AKA: The Legend of Suriyothai | Francis Ford Coppola Presents : The Legend of Suriyothai Year : 2001 Country : Thailand Language : Thai Subtitle(s) : English Film Genre : Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War IMDB :Suriyothai Links :
DVD Source : 2xDVD9 from jonsan Ripper : gandarloda Video Format : AVI - X264 - 2 pass Video Bitrate : 1138 kbps CD1 | 1298 kbps CD2 Aspect Ratio : 1.870 : 1 Resolution : 688 x 368 Audio Format : AC3 Audio Bitrate : 448 kbps (6 channels) Video Runtime: 5 hrs Frame Rate : 25 fps
During the 16th century, as Thailand contends with both a civil war and Burmese invasion, a beautiful princess rises up to help protect the glory of the Kingdom of Ayothaya. Based on the life of Queen Suriyothai. The film describes historical events in the life of the heroine, Suriyothai, the queen of King Mahachakrapat, from the age of 15, ranging from love and attachment, royal wedding, resettlement in the capital, court life, intrigues, and sustenance of royal dignity. Set in 16th century Thailand over the course of 57 years (1491-154, this is an epic tale and political history of the Kingdom of Ayuthaya, culminating in the story of Queen Phra Suriyothai (Bhirombhakdi), who rode into the battle against the Burmese invasion to protect her husband at the Battle of Hantawaddy in 1548.
Note : When the film was released on August 12, 2001 in Thailand, it was entitled "Suriyothai" and had a running time of 185 minutes, pared down quite a bit from its intended eight-hour length. A five-hour version exists in a DVD box-set released in Thailand.
In 2003, the film was released in the United States, with a running time of 142 minutes. This version was edited by Francis Ford Coppola, an old classmate of Chatrichalerm from UCLA. The US release by Sony Pictures Classics was entitled Francis Ford Coppola Presents: The Legend of Suriyothai. Some critics argue that the original Thai release was the better presentation of the film, with still others even preferring the five-hour DVD set.