Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness (
1927-Events:*January 10 - Fritz Lang's science-fiction fantasy Metropolis premieres in Germany.*April 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx marries Marion Benda....
) is a
documentary filmDocumentary film is a broad category of visual expressions that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to "document" reality. Although "documentary film" originally referred to movies shot on film stock, it has subsequently expanded to include video and digital productions that can...
about a poor farmer in Siam (
ThailandThe Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
) and his daily struggle for survival in the jungle. The two directors of
Chang,
Merian C. CooperMerian Caldwell Cooper was an American aviator, United States Air Force and Polish Air Force officer, adventurer, director, screenwriter and producer.Cooper's most famous film work was the 1933 movie King Kong.Cooper was the father of Polish translator and writer...
and
Ernest B. SchoedsackErnest Beaumont Schoedsack was an American motion picture cinematographer, director, and producer.Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Schoedsack is probably best remembered for being the co-director of the 1933 film, King Kong....
, had previously worked together on
GrassGrass: A Nation's Battle for Life is a silent documentary film which follows a branch of the Bakhtiari tribe of Persia as they and their herds make their seasonal journey to better pastures. It is considered one of the earliest ethnographic documentary films. It was written by Richard Carver and...
(
1925-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1925:*El Húsar de la muerte, starring and directed by Pedro Sienna.*The Battleship Potemkin*Ben-Hur, starring Ramon Novarro....
) and later collaborated on the blockbuster film
King KongKing Kong is a 1933 landmark black-and-white monster film about a gigantic gorilla named "Kong" and how he is captured from a remote lost prehistoric island and brought to civilization against his will. The film was made by RKO and was originally written for the screen by Ruth Rose and James...
(
1933-Events:*British Film Institute founded.*March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey....
).
In the directors' own words,
Chang is a "
melodramaThe theatrical genre of melodrama uses theme-music to manipulate the spectator's emotional response and to denote character types. The term combines "melody" and "drama" . While the use of music is nearly ubiquitous in modern film, in most cases it is used within a fairly rigid structure...
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.
Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness (
1927-Events:*January 10 - Fritz Lang's science-fiction fantasy Metropolis premieres in Germany.*April 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx marries Marion Benda....
) is a
documentary filmDocumentary film is a broad category of visual expressions that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to "document" reality. Although "documentary film" originally referred to movies shot on film stock, it has subsequently expanded to include video and digital productions that can...
about a poor farmer in Siam (
ThailandThe Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
) and his daily struggle for survival in the jungle. The two directors of
Chang,
Merian C. CooperMerian Caldwell Cooper was an American aviator, United States Air Force and Polish Air Force officer, adventurer, director, screenwriter and producer.Cooper's most famous film work was the 1933 movie King Kong.Cooper was the father of Polish translator and writer...
and
Ernest B. SchoedsackErnest Beaumont Schoedsack was an American motion picture cinematographer, director, and producer.Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Schoedsack is probably best remembered for being the co-director of the 1933 film, King Kong....
, had previously worked together on
GrassGrass: A Nation's Battle for Life is a silent documentary film which follows a branch of the Bakhtiari tribe of Persia as they and their herds make their seasonal journey to better pastures. It is considered one of the earliest ethnographic documentary films. It was written by Richard Carver and...
(
1925-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1925:*El Húsar de la muerte, starring and directed by Pedro Sienna.*The Battleship Potemkin*Ben-Hur, starring Ramon Novarro....
) and later collaborated on the blockbuster film
King KongKing Kong is a 1933 landmark black-and-white monster film about a gigantic gorilla named "Kong" and how he is captured from a remote lost prehistoric island and brought to civilization against his will. The film was made by RKO and was originally written for the screen by Ruth Rose and James...
(
1933-Events:*British Film Institute founded.*March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey....
).
Synopsis
In the directors' own words,
Chang is a "
melodramaThe theatrical genre of melodrama uses theme-music to manipulate the spectator's emotional response and to denote character types. The term combines "melody" and "drama" . While the use of music is nearly ubiquitous in modern film, in most cases it is used within a fairly rigid structure...
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 ProductionThe Academy Award for Unique and Artistic Production has also been known as “Best Artistic Quality of Production.” It was only awarded during the first year of the Academy Awards, and may be considered a redundant variation of Best Picture....
at the first
Academy AwardsThe Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. The formal ceremony at which the awards are presented is...
in 1929, the only year when that award was presented.
Chang was released by
Famous Players-LaskyFamous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company created from the merger of the Famous Players Film Company and the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company on July 19 1916...
, a division of
Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is a Worldwide American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is the world's oldest existing American film studio; it is also the last...
.