List of films shot in Thailand
The availability of elephants, exotic jungle and beach settings, relatively low production costs, and a mature film industry that provides a legion of experienced crew members, make Thailand an attractive location for Hollywood films.
In addition to providing work for Thai film crews and extras (including the Royal Thai Army), films that use Thailand as a location help Thailand promote itself as a tourist destination. As a result, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is keenly interested in attracting studios to make films in the Kingdom.
History
Hollywood has played an important role in the development of Thailand's film industry. The first feature film made in Thailand, 1923's Miss Suwanna of Siam, was a Hollywood co-production, made with the royal assistance of King Vajiravudh, who gave the production free use of his 52 automobiles, 600 horses, use of the Royal Thai Navy, the Grand Palace, the railways, the rice mills, rice fields, coconut groves, canals and elephants.
The 1925 feature, Chang, by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, was made in Thailand.
In recent years, even the Bollywood film industry has chosen Thailand as location.
List of films that use Thailand as a location
- The Ugly American (1963) - Prime Minister Kukrit Pramoj appeared on screen with Marlon Brando. He played the prime minister of the fictional Southeast Asian country of Sarkhan.
- The Big Boss (1971) - A real Thai brothel was featured in this Bruce Lee film.
- Duel of Fists (1971) - David Chiang travels to Bangkok looking for his long-lost brother (Ti Lung), who's a Muay Thai boxer in this Shaw Brothers film by Chang Cheh.
- The Man With the Golden Gun (1974) - Filmed around Bangkok and Phang Nga Bay in Phuket, the beach where Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) and 007 (Roger Moore) duelled is now a tourist attraction known as "James Bond Island".
- The Deer Hunter (1978) - The Russian roulette bar was in Patpong in Bangkok.
- The Killing Fields (1982) - Locations in Hua Hin and Phuket stood in for Khmer Rouge-era Cambodia. Actor Spalding Gray recounts the film's shoot in his monologue, Swimming to Cambodia.
- Casualties of War (1989) - Filmed around Phuket.
- Air America (1990) - Mae Hong Son Province in northern Thailand stands in for Vietnam War-era Laos. The film later attracted tourism to the region and was featured on the cover of Conde Nast Traveller in May 1993.
- Operation Dumbo Drop (1995) - Yet another Vietnam War film made in Thailand.
- Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997) - Tony Jaa worked as a stunt double and went on to become a major Thai action star. Mortal Kombat also was made in Thailand, around Sukhothai Province.
- The Beach (2000) - Environmentalists protested the film because the production crew altered the beach of Ko Phi Phi Leh. The beach was restored to its natural condition in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and the resulting tsunami.
- Alexander (2004) - Royal Thai Army soldiers were used as extras. Thai actors Bin Bunluerit and Jaran Ngamdee portrayed and Indian king an an Indian prince respectively.
- Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) - Made in Bangkok and Phuket, including Bangkok's Soi Cowboy. Tabloid reports that Hugh Grant was chased by bargirls were false.
- Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith (2005) - The approach to the wookie planet was filmed around Krabi by Santa Film International.