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What are your top 5 or 10 best Muay Thai movies

Joseph Arthur De Gonzo
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Joseph Arthur De Gonzo Fellow Traveler

Joseph Arthur De Gonzo

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Hey there so I have not watch a lot of Muay Thai movies since Ong Bak and I am kind of in the mood to watch some movies with Muay Thai practitioners. Can you list your top 5 or top 10?

This can include documentaries, I have not seen much well done documentaries about Muay Thai, besides the one on the two girls. 

I guess I could with general martial arts movies or with boxing movies but besides the Ong Bak I can't make a list. 

Thanks. 

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Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu Mentor

Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu

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There are not really that many Muay Thai movies, and even fewer good ones! Even movies that purport to include Muay Thai, like a fighter with that style, often don't fight in that style. We recently watched this all-female Fight Club, Kung Fu mash had a "Muay Thai" representative, but almost no Muay Thai (this was the trailer, the "Muay Thai" fighter not depicted):

There seems to be basically only ONE truly outstanding Muay Thai movie, that being Ong Bak (it captured an ideology of Muay Thai), even the sequels didn't do as much. Ong Bak just had an essentialism about Muay Thai history, its rural connections, a critique of Bangkok society that was profoundly simple. Nothing like it.

The director of Ong Bak's Chocolate hardly included Muay Thai moves in his well-received Chocolate:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrVvRkDxBaM

 

It's kind of amazing that there has been no new Muay Thai great action flick, as almost all of Hollywood has appropriated Muay Thai for its heroes and villains. You can hardly watch a Hollywood fight scene and not see a Muay Thai teep, or reverse elbow.

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Joseph Arthur De Gonzo Fellow Traveler

Joseph Arthur De Gonzo

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There are not really that many Muay Thai movies, and even fewer good ones! Even movies that purport to include Muay Thai, like a fighter with that style, often don't fight in that style. We recently watched this all-female Fight Club, Kung Fu mash had a "Muay Thai" representative, but almost no Muay Thai (this was the trailer, the "Muay Thai" fighter not depicted):

There seems to be basically only ONE truly outstanding Muay Thai movie, that being Ong Bak (it captured an ideology of Muay Thai), even the sequels didn't do as much. Ong Bak just had an essentialism about Muay Thai history, its rural connections, a critique of Bangkok society that was profoundly simple. Nothing like it.

The director of Ong Bak's Chocolate hardly included Muay Thai moves in his well-received Chocolate:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrVvRkDxBaM

 

It's kind of amazing that there has been no new Muay Thai great action flick, as almost all of Hollywood has appropriated Muay Thai for its heroes and villains. You can hardly watch a Hollywood fight scene and not see a Muay Thai teep, or reverse elbow.

Just saw Muay Thai Chaya yesterday. 

Although it's more Muay Boran and i found that the style of the fights and fighters are a bit odd, I think it was pretty good and also included traditional and modern setting for the sport. Have you seen it?

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Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu Mentor

Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu

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Just saw Muay Thai Chaya yesterday. 

Although it's more Muay Boran and i found that the style of the fights and fighters are a bit odd, I think it was pretty good and also included traditional and modern setting for the sport. Have you seen it?

 

Yeah, we watched that a long time ago. The star of the film was training at Kru Lek's Muay Chaiya gym in Bangkok when we visited there. I can't say the movie made much of an impression on me though.

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Nina Nutting Nong

Nina Nutting

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There is also the movie 'Beautiful Boxer' life story of Parinya Charoenphol, a famous trans woman, Muay Thai fighter, actress and model. She was portrayed by male kickboxer Asanee Suwan.

 

Its a really good movie and gives an insight into life at a muay thai camp and life in Thailand etc...here is the trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6orM84owB7M

 

Edited to say-ahhh I've seen Emma put it on her blog. 

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Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu Mentor

Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu

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There is also the movie 'Beautiful Boxer' life story of Parinya Charoenphol, a famous trans woman, Muay Thai fighter, actress and model. She was portrayed by male kickboxer Asanee Suwan.

 

That was a very good movie, one of the first and most inspiring. Ironically enough, we didn't realize that the gym portrayed in that movie was Lanna Muay Thai, Sylvie's gym for a long time. We only really realized it over time. Nong Toom even cornered for Sylvie in one of her first big promotion fights:

Sylvie-von-Duuglas-Nong-Toom-Muay-Thai-W

 

I love this photo. Nong Toom has a very strange sadness about her, or at least she did when in this promotion (she fought too). It is captured in this moment.

Interestingly enough, probably Sylvie's best friend at the gym is Angie, a trans-fighter who idolizes Nong Toom. Sylvie is almost a kind of living connection between the two.

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