Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness | |
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Directed by |
Merian C. Cooper Ernest B. Schoedsack |
Produced by | Merian C. Cooper Ernest B. Schoedsack |
Written by | Achmed Abdullah |
Starring | Kru Chantui Nah |
Music by | Hugo Riesenfeld |
Cinematography | Ernest B. Schoedsack |
Edited by | Louis R. Loeffler |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date
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Running time
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64 min. |
Country | United States |
Language |
Silent film English intertitles |
Budget | $60 |
Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness (1927) is a silent film about a poor farmer in Nan Province (Northern Thailand) and his daily struggle for survival in the jungle, the film was directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. It was released by Famous Players-Lasky, a division of Paramount Pictures.
In the directors' own words, Chang is a "melodrama with man, the jungle, and wild animals as its cast." Kru, the farmer depicted in the film, battles leopards, tigers, and even a herd of elephants, all of which pose a constant threat to his livelihood. As filmmakers, Cooper and Schoedsack attempted to capture real life with their cameras, though they often re-staged events that had not been captured adequately on film. The danger was real to all the people and animals involved. Tigers, leopards, and bears are slaughtered on camera, while the film's climax shows Kru's house being demolished by a stampeding elephant.
Chang was nominated for the Academy Award for Unique and Artistic Production at the first Academy Awards in 1929, the only year when that award was presented.