Member D1 Ma Posted July 21, 2014 Member Share Posted July 21, 2014 In the light of the sad news of Panna Rittikrai dying at the young age of 53, I decided to re-watch Ong Bak this evening. Maybe I'm crazy but this belongs among the all-time classics and doesn't have the luxury of budgets that Jackie Chan had in the 80's and 90s. I don't think this should be compared to modern movie but stand the same kind of scrutiny of movies from the golden age of Hong Kong. Let me know what you think? I remember I was floored when I saw Ong Bak back in 2003. It looked so fresh, original and unique, something that I hadn't seen before. Later, when I bought and watched numerous Thai CDs with old Panna's movies I was even in bigger shock: all those great hard-hitting moves, choreo and stunts in Ong Bak were re-hash of what Panna did many years ago, in the 80s and 90s! We just never had a chance to see it then. All those years many Western fans had no idea that some guy in Thailand comes up with that kind of choreo and stunts. (I mean, we saw Panna in Angels 3, but in a small cameo role) I think it's safe to say that in some way he was ahead of his time and it took around 15 years for the world to finally see and appreciate his work... Sometimes I think how unjust it would've been if Ong Bak didn't bring all that attention to the man behind this great flick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member teako170 Posted July 21, 2014 Member Share Posted July 21, 2014 RIP... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted July 21, 2014 Member Share Posted July 21, 2014 R.I.P. - It's a wander Thai Martial Arts movies that are associated with him never rivalled the popularity of their Hong Kong counterparts. They deserved to. To be fair, while I love HK and Taiwanese cinema (especially action cinema) I never was that much into Thai action films - I just don't feel that appeal a flick from HK or Taiwan may have and thus always have had less interest in them. Heck, hadn't it been for this forum, I probably wouldn't have grown interest in Tony Jaa's movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member thedirtytiger Posted July 21, 2014 Member Share Posted July 21, 2014 R.I.P. - It's a wander Thai Martial Arts movies that are associated with him never rivalled the popularity of their Hong Kong counterparts. They deserved to. Unfortunately the Thai video / VCD releases were routinely horrid, no subtitles on anything and original masters are lost or badly kept and in terrible condition so decent releases can never be done. And let's all be honest, we had no clue who he was until Ong Bak came out and the previous 25 years and 90 movies were completely unseen outside of Thailand until Ong Bak made him famous worldwide. We have to accept what there is and be thankful for what we can see. Panna made around 100 movies if you include as director / producer / stuntman and although he has a few duds like everyone, even in the bad ones there is usually some good action. He was underseen and under appreciated and it is a shame. I have 8 of his movies on 35mm ( though rather scratchy ) I want to release but I will not do it illegally and I tried to talk to him about it, but like many Thais he was not really interested in the past and always looking forward towards the future. I keep looking for prints of his films but it is like needles in a haystack....I hope one day there will be great releases of some of his best movies and people will be able to truly appreciate how good he was. I feel very sad he will not be around to see it though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member QueMuchita Posted July 21, 2014 Member Share Posted July 21, 2014 Very sad indeed. R.I.P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted July 21, 2014 Member Share Posted July 21, 2014 Just when I started enjoying Tony Jaa's films and this happens... Truly sad. RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted July 21, 2014 Member Share Posted July 21, 2014 RIP to a true modern innovator and icon of the genre. He will be missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member luckystars Posted July 21, 2014 Member Share Posted July 21, 2014 He was currently working on a new movie which was also to star Chupong called 'Vengeance of an Assassin', which is probably unlikely to be completed now. The film was in post production since last year (93 mins runtime confirmed) and due for release in October in Malaysia at least (can't find a thai release date yet) We've got some mayhem to look forward to Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted July 21, 2014 Moderator Share Posted July 21, 2014 The film was in post production since last year (93 mins runtime confirmed) and due for release in October in Malaysia at least (can't find a thai release date yet) We've got some mayhem to look forward to It's good to hear that he at least gets a swansong as a director, and I'm sure it'll be a fittingly bone crunching final hurrah. I don't think Thai action cinema will have much left to say without his presence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Doctor Schnabel von Rom Posted July 21, 2014 Member Share Posted July 21, 2014 To honer him, i will watch the old born to fight today evening! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member thedirtytiger Posted July 21, 2014 Member Share Posted July 21, 2014 It's good to hear that he at least gets a swansong as a director, and I'm sure it'll be a fittingly bone crunching final hurrah. I don't think Thai action cinema will have much left to say without his presence. I went to the funeral today and asked about this, I was told they had started filming but hadn't done much. They will probably get someone else to finish it though. Thai action cinema may see a resurgence some day, there are a heck of a lot of talented stunt men here, but Thai action does not sell tickets in Thailand, crappy ghost comedies do sadly. If someone had enough foresight to see past the local market, you would have thought Sahamongkol would do more action as they are by far the best sellers..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member peringaten Posted July 21, 2014 Member Share Posted July 21, 2014 Tragic. There's only a few folk you see & really know that they can properly fight & handle themselves without artifice. I think he was right up there. RIP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tosh Posted July 22, 2014 Member Share Posted July 22, 2014 Very sad news, way to young, I put Ong Bak up there with the classics. Such a great lost and he was still very young, only 53. He also choreographer one of my favorite Thai movies "The Legend of Suriyothai". If you want to watch that movie, get either the 3+ hour version or the 5 hours box set. I didn't know he was the choreographer, The Legend of Suriyothai has to be one of Thailand's finest achievements in film, I'll have to seek out the 5 hour boxset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator thekfc Posted July 22, 2014 Moderator Share Posted July 22, 2014 Very sad news, way to young, I put Ong Bak up there with the classics. I didn't know he was the choreographer, The Legend of Suriyothai has to be one of Thailand's finest achievements in film, I'll have to seek out the 5 hour boxset. Your best bet if your don't have a Chinatown/Asian store near you that carry Thai movies would be either Ebay or Mangpong as I think that it was not made available outside of Thailand/South East Asia. This is what the boxset looks like: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/THE-LEGEND-OF-SURIYOTHAI-2001-Thai-Epic-2-Disc-Special-5-Hour-Boxset-R0-DVD-/281364579446?pt=US_DVD_HD_DVD_Blu_ray&hash=item4182a2c476 Mangpong: http://www.mangpong.co.th/eshop/product-detail.php?id=004785 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member HyperDrive Posted July 23, 2014 Member Share Posted July 23, 2014 Wow... RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member blue_skies Posted July 23, 2014 Member Share Posted July 23, 2014 Hey blue_skies, fair enough, that's what I thought as well actually, but another moderator must have merged it with this thread believing it to be specifically about Panna. Please re-post it in the modern section again, and I'll delete the posts from this thread. Thanks OAB, done:smile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member blue_skies Posted July 23, 2014 Member Share Posted July 23, 2014 http://variety.com/2014/film/news/panna-rittikrai-muay-thai-action-maestro-dead-at-53-1201265461/ SEOUL – Panna Rittikrai, Thailand’s leading martial arts stuntman, choreographer and film director, died Sunday (July 20, 2014) age 53. Rittikrai was mentor to Thailand’s contemporary martial arts stars Tony Jaa and Jeeja Janin, among others. His credits include directing “Born to Fight” (in 1986 and again in 2004) and “Ong Bak” parts 2 and 3 and action choreography on and “Tom Yum Goong” (aka “The Protector”). He also appeared as an actor-fighter-stuntman in over 50 movies from 1982-2010. Rittikrai died in hospital in Bangkok from complications brought on by acute liver and kidney failure. It was also recently discovered that he had a brain tumor as well. Born as Krittiya Lardphanna and hailing originally from the northeastern Isaan region, Rittikrai started his film career by providing physical training to Thai actors in Bangkok. He later returned to his home province and formed the PPN Stunt Team / Muay Thai Stunt Team, with which he started making films. His gritty style, which made little use of wire work and visual effects, appealed to hard core action fans and helped put Thailand on the map as a modern source of authentic martial arts and action pictures. He frequently worked with producer director Prachya Pinkaew and financier-distributor Sahamongkolfilm International. His final screen credits are on “Tom Yum Goong 2,” “Chocolate 2” and “Vengeance of an Assassin.” I was just reading another article http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/421453/stunt-guru-and-tony-jaa-master-dies And couldn't believe the only comment was "who cares". Who says that about someone dying I don't know if they'll do anything about it but I reported it as abuse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted July 24, 2014 Member Share Posted July 24, 2014 I don't know if they'll do anything about it but I reported it as abuse. They must have done something because it's not there anymore I definitely need to see some more of Panna's older films...I've seen a few but could use some more...guess I'll check out http://www.ethaicd.com, where to look his films up, you have to type in "Punna Litkrai". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member blue_skies Posted July 24, 2014 Member Share Posted July 24, 2014 I definitely need to see some more of Panna's older films...I've seen a few but could use some more...guess I'll check out http://www.ethaicd.com, where to look his films up, you have to type in "Punna Litkrai". What of his older films are a must see? And also is there anything that's been released on DVD with English subtitles or English dub that's good? Obviously I really have Born To Fight 1986 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted July 25, 2014 Member Share Posted July 25, 2014 Has Tony Jaa, Jeeja Yanin or anyone else who worked with him released any kind of public statement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member luckystars Posted July 25, 2014 Member Share Posted July 25, 2014 Has Tony Jaa, Jeeja Yanin or anyone else who worked with him released any kind of public statement? Tony Jaa made some comments which I think made it sound like they'd possibly fallen out or had parted company, then Jaa got some shit from a few people on social media in return. He made a lengthier statement today on his Facebook page (but in Thai) so I guess he expressed himself more clearly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member blue_skies Posted September 13, 2014 Member Share Posted September 13, 2014 Taken from Warrior King extras... You'll never Walk Alone Panna. Panna was a Liverpool fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member BaronK Posted March 18, 2015 Member Share Posted March 18, 2015 Yp6vj6oiVFw O4HPLh1q2TY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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