Tears of the Black Tiger (2001)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Good movie but grossly overrated

Disappointment for a huge fan!

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The spaghetti western, once home on the range to actors like Rex Harrison and Lex Barker, nearly wasn't – until they met Clint. In 1963 a burgeoning director named Sergio Leone was given $200,000, a load of old stock footage, and told to make a western. The result is branded in the annals of film history - Per un Pugno di Dollari -- A Fistful of Dollars. Soon every investor from Europe to the back lots was clamoring to revitalize the western. The horse was put to pasture by the mid-1970's, but it wasn't until 2005 and Brokeback Mountain that the horse was believed finally shot. Enter writer/director Wisit Sasanatieng, riding high in the saddle to revise the old style. "Fah talai jone – Tears of the Black Tiger". The Thai film was an instant cult hit, riding into the market like "Shanghai Noon" on acid. Sasanatieng shows homage to the greats that came before him with the flair of Leone and the violence of Sam Raimi.When Dum, a young peasant boy, falls in love with Rampoey, they vow that, whatever happens, they will one day be together. Ten years on Dum (voice over by Philip Hersh), is the notorious gang-member 'Sua Dum - Black Tiger' (Chartchai Ngamsan). When he is commanded to execute police captain Kumjorn (Arawat Ruangvuth) who has one last request that Dum explain to his fiancé how he died. Dum realizes that Kumjorn's fiancé is, in fact, Rumpoey. Will love win through? Or will the heavens strike the heart of the Thief one final time? The film is billed as a musical western, and on that it delivers, in spades. The costuming is over the top with color that deliberately sets it apart from its forefathers in American and Italian cinema, but the musical numbers are rousing and enjoyable. The film plays with Leone style, plodding through the standardized plot of a B-western, but suddenly switches gears to a Raimi-esquire blood and guts show. The cowboys carry 'might powerful weapons', including – ready – rocket launchers. Sasanatieng obviously places his tongue firmly in his cheek with this project, but the influence of, and reference to, western films is unmistakable."Tears" is Sasanatieng's first attempt at helming, originally released in 2000, and is to date his only award nominated/winning project. It was nominated for 3 Grand Prix awards and appropriately won the Dragons and Tigers Award at Vancouver. Following "Tears", the director took a few years off before coming back with "Citizen Dog" and "The Unseeable" in 2004 and 2006 respectively. He is currently working on a project in Singapore entitled "Armful", which is in pre-production.

"Tears of the Black Tiger" is a florid, mind-bending and highly cinematic parody of genres. East meets West and Sam Peckinpah meets Douglas Sirk in Wisit Sasanatieng's brilliant, highly stylized work.In an outrageous palette of costumes, make-up, sets and colors (hot neons and cool pastels, some digitally manufactured), this is the tale of Rumpoey, a girl born into wealth, and her love for Dum, a peasant boy. As young adults, Dum (Thai heartthrob Chartchai Ngansam) joins a gun-slinging outlaw band known as The Tigers, while Rumpoey is betrothed to a slick, handsome police captain, Kumjorn.Much of the film appears to be set in the early 1960s, though its outlaws are strictly of the American Wild West variety (albeit with hand-held rocket launchers). Imbued with a sense of great fun, "Tears of the Black Tiger" is camp, absurd, surreal, melodramatic and strangely poignant, served up in a sumptuous, candy-colored coating.

Tears of the Black Tiger is certainly a unique cinematic experience; part western, part comedy and part tragic melodrama, this Thai movie is perfect for those looking for an alternative to predictable Hollywood pap.Dum is the handsome hero of the film, a member of the notorious Black Tiger bandits and a crack shot with a six shooter. Rumpoey is the love of his life, who has agreed to marry Dum; despite their class differences, she has arranged to elope with him. When Dum misses his rendezvous with Rumpoey (due to being caught in a gun battle), she is heartbroken and, under pressure from her father, accepts a proposal of marriage from Police Captain Kumjorn.In a battle between the police and the bandits, Captain Kumjorn is taken prisoner; Dum is given the job of killing the policeman. As a last request, Kumjorn asks that Dum informs his fiancée of his fate and produces a photograph of his wife-to-be. On recognising Rumpoey's picture, Dum frees Kumjorn, but in doing so, he puts his own life on the line...Stylish, funny and occasionally completely off-the-wall, Tears of the Black Tiger is an affectionate homage to Thai movies of yesteryear and Hollywood westerns. It is a strange mix, but it works. Only an occasional lull in pace stops this from being a wholly successful film, but don't let that put you off from watching it—the positives far outweigh the negatives.Heavily stylised scenes and surreal imagery combine with over-saturated hues to produce a most aesthetically pleasing film; the look is reminiscent of musicals from the 50s whilst the occasional moments of graphic ultra-violence could be straight out of a Tarantino movie. Each character is perfectly cast and the comic-book approach taken by the actors in the realisation of their roles complements the overall style of the film.Tears of the Black Tiger is a fun film that is destined to become a cult favourite amongst fans of bizarre cinema (and may even improve on repeat viewings, as with most cult movies).

Version: Thai audio, English subtitles (by SBS) There's something quite awesome about a movie that's advertised as a musical western that turns out to be a musical western in which the cowboys carry rocket launchers and wear very colourful shirts. Awesome.In the rather colourful countryside of the rather colourful modern Thailand, a gang of horse-riding, machine-gun toting, Thai cowboys led the by the colourfully villainous Fai (Sombat Metanee). Dum (Chartchai Ngamsan), also known as the Black Tiger, is a member of Fai's gang, and obviously the fastest shot in all the (colourful) land. Dum is competing with fellow gangster Mahesuan the police captain Kumjorn for the affections of Rumpoey (Stella Malucchi), so naturally this leads to shootouts, exploding brains, and lots of evil laughs. How awesome.'Tears of the Black Tiger' seems to be a combination of elements from 'Once Upon a Time in the West' and the 'The Quick and the Dead', only with a lot more comedy and melodrama. And colour. At times it may resemble 'Once Upon a Time in the the West', and then go into Sam Raimi mode during an action sequence, and then go into long scenes developing the melodramatic and colourful love story. Have I mentioned the colour yet? This one colourful movie, and will often induce a visual overload of pinkness. Is that even a word?'Tears of the Black Tiger' can go from melodramatic romance scenes, to the cheap violence that you might expect from Sam Raim or an early Peter Jackson movie (read: 'exploding heads') very quickly. I'm pretty sure this film could set a record in that department. Its a funny movie, and the action scenes are generally very exciting. I'm also convinced that the creators of this film took on a bet to discover just how much of the colour pink can be displayed in one movie. I never knew pink-shirted cowboys could be so tough.'Tears of the Black Tiger' is generally entertaining. I thought it was a little long, but I think most people should enjoy this - 8/10