Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior is a 2003 Thai martial arts film directed by Prachya Pinkaew and featured action choreography by Panna Rittikrai. It stars Tony Jaa in the lead role, alongside Petchtai Wongkamlao and Pumwaree Yodkamol.
Ong-Bak proved to be Jaa’s breakout film, with the actor hailed internationally as the next major martial arts star. Jaa went on to star in Tom-Yum-Goong (called The Protector in the US and Warrior King in UK) and directed and starred in two prequels of Ong-Bak titled Ong-Bak 2 and Ong-Bak 3.
After Ong-Bak became a hit in Thailand, sales rights for outside Asia were purchased by Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp, which in turn re-edited the film. Most of the subplot involving Muay Lek’s sister, Ngek, was removed, and the final showdown between Ting and Saming was shortened. EuropaCorp also replaced some of the score with different ones, along with adding a pair of hip-hop songs to the end credits. Contrary to popular belief, the main film score is the same in the Thai and EuropaCorp cuts. It is this version that has been made available in the United States and most of the Western world.
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