History Film / Chang

* NoAnimalsWereHarmed: Averted, repeatedly, and on purpose. If you've ever wanted to see a tiger or leopard trapped and shot to death, this is the movie for you.

''Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness'' is a 1927 documentary (sort of, see entry below under BasedOnAGreatBigLie) made by Merian Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack, who later became very famous when they made ''[[Film/KingKong1933 King Kong]]''. In this film Cooper and Schoedsack journey deep into the wilds of northern UsefulNotes/{{Thailand}} (then called Siam) to document the lives of the Lao people hacking out an existence in the jungle. The film centers around Kru, a Lao who, with his wife and three children, have built a house with their own hands in the wilderness, and are keeping a little farm. Kru and his family keep livestock and till a little rice paddy, while protecting their farm against the depredations of tigers and leopards. But when an elephant wrecks their home, Kru has to warn the village of a giant elephant herd that is putting them all in danger.

* DeterminedHomesteaderThey're in Siam too, as Kru and family carve out their home in the jungle. Much of the film is structured like a Western, actually.

* DeterminedHomesteader / DeterminedHomesteadersWife: They're in Siam too, as Kru and family carve out their home in the jungle. Much of the film is structured like a Western, actually.

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: "Bimbo", the family's pet monkey, who provides comic relief. In one scene he pulls a blanket off of the baby. In another he runs like hell while being chased by a leopard. In the end, Bimbo has acquired a mate and a baby of his own. There's also a pretty amazing shot in which one monkey scampers up a tree to avoid charging elephants, and proceeds to pull another monkey up on a rope.

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* BasedOnAGreatBigLie: Marketed as such, but it's important to note that everything in this movie was staged, with the locals working along with Cooper and Schoedsack to act out Cooper and Schoedsack's story. Most of the events with the animals were staged as well, by using either tamed animals (the elephant herd, which had to be coaxed to wreck the village) or animals that were trapped and released in order for the filmmakers to get a shot (the tiger that nearly ate Ernest Schoedsack). Kru was cast in the movie because he spoke English, and he doubled as the interpreter for Cooper and Schoedsack. (The woman identified onscreen as Kru's wife wasn't really his wife, although the kids actually were Kru's children.) And while the events in the movie were staged, they were at least a relatively authentic portrayal of life in northern Siam. The natives of the area really did live in raised huts, and they really did sometimes herd elephants into a krall and select some to tame.

* DeterminedHomesteader / DeterminedHomesteadersWife: They're in Siam too, as Kru and family carve out their home in the jungle. Much of the film is structures like a Western, actually.

* BookEnds: In the first scene Kru is chopping down a tree that he'll use in building his house. In the last scene, Kru is chopping down a tree to use in building his house, but with assistance from a tamed elephant from the herd that the villagers captured. Additionally, the same shot of the jungle and the mountains is used in the first scene and the last.

* ShortTitleLongElaborateSubtitle

''Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness'' is a 1927 documentary (sort of, see entry below under Documentary) made by Merian Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack, who later became very famous when they made ''Film/KingKong1933''. In this film Cooper and Schoedsack journey deep into the wilds of northern UsefulNotes/{{Thailand}} (then called Siam) to document the lives of the Lao people hacking out an existence in the jungle. The film centers around Kru, a Lao who, with his wife and three children, have built a house with their own hands in the wilderness, and are keeping a little farm. Kru and his family keep livestock and till a little rice paddy, while protecting their farm against the depredations of tigers and leopards. But when an elephant wrecks their home, Kru has to warn the village of a giant elephant herd that is putting them all in danger.

* {{Documentary}}: Marketed as such, but it's important to note that everything in this movie was staged, with the locals working along with Cooper and Schoedsack to act out Cooper and Schoedsack's story. Most of the events with the animals were staged as well, by using either tamed animals (the elephant herd, which had to be coaxed to wreck the village) or animals that were trapped and released in order for the filmmakers to get a shot (the tiger that nearly ate Ernest Schoedsack). The documentary film at this time was a brand-new concept, having been invented by Robert Flaherty for his ''Film/NanookOfTheNorth''. Flaherty made '''everything''' up in his film, going so far as to give his protagonist a different name (Nanook's real name was Allakariallak), giving him a fake family, and most egregiously, insisting that Nanook and the other Inuk wear traditional clothes and hunt with traditional weapons when the Inuk had been wearing Western clothes and hunting with firearms for years. ''Chang'' isn't quite that bad: Kru's name really was Kru, and those really were his kids (although that wasn't really his wife). In fact Kru was cast in the movie because he spoke English, and he doubled as the interpreter for Cooper and Schoedsack. And while the events in the movie were staged, they were at least a relatively authentic portrayal of life in northern Siam. The natives of the area really did live in raised huts, and they really did sometimes herd elephants into a krall and select some to tame.

* {{Documentary}} / DocumentaryOfLies / {{Dramatization}}: Everything in this movie was staged, with the locals working along with Cooper and Schoedsack to act out Cooper and Schoedsack's story. Most of the events with the animals were staged as well, by using either tamed animals (the elephant herd, which had to be coaxed to wreck the village) or animals that were trapped and released in order for the filmmakers to get a shot (the tiger that nearly ate Ernest Schoedsack). The documentary film at this time was a brand-new concept, having been invented by Robert Flaherty for his ''Film/NanookOfTheNorth''. Flaherty made '''everything''' up in his film, going so far as to give his protagonist a different name (Nanook's real name was Allakariallak), giving him a fake family, and most egregiously, insisting that Nanook and the other Inuk wear traditional clothes and hunt with traditional weapons when the Inuk had been wearing Western clothes and hunting with firearms for years. ''Chang'' isn't quite that bad: Kru's name really was Kru, and those really were his kids (although that wasn't really his wife). In fact Kru was cast in the movie because he spoke English, and he doubled as the interpreter for Cooper and Schoedsack. And while the events in the movie were staged, they were at least a relatively authentic portrayal of life in northern Siam. The natives of the area really did live in raised huts, and they really did sometimes herd elephants into a krall and select some to tame.

''Chang'' was a follow-up to Cooper and Schoedsack's previous hit film ''Film/{{Grass}}''. It was nominated for an AcademyAward for "Unique and Artistic Production", one of two redundant Best Picture awards given at the first Oscars, the other being "Outstanding Production". The Unique and Artistic Production award, which was given to ''Film/{{Sunrise}}'', was never given again after that first ceremony. ''Chang'' remains the only (sort of) documentary to be nominated for (sort of) Best Picture.

''Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness'' is a 1927 documentary (sort of, see entry below under Documentary) made by Merian Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack, who later became very famous when they made ''Film/KingKong''. In this film Cooper and Schoedsack journey deep into the wilds of northern UsefulNotes/{{Thailand}} (then called Siam) to document the lives of the Lao people hacking out an existence in the jungle. The film centers around Kru, a Lao who, with his wife and three children, have built a house with their own hands in the wilderness, and are keeping a little farm. Kru and his family keep livestock and till a little rice paddy, while protecting their farm against the depredations of tigers and leopards. But when an elephant wrecks their home, Kru has to warn the village of a giant elephant herd that is putting them all in danger.

''Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness'' is a 1927 documentary (sort of, see entry below under Documentary) made by Merian Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack, who later became very famous when they made ''Film/KingKong''. In this film Cooper and Schoedsack journey deep into the wilds of northern UsefulNotes/{{Thailand}} (then called Siam) to document the lives of villagers hacking out an existence in the jungle. The film centers around Kru, a native who, with his wife and three children, have built a house with their own hands in the wilderness, and are keeping a little farm. Kru and his family keep livestock and till a little rice paddy, while protecting their farm against the depredations of tigers and leopards. But when an elephant wrecks their home, Kru has to warn the village of a giant elephant herd that is putting them all in danger.

''Chang'' is a 1927 documentary (sort of, see entry below under Documentary) made by Merian Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack, who later became very famous when they made ''Film/KingKong''. In this film Cooper and Schoedsack journey deep into the wilds of northern UsefulNotes/{{Thailand}} (then called Siam) to document the lives of villagers hacking out an existence in the jungle. The film centers around Kru, a native who, with his wife and three children, have built a house with their own hands in the wilderness, and are keeping a little farm. Kru and his family keep livestock and till a little rice paddy, while protecting their farm against the depredations of tigers and leopards. But when an elephant wrecks their home, Kru has to warn the village of a giant elephant herd that is putting them all in danger.

--> "The very last grain of rice is husked, O very small daughter."