Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Purely Joyful Movie!

A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

This film loses a point because it chooses not to be anything more than a presentation of an important moment in the history of Thailand; but given that, it is rich in story and extremely well-mounted. The acting is not exceptional, but apparently that too was a choice: the director's investment is in historical narrative, not high drama. What he is striving for here is credibility, not potential star-turns.And this he accomplishes. One feels both the oppressive, almost claustrophobic, atmosphere of living among south-east Asian royalty, and yet also the determined self-sacrifice of a people devoted to family and nation. Thus the story, while never a tragedy in the Western sense, nonetheless unfolds with a rhythm so insistent, every outcome, once it occurs, feels inevitable.Thanks to the flashy choppiness of television and computer games, many young Americans have become deluded into thinking they can do without story. They're wrong; and the rest of the world seems to have grown aware that special effects can never take the place of interesting characters doing interesting things in interesting situations. This film suggests one reason why: a people need their history, and history is a form of story.Recognizing that, this is one of the better told stories on film so far this century.

I had no idea what this movie was but had seen it on the satellite schedule several times before the occasion on which I finally watched it. This is definitely another on the list of foreign-language films that are much better than most of Hollywood's output.If you can appreciate movies that are filmed in a language you don't understand, I'd highly recommend this. As with films like Queen Margot and the recent Chinese movies from Crouching Tiger to Hero and House of Flying Daggers, I felt like I understood directly most of the time. The acting, direction, and pace of the subtitles were so well done that I was pretty much completely drawn into the movie and oblivious to the fact that I was reading anything.Being completely uneducated on Thai history, it was difficult the first time I was watching to keep track of who was who. I felt like this added to the experience of watching this movie rather than detract from it, however, because the viewer is meant to feel conflicted sympathies.Suriyothai is just a gorgeous movie. Everything about it is so artful that you want to dive into it down to tasting the foods. I totally recommend it if you want an epic movie you've never heard of that is easily on top of Hollywood standards for quality. If this were an American movie, the budget probably would have been at least 200 million or so. It's just fantastic.

Suriyothai is a stunning film: Spanning 2 DVDs, and full of political intrigue, history, and glorious battle scenes. There are so many main characters, and all of them command a huge amount of weight, and against movie tradition, there isn't really even a traditional Hero character, even Suriyothai herself playing minor roles in much of the drama.Some have criticized the actress's acting as stiff and wooden, but I thought that Suriyothai was poker-faced intentionally, because she is a Queen after all. Most period pieces from any country have characters like this. I think you have look past her obvious cues and look for the more subtle ones, in order to appreciate her character: passionate about her country and her people, and devoted to her role.In fact there are many cards that other productions would have played, that this film doesn't, and much to its credit it stays away from many of the obvious manipulative narratives that are the mainstays for this genre of film, especially in the west. The film has a historical and legendary basis, and I am unsure exactly how closely it stays to that, but I found the film had the great level of depth and realism that only the best historical films attain.Watching hundreds of extras, alongside elephants, charge into battle, clashing swords and dodging cannon fire, is exhilarating. It's hard to see which army has the upper-hand until the final moments. There appears to have been a conscious decision to not fall for the trappings of making each battle into "hero's battle", so the action often stays away from focusing on main characters, and chooses to present to the viewer the sheer chaos of war.Oh, and it needs to be said: The elephants are awesome.If you are interested in this film, get at least the the 3 hour long version, as it is the closest to the way the film was intended (reportedly it was originally going to be a mini-series). While this longer edit of the film has a lot more political intrigue and dialogue, it that brings with it much more depth to the characters and situations. If you are not part of the "Attention Deficit Generation" bred by Hollow-wood, you can't go wrong with this REAL version.I can see why this film was edited down for the USA release. It is very long, and there is a lot of references and content that is probably assumed knowledge for most Thai people. However, while I can see the logic in removing parts of a film because of cultural barriers, isn't one of the reasons for watching foreign film, to find out more about other cultures? Granted, there is much that went over my head while watching this film, but I have to say that I didn't mind, and now I will find out more if I can about Thailand and its history: The Internet is a wonderful invention.Francis Ford Coppolla has some serious balls to have resold this film BACK to Thailand after he deleted most of it. I doubt he would take a film by Ridley Scott, and slice it to pieces. Faced with that particular situation, I am sure he would be all about "preserving the vision of the artists". It seems to be to be just another example of Hollow-wood being unwilling to let Asian Film compete on its own merits in America, and at least an ingrained xenophobia.Suriyothai is an amazing film. It is an epic that I have not seen bested by any other, and maybe even the mythical long edit of Tsui Hark's Seven Swords would have an near-impossible mission to dethrone it. The sheer size and quality of this production, together with the unique chance that it gives to see Thai history represented so gloriously and elegantly, are reasons enough to hunt down the Thai DVD.

This film should be seen, evaluated and considered in its own merit. I find some of the racist comments in this section very detracting and unnecessary. Most of the people who have slammed this epic have demonstrated little or no sensitivity to the depiction of another cultural setting. The film is historical in that it is based on recorded events; the film is traditional in that it is a story known to most of the Thai people. That it does not rise to level of X Men, Kill Bill or the Matrix slamming, moaning and groaning is certainly to its merit. For those weaned on Hollywood, it will seem too long, to drug out and too "expressionless," "Southeast Asians hacking each other up," "boring..." Ugh.When will some of the viewers take the time to consider that not every one of us love exploding cars, graphic shoot'em ups and mindless dialogue. Just consider the film for what it is: an artistic view of an epic from Thai history...and thank God, it ain't Hollywood.