Beyond Rangoon (1995)

Director:

John Boorman

Writers (WGA):

Alex Lasker (written by) &
Bill Rubenstein (written by)

Release Date:

25 August 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Tagline:

Truth has a witness

Plot:

Laura is trying to pick up the pieces of her life after the murder of her husband and son, and goes on vacation with her sister to Burma...

Plot Keywords:

Burma | Doctor | Dictatorship | Travel | Escape

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Patricia Arquette	...	Laura Bowman
U Aung Ko	...	U Aung Ko
Frances McDormand	...	Andy Bowman
Spalding Gray	...	Jeremy Watt
Tiara Jacquelina	...	San San, Hotel Desk Clerk
Kuswadinath Bujang	...	Colonel at Hotel
Victor Slezak	...	Mr. Scott
Jit Murad	...	Sein Htoo
Ye Myint	...	Zaw Win
Cho Cho Myint	...	Zabai
Johnny Cheah	...	Min Han
Haji Mohd Rajoli	...	Karen Father
Azmi Hassan	...	Older Karen Boy
Ahmad Fithi	...	Younger Karen Boy
Adelle Lutz	...	Aung San Suu Kyi
Mohd Wan Nazri	...	Checkpoint Soldier #1 at Train
Zaidi Omar	...	Checkpoint Officer #1 at Train
Roslee Mansor	...	Checkpoint Soldier #2 at Train
Michael Pickells	...	Nick Bowman
Enzo Rossi	...	Danny Bowman
Ridzuan Hashim	...	Officer Min
Samko	...	Bird Man
Norlela Ismail	...	Young Sula Woman
Ramona Sánchez-Waggoner	...	Female Tourist #1
Nyak Osman	...	Village Headman
Yusof Abdul Hamid	...	River Trader
Lutang Anyie	...	Karen Leader
Dion Abu Bakar	...	Rapist
Ali Fiji	...	Fuel Vendor
Yeoh Keat Chye	...	BLK Beret Major
Johari Ismail	...	BLK Beret Sergeant
Rashidi Mohd	...	Secret Policeman
William Saw	...	Bandana Man
Ann Howard	...	Australian Doctor
Manisah Mandin	...	Aung Ko's Daughter
Charley Boorman	...	Photographer
Hani Mohsin Hanafi	...	Young Monk / Soldier
Ismail Din	...	Myanmar Official
Jamaludin Rejab	...	Cig Soldier #1
Aung	...	Cig Soldier #2
Peter Win	...	Aung Ko's Helper
John Mindy	...	Myanmar Soldier
U Kyaw Win	...	Sula Aide / Budda Monk (as Dr. U Kyaw Win)
Gael D'Oliviera	...	French Boy #1
Pascale D'Oliviera	...	French Mother
Gilles D'Oliviera	...	French Father
Asmi Wahab	...	Sula Commander
Albert Thaw	...	Sula Officer
Mansell Rivers-Bland	...	Hotel Guest
Siti Abdullah	...	Village Woman
Satish Chand Bhandari	...	Aung Ko's Friend

Directed by
John Boorman

Writing credits (WGA)
Alex Lasker		(written by) &
Bill Rubenstein		(written by)

Produced by
John Boorman	....	producer
Walter Donohue	....	associate producer
Mark Egerton	....	associate producer
Alex Lasker	....	co-producer
Eric Pleskow	....	producer
Bill Rubenstein	....	co-producer
Sean Ryerson	....	executive producer
Sean Ryerson	....	producer
Barry Spikings	....	producer

Original Music by
Hans Zimmer

Cinematography by
John Seale

Film Editing by
Ron Davis

Casting by
Mary Gail Artz
Barbara Cohen

Production Design by
Anthony Pratt

Art Direction by
Errol Kelly

Set Decoration by
Eddie Fowlie

Costume Design by
Deborah Kramer

Makeup Department
Felicity Bowring	....	key makeup artist
Maire O'Sullivan	....	assistant makeup artist
Lloyd Yeoh Seng Chee	....	assistant hair stylist
Larry Waggoner	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Asoka Perera	....	unit production manager
Chandran Rutnam	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mark Egerton	....	first assistant director
Sherard Jayasuriya	....	second second assistant director
Liz Legum	....	third assistant director
Philip A. Patterson	....	second assistant director (as Phil Patterson)
Toby Pease	....	first assistant director: second unit
Emma Pounds	....	second assistant director
Emma Schofield	....	first assistant director: second unit

Art Department
Martin Atkinson	....	draughtsman
Aloysius Chan	....	props buyer
John Davey	....	scenic artist
Daya Dollapihila	....	sculptor
Eddie Fowlie	....	property master
Kathleen Fowlie	....	assistant set dresser
Charles Green	....	plasterer foreman
Lal Harindranath	....	property master
U.U. Illangakoon	....	sculptor
Wimal Jayawardene	....	sculptor
K.D. Justin	....	construction coordinator
Sena Mabulage	....	chief props
Sena Mabulage	....	painter foreman
Sena Mabulage	....	stand-by painter
Senaka Nawaratne	....	scenic artist
Christina Phun	....	assistant props buyer
Sunil Premaratine	....	second stand-by props
Mansell Rivers-Bland	....	head sculptor
Ajith Seneviratne	....	general foreman
Peter Singho	....	sculptor
Derek Wallace	....	stand-by props
Sunil Wijeratne	....	assistant art director
Sunil Wijeratne	....	propmaker foreman
Nimal Wijesiri	....	labor foreman
Adrian Start	....	supervising painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Pat Brennan	....	dialogue editor
Scott Crafford	....	assistant sound editor
Mike Dowson	....	foley mixer
Ian Fuller	....	supervising sound editor
John Hayward	....	sound re-recording mixer
John Ireland	....	foley supervisor
Robert Ireland	....	assistant sound editor
Jenny Lee Wright	....	foley artist
Pauline Martin	....	foley artist
Teddy Mason	....	adr supervisor (as Ted Mason)
Geoff Mist	....	foley recordist
Christine Newell	....	assistant sound editor
Bob Robinson	....	dialogue editor
Mark J. Wasiutak	....	boom operator
Gary Wilkins	....	sound mixer
Sandy Buchanan	....	post-production sound assistant (uncredited)
Tom Meadows	....	sound mixer (uncredited)
Richard Pryke	....	assistant re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Ron Cartwright	....	special effects
Kevin Draycott	....	special effects
John Evans	....	special effects coordinator
Bill Hansard	....	projectionist: special effects (as Billy Hansard)
Garth Inns	....	special effects
Digby Milner	....	special effects
Robert Nugent	....	special effects
Harry Stokes	....	special effects
Phil Stokes	....	special effects
Barry Whitrod	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Craig Zerouni	....	digital opticals effects

Stunts
Raymond Chia	....	stunts
William Ong	....	stunt coordinator
Francie Phang	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Greg Allen	....	electrician
John Breslin	....	first assistant camera: second unit
David Burr	....	director of photography: second unit
Robbie Burr	....	best boy electric
Shaun Conway	....	electrician
U.S. Goonatilleke	....	grip
Warren Grieef	....	grip: second unit
Anna Howard	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Benn Hyde	....	best boy grip
Darrin Keough	....	first assistant camera
Selva Kumar	....	electrician: second unit
John Lee	....	electrician
Gamini Mallawarachchi	....	generator operator
Nihal Mallawarachchi	....	generator operator
Brett Matthews	....	second assistant camera: second unit
Benedict Pereira	....	grip: second unit
Michael Pickells	....	camera technician
Ian Plummer	....	gaffer
Thilak Pushpakumara	....	grip
Bill Rubenstein	....	still photographer
John Seale	....	camera operator
Brad Shield	....	Steadicam operator
Brad Shield	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Nihal Silva	....	grip
Rebecca J. Steele	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Paul Thompson	....	dolly grip
Paul Thompson	....	key grip
D. Van Gramberg	....	electrician (as Denham Van Gramberg)
Michael Vivian	....	grip (as Mick Vivian)
Julie Wurm	....	second assistant camera

Casting Department
Zul Akbar	....	extras casting
Hafis Hafim	....	extras casting
Amy Elisabeth Sabel	....	casting assistant
Mohd Wan Nazzi	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kathleen Gore-Misko	....	on-set costumer (as Kathleen Misko)
Amber Jordyn	....	assistant costumer
For Soon Lap Ang	....	seamstress
Alvin Lew	....	assistant costumer
Arabella Lockhart	....	assistant costumer
Ernest Misko	....	costume department head
Rob Nevis	....	assistant costumer

Editorial Department
John Stanborough	....	color timer
Sylvia Wheeler	....	negative cutter

Music Department
Nick Glennie-Smith	....	composer: additional music
Nick Glennie-Smith	....	conductor
Gavin Greenaway	....	orchestrator
Richard Harvey	....	composer: additional music
Graham Prescott	....	orchestrator
Maggie Rodford	....	score producer
Adam Milo Smalley	....	music editor
Adam Milo Smalley	....	music producer
Marc Streitenfeld	....	assistant composer
Fiachra Trench	....	orchestrator
Hans Zimmer	....	music producer
Richard Harvey	....	musician: flute and ethnic pipes (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Brian Hathaway	....	transportation captain
Rudy Neoh Kok Wah	....	transportation coordinator
David Marder	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Shaik 'Ramli' Abdullah 'Aina'	....	accounting clerk
Hilary Adahms	....	stand-in
Lylie Almedia	....	accountant: India
Claudette Almeida	....	production coordinator
Kelley Baker	....	assistant accountant
John Beharrell	....	post-production accountant
Dave Bennett	....	assistant accountant
Peter Benoit	....	publicist
Desiree Bertasso	....	assistant: Mr. Boorman
Azlila Binti Hazlam	....	location assistant
Sylvia Byrne	....	assistant: Mr. Boorman
Robert L. Catron	....	production liaison: Los Angeles (as Robert Catron)
Vincent Chin	....	production assistant
Andy Clarke	....	safety coordinator
Alan Clements	....	special advisor
Betsy Filwood	....	production coordinator
Gwyn Griffiths	....	assistant: Mr. Spikings
Bill Hansard	....	process projectionist (as Billy Hansard)
Habibou Haron	....	location assistant
Pauline Hume	....	title designer
Debra James	....	shipping coordinator
Chandra Kaliimuthu	....	production assistant
Krishnan Kaliimuthu	....	production assistant
Reena Kaur	....	production assistant
Susie Loh	....	production assistant
Subramanian Mani	....	location manager
Robin Moyer	....	photograph source
Mustapha Muhammad	....	production assistant
Ernie Mundell	....	assistant production coordinator
Rangi Nikora	....	safety coordinator
Amy Ong	....	production assistant
Pat Rambaut	....	script supervisor
A. Sivarajah	....	medic (as Doctor A. Sivarajah)
Aung San Suu Kyi	....	photograph source
Ramona Sánchez-Waggoner	....	production accountant
Ramona Villarrial	....	assistant accountant
Ramona Villarrial	....	assistant: Mr. Boorman
U Kyaw Win	....	special advisor (as Dr. U Kyaw Win)
Jean-Pierre Vincent	....	press attache: France (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Castle Rock Entertainment
• Columbia Pictures Corporation

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1995) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (1995) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Concorde-Castle Rock/Turner (1995) (Germany) (theatrical)
• ELKE (1995) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Filmayer Vídeo (1995) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Monopole-Pathé (1995) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (1995) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI) (1995) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• UGC PH (1995) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (1996) (Argentina) (VHS)
• SF Video (1995) (Sweden) (VHS)

Other Companies

• General Screen Enterprises  titles
• Milan Records  soundtrack

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for depiction of violent political oppression

Runtime:

100 min | Turkey:93 min (TV version)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Singapore:PG | Norway:15 | UK:15 (video rating) | Peru:14 | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 (w) | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 | USA:R (certificate #33655) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Iceland:12 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

Jodie Foster, Meryl Streep and Michelle Pfeiffer were all considered for the lead role.

Goofs:

Factual errors: U Aung Ko suggests bribing the soldier with 50 kyat - worth about 10 US cents at the time.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Laura Bowman:The trip was Andy's idea. It was easier to say yes than argue. Always that way with my sister. She meant well. Touch of the exotic east would get me away from all the things that reminded me of what happened. But it didn't. Where ever I looked, I saw only the moment when my life ended.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Seinfeld: The Pool Guy (#7.8)" (1995)

terrifying political thriller

This movie was working toward two goals: to make a political point and to tell a scary adventure story. It's often difficult to do make a political point and still tell a good story (consider the highly political but rarely-entertaining final season of Ellen). Beyond Rangoon finds a good balance between politics and storytelling.

I already knew that Aung San Suu Kyi had won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, and knew something about the oppressive political situation in Burma, so the political message of the movie was mostly a dramatization of what I already knew. But I thought the movie did a good job of telling about Aung San Suu Kyi and the mostly-faceless dictators who have for years tried to silence her. The device of presenting an unfamiliar setting through the eyes of a character that viewers can identify with is fairly common, but it's quite well done in this movie.

Of course, the real measure of the movie was its entertainment value. Arquette was excellent as a young woman whose sister took her to a distant, unfamiliar place to shake her out of her depression over the violent deaths of her husband and son. She is convincingly detached and depressed. Her grieving condition gives her a clear reason for her distracted wanderings into the thick of a dangerous situation she does not understand, something she'd otherwise be much too intelligent to stumble into.

Once the dangers become so obvious that she can see through them even through the cloud of grief, she's trapped, with no easy escape. That sets her on a path of adventure where she needs her intelligence to survive. The writers deserve much credit for making her intelligent and resourceful enough to deal with numerous dangerous situations, while still finding a plausible reason for her to be foolish enough to get into trouble in the first place. The directing is strong also, keeping up the tension throughout the race to escape the forces of the dictatorship.

This movie had additional impact on me and my wife because of other events of the same time period. We were preparing for a trip to India, and heard news reports of Western tourists who had been taken hostage by a terrorist group in India. Avoiding isolated terrorists in a peaceful democratic country is quite a different matter from escaping an oppressive dictatorship. But the movie and the news shared the element of avoiding danger in an unfamiliar country. That common characteristic gave the movie meaning beyond the strength of its own skillful storytelling. The movie illustrates the international tourist's worst nightmare.