Chang

Released Apr 29, 1927

1h 7m

Adventure

List

94%

18 Reviews

Tomatometer

73%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

In this documentary set in the jungles of Siam, farmer Kru lives with his family, pet goat, a gibbon ape and a water buffalo. Kru's harvesting is disrupted by a leopard attacking the goat and, later, a tiger killing the water buffalo. Kru and the villagers band together to destroy the animals, only to be attacked by the "chang," or elephants. After half of the village is destroyed, Kru and the men round up the elephants, then realize they can use them as labor for restoring their rice fields.

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sophie s

The movie is both poetic and romantic, embracing happiness and sadness in life and history. With artistic form and beautiful essence, it's quite imaginative and creative indeed.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/09/23

Full Review

Louisa E

I liked the first few minutes but got bored pretty quickly. I would have much preferred to see every day domestic jungle life, rather than purely the animal stuff. The cinematography seemed daring and exciting, but I was more interested in the baskets the wife was making. It's interesting that it's the only documentary to be nominated for Best Picture but it didn't deserve the nomination in my opinion.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The documentary was nominated for an Oscar. Chang holds up well despite at times being too ridiculous for words is well worth viewing for shots of animals in the wild.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

david l

Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness lacks focus and is too short, but it is a groundbreaking early documentary feature with excellent direction from Cooper and Schoedsack, a couple of wonderful and brilliantly filmed sequences, great score and fascinating scenery.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

bill t

Although the way the animals are used and killed is atrocious, what can you do? Its 1920's Siam in the jungles for christs sake. The filmmakers are probably there to make a quick buck though. Real Siam jungle people are used in this simple story about keeping alive where there's plenty of wild animals all around you. Definitely not for everyone.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A wonderful insight into the history of the place I now call home. For its time the cinematography is wonderful. The making of the movie must have been grueling but the use of so many native people and animals made it all worthwhile.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

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Merian C. Cooper

Director

Ernest B. Schoedsack

Director

Kru

Kru

Chantui

Chantui

Nah

Nah

Ladah

Their Little Girl

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Variety Staff

Variety

It carries more of a thrill than the other pictures of its sort, for there seems danger frequently and the ferocity of a tiger or leopard here and there is most realistic.

Jul 6, 2010

Full Review

Tom Charity

Time Out

Schoedsack's camerawork is the most impressive feature in... Chang.

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

Mordaunt Hall

New York Times

A vivid and thrilling film conception of man's fight for life in the Northern Siamese jungle.

Mar 25, 2006

Full Review

Robert E. Sherwood

LIFE

Chang is marred by some feebly wise-cracking sub-titles -- but otherwise it is a fine and extraordinary picture. It has genuine beauty and humor, and it is inexpressibly exciting.

Oct 2, 2021

Full Review

Alexander Bakshy

The Nation

A film, to be truly dramatic, must organize its material as a dynamic sequence in which all scenes are emotionally related to one another. There is no such unity in Chang.

Feb 21, 2020

Full Review

Celia Simpson

The Spectator

The cinema has here brilliantly fulfilled a part for which it is better fitted than any other artistic medium. No book, painting, musical impression or circus could give so adequate and vivid a picture of the jungle.

May 8, 2018

Full Review

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Synopsis

In this documentary set in the jungles of Siam, farmer Kru lives with his family, pet goat, a gibbon ape and a water buffalo. Kru's harvesting is disrupted by a leopard attacking the goat and, later, a tiger killing the water buffalo. Kru and the villagers band together to destroy the animals, only to be attacked by the "chang," or elephants. After half of the village is destroyed, Kru and the men round up the elephants, then realize they can use them as labor for restoring their rice fields.

Director: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack
Screenwriter: Ernest B. Schoedsack, Merian C. Cooper
Production Co: Famous Players-Lasky Corporation
Genre: Adventure
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 29, 1927, Original
Release Date (DVD): Nov 14, 2000
Runtime: 1h 7m