goes that far - he just like to use the words to gain power. And compared to the real bad-bad guys he's nice in comparison.

Sombat has always been a good-looking fellow, but it wasn't until the middle of the seventies I think he really started to evolve when it came to the art of acting. I think most of it is because of the anti-hero parts he got offered. Not just playing nice and handsome, but doing more complex, multi-layered characters. His hair got wilder together with his performances. The rest of the cast is the usual suspect, all great: Kecha Plianvithee (who always reminds me of Joseph Wiseman), Dam Datsakorn (really nasty in this movie), always the good-guy Nard Poowanai and Pipop Pupinyo always doing his famous henchman with his classic biker-moustache! There's a bunch of other actors also, of course, but I haven't learned their names yet!

Choompae is a good start for you who wants to start watching old Thai action movie. It has everything and is also very well made. The direction, especially in the action and chase-scenes, is flawless and we're also treated to some insane stunts. The highlight being a nice fight on top of a bus that actually looks quite dangerous!

Another reason to start with this one is that the Thai DVD actually have English subs! Wow. It's also uncut, almost 2,5 hours and is correct ratio. It's still possible to buy, for example at eThaiCD. Buy it before it's gone, because these are one of those movies that will disappear sooner or later.

Tiger Show (พยัคฆ์ยี่เก, 1982)

Another day, another movie without subtitles. But what to expect from me? Here's an interesting film, Tiger Show, obviously a co-production between Thailand and Hong Kong with Sorapong Chatree and David Chiang in the leads. There's another Hong Kong actor playing the bad guy, but I can't for all the booze in the world remember his name or where I've seen him. Probably in a Shaw Brothers production. Pipop Pupinyo and Rith Luecha shows up doing their traditional baddies also, which is a pleasure as usual.

If I get the story right Sorapong is a stage actor, a traditional singer and dancer in a travelling theatre group. David Chiang is somehow involved in this also, or something related. Anyway, they're a rivals and always gets into fights and adventures with each other. But of course there's bad guys nearby and they try to steal (maybe) something from the group, my guess is something valuable they use in the show. This intensifies the attacks and soon it's a matter of life or death! Because the villains is using small airplanes to shoot harpoons from, killing everyone in sight!

A spectacular movie in every sense, this one deserves a restored release - I'm not even sure it's out on VCD or any other format. Maybe VHS? What the movie lacks in story because of lack of subtitles it regains with a lot of action. This actually has some quite impressive, but not original, fight scenes - both from Chatree and Chiang versus an army of henchmen. Like all Thai action movies from the eighties this also ends with a big battle at the bad guys camp with a lot of exploding tents and huts, people falling from guard towers and squibs. It's quite bloody in parts, with a couple of the typical Hong Kong blood squirts when swords hits a body (done by squeezing a bag of blood in your hand when you grasp the wound).

The most impressive stunts is the aerial footage with these small airplanes battling each other up in the sky plus some nice parachuting also! Not bad for a very obscure movie in other parts than Thailand. I think this also became a lakorn, a Thai TV-series 20-25 years later. So it must have been a big hit when it came.

When watching this it also strikes me how often Thai male actors have no problems with playing around with gender, sexuality, or just appearance. Sure, this is about Thai traditional theatre where make-up and choreography is very special, and in some ways effeminate. But I can't even count how many times I've seen Sombat Metanee doing his drag-routine or actors like Sorapong continue to do his more feminine acting style - just for fun, a good laugh, but they always takes it a little bit further than, for example, American movies. Just like when you see action heroes cry in Hong Kong and Japanese movies, it's easy to understand that being a man is not just being cold and brutal - it's about emotions and letting yourself go.

But that's a another story in Thai cinema and I'll leave it for now - or until I find a movie which deals with it specifically. Tiger Show was great movie, recommended. Good action, good actors and a lot of stolen music from Indiana Jones! 

Come Alone (ข้ามาคนเดียว, 1978)

A fast glance as the poster make Come Alone looks like some samurai movie, or something related to native Americans - but this is actually quite traditional action movie with guns, jeans jackets and the usual suspects starring, but with a surprisingly slapstick-filled beginning. What we see on the poster is Sombat Metanee dressed like a crazy hippie, always up for a good song or maybe a fight or two with those who might wanna stop him. I haven't found any English synopsis so I'm not sure what this movie is about, but what I could understand Sombat goes undercover as a hippie, infiltrates an area with gangsters - maybe he wants to take revenge, maybe he's an agent of some kind - and the plan is obviously to take everyone down in brutal fashion, often with knifes or any other sharp objects.

But everything begins with Sombat taking a piss, getting caught by the baddies, then he has to take a dump and makes his guards dance while he's singing at the same time, which also gives him the opportunity to overpower them and be a free man again. It actually takes a while until he takes of his hippie costume and reveals himself, and the gets back on a more serious track again.

The lack of subtitles makes Come Alone a bit hard to follow, especially in the middle when the action takes a break and intrigues and drama takes over. There's a lot of talking, but the story moves along quite OK anyway and finally there's more action and bloodshed to entertain us non Thai-language geeks. Come Alone is also one of the more violent and bloody Thai movies from the seventies I've seen with squibs and bloody knife-attacks, plus a generous amount of good fighting. Most of it is the usual fist fights, but one guy (sorry, just can't remember his name!) goes full-blown Bruce Lee, including a cue from the soundtrack of Enter the Dragon, in one sequence. Not bad at all.

A lot of characters are introduces during the show, but I can honestly say that the one who seem to have the most fun is Sombat. When dressed as a hippie he's just like a totally different actor. Maybe it was something with the ridiculous premise of his characters disguise that set him off? A weird detail is that after half the movie he suddenly wears a wig, which is quite visible. I guess he probably shot another movie at the same time, a movie that demanded that he needed to be either totally shaved or with a crew cut or something similar.

Come Alone is yet another fine, but in the middle a bit too slow, example of traditional Thai action cinema. The whole cast is filled with every actor you expect and the action is violent and quite creative. Just don't expect a samurai and sword epic! :) 

Released by Triple X, which means the quality is slightly better than usual. Only slightly, because it still has scratches and something that looks like water damage during the final reels, but it's also in anamorphic widescreen and the glory of watching Thai action from this period in the correct ratio is always a pleasure out of the ordinary.

Hurricane (เจ้าพายุ, 1980)

Released on VHS is Sweden has "Thunder Kid", but the title literary means Hurricane (at least according to Google Translate). This is a seldom seen movie from the master of action, Kom Akadej. He also directed The Killer Elephants (I've released it on DVD and it's possible to buy here). The Killer Elephants is a bit corny, especially with the ridiculous English dubbing, but Hurricane is a violent power-package of cinematic action. Like almost every Thai movie from this era (which also characterizes the Bollywood production from that time) Hurricane is a mix of action, some comedy, a lot of melodrama and love story. But Akadej always knew what the audience wanted: action and action and action!

Sorapong Chatree grows up as the bastard step-son of hard-hitting cop Sombat Metanee. Sombat is treating him very badly. So our hero grows up to be a hot-heated young man who ends up in prison. There he learns to fight and be a man, and the sole reason is that he wants his childhood love back, the daughter of a local mafia boss. But the mafia don't want him alive, and they're also out to kill Sombat! What complicates everything even more is that the son of the mafia boss is his half brother! And... yeah, I got lost in the plot twist after thirty minutes! Sorry!

Yes, the story is quite convoluted and it's hard to follow all the storylines and characters, which is a weakness. But the movie is almost two hours long and keeps up the pace in a very good way, mixing action and good drama and some very silly comedy scenes with Sorapong trying to woo a girl with helping her on the farm, getting stuck with doing the dishes, cleaning the car, doing the laundry etc. On the other hand, those scenes are also quite funny and Sorapong has a good sense for slapstick comedy.

Sombat Metanee almost has an extended cameo and he's visible mostly in the beginning and in the end, but he's also excellent in a very complex part as a slightly bent cop. When we first meet him he's violent and nasty, very dark - and next time, many years later, he's an alcoholic - and in the end he's a raging revenge-filled man! It's a nice part and I guess this was one of the movies that built Metanee's career from being the typical hero to an impressive character actor. In other parts we see Nard Poowanai and my favorite baddie, Dam Datsakorn! Mr Baldy himself, Pipop Pupinyo shows up, looks angry and gets shot do death. Like in so many other movies.

I haven't seen much by Kom Akadej, but this movie proves that he was the Walter Hill/Sam Peckingpah/John Frankenheimer of Thai movies. The action is extremely well-edited and violent, and it just goes on and on without getting boring or repetitive. The best sequence is the final, a shootout in the cheapest place possible - an industrial sandpit - where Sorapong, Sombat and another fellow shoots a lot of bullets at each other. With hack behind the camera this could have been the most boring scene ever, but Akadej gives us a sensational action scene with intelligent use of slow-motion, cool angles and rapid editing. Fantastic! Before this we also see a very squib- and slow-motion filled shootout at a farm and a great fistfight up on two logs hanging from a crane!

Hurricane, or Thunder Kid, is a great and hard-to-get action film from Thailand. If you get a chance, see it and love it!

Nuk Leng Pah Suk (นักเลงป่าสัก, 1975)

A village terrorized by bandits! A man arriving to set things straight once again - a classic tale and another fine action movie with Sombat Metanee kicking ass.

...It's not only about kicking ass of course, even if the movie starts off with the bandits causing trouble in town - including a nasty gang rape and the beating of the friendly hunky farmer. Cue Sombat and another guy who looks like he's a Mexican from the beginning, with a three-four day shadow and ready to protect himself from the first robber that shows up.

He soon befriends Sombat, who in his cowboy hat and with his trademark hair-lock, seem more than willing to protect the town from the evil Kanchit Kwanpracha (sporting a nice moustache) and the woman behind it all - an actress I haven't identified yet. Anyway, together Sombat and the Mexican starts helping the villagers and it leads to a climatic battle during a violent rain...

As usual I've been watching a movie without subtitles, which isn't because I'm trying to learn Thai (but I would love to) but because it's hard to find these oldies with English subtitles. The stories is often quite easy to follow, and this is no exception. There's a lot of talk in-between the action, but everything leads to a visual scene of carnage and it's easy to understand who's the baddie and who's not. The female lead is the beautiful and talented Aranya Namwong, who did a lot of movies together with Sombat. Billed as the new Petchara Chaowarat she carved herself an impressive career and can still be seen in modern movies.

In smaller parts we also see the great, legendary bald henchman Pipop Pupinyo and Sukon Koewliam, the veteran actor with a classic, stylish Hitler-moustache!

But like most movies starring Sombat from this period the action is the most important thing and Nuk Leng Pah Suk delivers on that part. We're not talking modern martial arts, or even inspired by the Hong Kong industry. This is good old fist-fighting, lots of shoot-outs and a few fun stunts here and there. The finale is especially impressive, when our heroes and the baddies meets up out on a field in heavy pouring rain with a ton of guns and protected only by cars and tractors. It's violent and raw, and with a huge body count. It also ends in a big flooding and we're treated to some primitive truck-miniatures drown in the wave of water!

Another fun scene is when Sombat and the Mexican dresses up like female prostitutes and infiltrates the lair to free their girlfriends and other women that are held prisoners there.

The soundtrack is dramatic, and the dance-friendly version of the theme from The Good, The Bad and the Ugly fits better than you can imagine. Another Morricone-track, from Once Upon a Time in the West also adds to the melodrama in the final scene.

Movies like this don't have complicated stories or advanced complex characters. It's all about the entertainment, the "buffness" of Sombat Metanee, the action and the beautiful ladies kicking butt. It might only attract nerds like me and the older Thai generation, but I'm happy a few of these movies still exists. Sombat made (he still works) over 600 productions in his career (he once claimed 2000 productions, but how knows?) and a lot of them comes alive because of his charisma.

A true movie star, a true legend.