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When the head of his village's sacred Buddha statue is stolen, simple country boy Ting (Tony Jaa) is sent to Bangkok to retrieve it.Raised by a monk who has trained him in Muay Thai, Ting has vowed to never use his lethal martial arts skills. But once he arrives in the big city, Ting is forced to fight. It's non-stop action as Ting infiltrates Bangkok's seedy underworld and takes on a series of lowlifes and criminals in his quest to obtain the sacred head.
What is UMDTM?
UMD, Universal Media Disc, is a brand-new and groundbreaking optical storage medium, designed for the high speed and efficient delivery of digital entertainment content that can store up to 1.8 GB of digital data on a 60mm disc -- or an entire feature film on a single UMD video. All UMD DVDs are produced in Widescreen and encoded using advanced AVC compression. UMD for PSP will play on the new PlayStation Portable handheld entertainment system.
Specifications
Diameter: 60 mm
Maximum Capacity: 1.8GB (Single-sided, dual layer)
Laser wavelength: 660nm (Red laser)
"An effective martial arts film destined to leave mouths agape. " Andrew Sun, Hollywood Reporter
"Jaa's a star...a man very possibly worthy of the 'new Bruce Lee' tag." Dan Jolin, Empire
"Strongly recalls Hong Kong kung-fu movies of the late '60s and '70s" Derek Elley, Variety
"Pummeling, exhilarating." Richard Corliss, Time
Editor's Note
Tony Jaa follows in the powerful martial arts footsteps of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li in ONG-BAK: THE THAI WARRIOR, one of the first films to center on the ancient fighting system of Muay Thai, which utilizes the body's limbs to potentially devastating effect. Jaa stars as Ting, a quiet young man who lives in the peaceful village of Nong Pradu. As the village's special celebration approaches, a Bangkok villain named Don (Wannakit Siriput) steals the head of the Buddha statue Ong-Bak, which is said to protect the village from bad luck. Ting volunteers to go to the big city to bring back the head of Ong-Bak, but remembers what he was taught by sage monk Pra Cru (Woranard Tantipidok): he must not use his Muay Thai skills to harm people. However soon after arriving in Bangkok, Ting, a peaceful fish out of water, finds that the only way to recapture the village's sacred treasure is by using his arms, his legs--and his head.Influenced by the films of Thai action star Phanna Rithikrai, director Prachya Pinkaew hired the Muay Thai expert to serve as martial arts and stunt choreographer for ONG-BAK, resulting in highly effective and believable scenes between Ting and a multitude of criminals and evil boxers out to get him. Pinkaew adds a fun sense of humor to the serious story, not only in some of the crazy stunts but also in the character of George, played by Thai comic Petchthai Wongkamlao. Jaa is charmingly fearless in the lead role, performing all his own stunts without any special effects, computer enhancement, or ropes.
| Features | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | DVD Picture Quality | | Full Length Movie |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Foxvideo |
| Release Date: 4/4/2006 |
| Running Time: 101 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2005 | | Catalog ID: 2231211 | | UPC: 00024543212119 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: Thai | | Available Audio Tracks: English Dubbed, Thai | | Available Subtitles: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 1.78:1 |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | New York Times
"[A] lively, bone-crunching action movie....Mr. Jaa, blessed with astonishing muscle definition and a stoical, sensitive face, clearly has the potential to be an international action movie star..." 02/11/2005 p.E13Los Angeles Times
"It's a display of phenomenal dexterity and nimble grace that's a joy to watch. That, friends, is entertainment." 02/11/2005 p.E4 Entertainment Weekly
"[A] jaw-dropper of a star-making display from lithe fighter-artist Tony Jaa..." 02/25/2005 p.82 Sight and Sound
"ONG-BAK prides itself on its back-to-basics bare-knuckle brutality....Jaa proves a capable hero in his debut screen role." 05/01/2005 p.69 Uncut
"It's a revolutionary benchmark and a unique piece of scattershot genius..." 06/01/2005 p.140 Uncut
Ranked #21 in Uncut's Best Films Of 2005 -- "Tony Jaa cements his reputation as the heir apparent to Bruce Lee and pre-Hollywood Jackie Chan..." 01/01/2006 p.82-83 New York Times 8 of 10
Mr. Jaa, blessed with astonishing muscle definition and a stoical, sensitive face, clearly has the potential to be an international action movie star, and Ong-Bak feels like the start of a scrappy, potent franchise. - A.O. Scott
Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
Did I enjoy "Ong-Bak"? As brainless but skillful action choreography, yes. And I would have enjoyed it even more if I'd known going in that the stunts were being performed in the old-fashioned, pre-computer way. "Ong-Bak" even uses that old Bruce Lee strategy of repeating shots of each stunt from two or three angles, which wreaks havoc with the theory that time flows ceaselessly from the past into the future, but sure goes give us a good look when he clears the barbed wire. - Roger Ebert
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