Chang A Drama of the Wilderness | 1927 | Documentary, Adventure

Title: Chang A Drama of the Wilderness | 1927 | Documentary, Adventure Director: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack. Studio: Famous Players–Lasky Corporation; Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation. Starring: Kru, Chantui, Nah. Release Date: April 29, 1927. Runtime: 69 minutes. Format: Silent, black-and-white; 35mm spherical 1.33:1; early panchromatic stock; Magniscope large‑screen sequence. Country: United States. Language: Silent with English intertitles. Genres: Documentary, Docudrama, Adventure. --- Chapters: 00:00:00 Frontier farm on the Siamese jungle edge 00:12:00 Rising dangers from the jungle 00:29:00 Leopard and tiger raids 00:44:00 The great hunt 00:55:00 Elephant stampede 01:05:00 Aftermath and roundup --- Summary: Set in northern Siam, the film follows Kru, a subsistence farmer, and his family as they cultivate rice and confront predators including leopards and a raiding tiger. Daily life and peril intermingle until a herd of elephants—“chang” in Thai—overruns the settlement. Blending documentary observation with staged reconstructions, the narrative depicts survival, communal defense, and the eventual capture and use of elephants as labor, reflecting both ethnographic interest and spectacle. --- Background: Shot on location in Siam between 1924 and 1926, Chang premiered at New York’s Rivoli Theatre on April 29, 1927. It employed early panchromatic film stock, and its climactic elephant charge was photographed for Paramount’s Magniscope large‑screen projection. The project was presented by studio heads Adolph Zukor and Jesse L. Lasky and released by Paramount. --- Trivia: Chang received an Academy Award nomination for Unique and Artistic Production at the first Academy Awards in 1929. The title “Chang” comes from the Thai word for elephant. After its New York opening, the film entered general U.S. release on September 3, 1927. The production was presented by Jesse L. Lasky and Adolph Zukor, reflecting Paramount’s backing of location‑shot spectacle. A preservation print is held at the Museum of Modern Art. --- Public Domain / Rights: Original Release: April 29, 1927. Original Studio / Distributor: Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation / Paramount Pictures. Copyright Status: Public Domain . Renewal: Unknown. --- Hashtags: Chang1927 PublicDomain SilentFilm Documentary ClassicCinema MerianCooper ErnestSchoedsack Paramount Thailand Siam Source page: https: //commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chang_A_Drama_of_the_Wilderness_(1927).webm Direct media URL: https: //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Chang_A_Drama_of_the_Wilderness_%281927%29.webm