Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (2003)

When the head of a statue sacred to a village is stolen, a young martial artist goes to the big city and finds himself taking on the underworld to retrieve it.

Director:

Prachya Pinkaew

Writers:

Panna Rittikrai (story), Prachya Pinkaew (story)

Stars:

Tony Jaa, Petchtai Wongkamlao, Pumwaree Yodkamol

2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tony Jaa	...	Ting
Petchtai Wongkamlao	...	Humlae / George (as Mum Jokemok)
Pumwaree Yodkamol	...	Muay Lek
Suchao Pongwilai	...	Komtuan (as Suchoa Pongvilai)
Chatthapong Phantana-Angkul	...	Saming (as Chatthapong Pantanaunkul)
Wannakit Sirioput	...	Don (as Wannakit Siriput)
Cheathavuth Watcharakhun	...	Peng (as Chetwut Wacharakun)
Rungrawee Barijindakul	...	Ngek (as Rungrawee Borrijindakul)
Pornpimol Chookanthong	...	Mae Waan
Chumphorn Thepphithak	...	Uncle Mao (as Chumporn Teppitak)
Sukanya Kongkawong	...	Waitress
Boonsri Yindee	...	Yai Hom (as Bunsri Yindee)
Woranard Tantipidok	...	Pra Cru
Sawang Rodnuch	...	Noi
Sutin Rodnuch	...	Jamnean

Storyline

Booting lives in a small and peaceful village. One day a sacred Buddha statuette called Ong Bak is stolen from the village by an immoral businessman. It soon becomes the task of a voluntary young man, Boonting (Phanom Yeeram), to track down the thief in Bangkok and reclaim the religious treasure. Along the way, Boonting uses his astonishing athleticism and traditional Muay Thai skills to combat his adversaries.

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Plot Keywords:

thailand | antique smuggling | martial arts | buddha | combat | 

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Taglines:

No computer graphics. No stunt doubles. No wires.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sequences of strong violence, language, some drug use and sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

More than Luc Besson, the crew also seems to like Steven Spielberg. During the alley chase, right after Tony Jaa has performed some break-dance-looking moves on a table, he jumps off and runs away, while the text "Hi Spielberg, let do it together" can be read on the wall in the background.

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Goofs

During the cave fight with the thugs dressed in black, just after Ting hits the thug wearing the sleeveless shirt and head cap, during the slowdown scene to take out the thug you can see the thug's padding underneath his shirt.

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Quotes

Humlae: At least let me help you start your motorcycle.

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Alternate Versions

Some versions of the film omit the breaking of George's arm by a villain and the subsequent shot of Ting breaking that villain's leg.

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Connections

Followed by Ong-bak 3 (2010)

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Soundtracks

Bangkok Running
Written by Excellence and Vincent Tulli
Performed by Excellence

User Reviews

Tony Jaa is good but........

Ong-Bak was a great beat-em-up flick, probably the most realistic-looking fighting sequences I've ever seen. And the fact that there are no special effects involved earn this movie and Tony Jaa more respect from me. Tony Jaa is definitely more acrobatic than Jackie, but if you look back at some of Jackie's films and then watch Ong-Bak, I don't think he's as GUTSY as Jackie but hey, he's only made 1 film so I may be wrong. And he's a good martial artist but if you really look at some of Jet Li's films and then look at Ong-Bak and pay attention to his hand to hand combat, you'll see that he's actually not as advanced or nearly as OUICK as Jet in actual martial arts skills and hand-2-hand combat. There's a difference in being the next big martial arts star and being the next Jet Li or Jackie Chan. Anyway most people are just saying that cuz he's new and can jump high and do a bunch of flips. So don't label him as the next anybody. Just say "There's Jet Li, Jackie Chan, and Tony Jaa."

Details

Official Sites:

Europa Corp. [France] Official site [Australia]

Country:

Thailand

Language:

Thai English

Release Date:

11 February 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Daredevil

Filming Locations:

Rat Burana, Bangkok, Thailand

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,334,869, 13 February 2005

Gross USA:

$4,563,167

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$20,235,426

Company Credits

Production Co:

Baa-Ram-Ewe, Sahamongkolfilm Co.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min 105 min 104 min (director's cut) 100 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1