Raiders Of The Golden Triangle (1983)- * *
Directed by: Sumat Saichur
Starring: Sorapong Chatree and Manop Aswathep
It appears that Cheng Sai Fu (all character names featured in this review are approximate, based on what we think they were saying. There's no way to check this and if we make any errors, please let us know) is an evil opium warlord in the Golden Triangle. A team is assembled by what is most likely a military faction of the Thai government in order to infiltrate and then put an end to the drug-running and villainy. Chat is the "best gunrunner", Pet is "the best secret agent we have", Room is a bomber pilot with a "100% hit record", and then there's Maj. Pachak (Chatree), who is presumably the leader of this group.
Meanwhile, there's a guerilla leader named Bo Kar Wing who is seeking freedom from the tyranny of the drug runners. He has a sister named Rong Fa that he's worried about. Cheng Sai Fu has a lieutenant named Tulip (Aswathep) who is a no-nonsense female fighter. Also there's an overweight guard named Fatass. The baddies want to root out the mole (s), and there's something in there about Burmese troops. Will Maj. Pachak shut down the opium dealers for good?
After Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), raiding things became important. We had Raiders of the Magic Ivory (1988), Raiders of the Sun (1992), and even Raiders of the Living Dead (1986), among many others, I would have to assume. The director of today's film, Sumat Saichur, has only two credits to his name: Raiders of the Golden Triangle, and a follow-up, Raiders of the Doomed Kingdom (1985). I guess he loved raiding things back in the 80's as much as everybody else. Could it be that film producers thought that if they put the word "Raiders" in there somewhere, patrons at small, mom & pop theaters and video stores might get confused and/or excited? We may never know.
As for the movie itself, after a brief "assemble a team" sequence in the beginning, it's largely a POW drama, with some war action thrown in towards the end. There are blow-ups, shootings and exploding huts, but you have to wait for them. It's all in the final section. The drama of it all is somewhat undercut by the typical yelling-screaming-emotionless-loud English dubbing so prevalent of the period. There is definitely some humor to be had by all this, especially with characters like Fatass, but it's all pretty standard stuff.
If you remember the Mercs DVD box set that came out sometime in the mid-2000's, this film would fit into it perfectly. The character of Tulip reminded us of Lt. Molly from Cobra Thunderbolt (1987). Coincidentally enough, both films star Sorapong Chatree. It's a small world.
At times it feels like they're going for some sort of cross between POW The Escape (1986) and a low-budget Apocalypse Now (1979). You have to appreciate their ambition, but the pacing is not what Western viewers are used to. It's probably more appropriate to small audiences in rural Thailand. It seems that they would be the most appreciative audiences for this sort of thing.
ROTGT - or "rotgut", as its fans definitely call it (and what you may need to get through it) (just kidding, it's not that bad. I just couldn't help myself) did get a release in West Germany (as it was at the time of course), Greece, Spain, and Japan. At least there was a VHS release in Japan, as that's what we viewed. And because EVERYTHING came out in Japan at that time. It even screened in May 1983 at the Cannes Film Festival. You'd think that would be enough to snag a U.S. VHS release, but, alas, no.
Two men with non-Asian-sounding names, Norman Carrigan and Gerald Meyers, are the credited writers. They have no other credits. They could be pseudonyms, but
I would like to believe that they wrote Raiders of the Golden Triangle, felt they had achieved perfection, and hung up their typewriters for good. What is their connection to this rare and largely unknown film? It's yet another mystery surrounding ROTGT.
So, if you like the jungle-set, war-based actioners that proliferated at the time, and you're not averse to some exploding huts, you could certainly do worse than Raiders of the Golden Triangle, but it does lean into the dramatics a little more than is usual. That might not be to everyone's taste, but if you can find it and you've seen every other exploding hutter out there, feel free to give it a whirl.
Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty
