Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Chang

Play trailer Poster for Chang Released Apr 29, 1927 1h 7m Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
94% Tomatometer 18 Reviews 72% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
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.

Critics Reviews

View All (18) Critics Reviews
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 Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (16) audience reviews
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 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 Audience Member a pseudo-documentary film made by merian c. cooper in thailand when it was still called siam, it's the story of one family's fight for survival on the edge of the jungle. cooper used actual natives and many wild animals, tho some scenes, like the finale, were staged. it's a silent film , with colorful hand-tinting in many scenes and a soundtrack of thai music. this was a sort of dry run for king kong but it's a great adventure film in it's own right. caution: animals are slaughtered Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Chang

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew

More Like This

View All Best Movies to Stream at Home
The Black Pirate 100% 69% The Black Pirate Watchlist Tarzan and His Mate 100% 76% Tarzan and His Mate Watchlist Trader Horn 100% 33% Trader Horn Watchlist Tarzan, the Ape Man 100% 69% Tarzan, the Ape Man Watchlist Old Ironsides 100% 67% Old Ironsides Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All Chang photos

Chang

Chang (1927) Chang (1927) Chang (1927) Chang (1927) Chang (1927) View more photos

Movie Info

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
Producer
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